It’s not uncommon for people to wear whatever is popular nowadays. I’ll even catch myself drooling over what cool piece of fashion is out. However, over the years I’ve noticed people have started falling into the trap of having to need the latest trend. I can’t blame people for that since they want to fit in. However, I think this is dangerous to individuality. If we keep going down this rabbit hole of being trendy all the time, eventually everyone will look the same. We might as well wear uniforms if we wear the same thing as everyone else all the time.
Throw away your basic af Adidas Superstars and get these 5 sneakers for summer instead. https://t.co/1Ah4aGtRFW pic.twitter.com/80HQKxXNco
— Betches (@betchesluvthis) April 24, 2017
One of the main reasons I think people try to go with whatever is trending is to impress others. No one likes negative looks so people just try to look good in people’s eyes. That’s fine, but at that point, you’re just looking for people’s validation, which isn’t a healthy way to live. You should be free to wear whatever you want without thinking about what others think. Do you want to wear those checkerboard pants that make you look like you’re in a ska band? Go for it. Want to wear that fedora that makes you feel smart? Wear it. Want to wear those bright orange shoes? Get out there and wear them. There’s no one there to actually stop you. The only thing that’s preventing that is people’s judgment. If people are actually judging what you wear, then there’s a good chance they can’t think of outfits for themself and think people should just wear what everyone else does. As long as what you wear isn’t hurting anyone, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t wear what you want. Of course, there’s stuff like uniforms or dress codes, but doesn’t really qualify as following a fashion trend. Following a fashion trend would mean copying your peers in a way that feels unnecessary. My fashion sense has always been pretty wild. I would wear something that to most people feels flashy. Yet I see my peers wear the same dull clothing as the other person, which typically consists of muted colours. Nothing wrong with wearing something muted. Heck, I even like to wear all black sometimes. But I like to spice it up. Last Thursday, I wore a black turtleneck, black jeans, and a black jacket. Now it would’ve been pretty easy for me to put on black socks and black boots. However, I took a different approach and instead wore aqua blue/green socks and white sneakers. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel like I was following a fashion trend. I felt like I was wearing something I would wear. I find whatever thing I like, try it out, and see if I would keep wearing it. If I like it, then I keep it in my wardrobe until I’m not into it anymore.
https://twitter.com/nlcpraveen/status/1590916644142215168?s=20&t=Y-HZAPlkArSGDPb4pPsS0w
Another thing to think about is status. Some trends involve high-end clothing and wearing it is an indicator of how much money you have. I see people wear Gucci or Prada and can’t help but think “Wow. You just had to show off your money”. Then people are going to start trying to do the same and it will look like everyone is rich when we all know that’s not true. Another case of this was when people were following “hype” brands like Supreme and Off-White. That stuff is not only expensive for what you’re getting but also released in limited quantities. People would get them and feel like they are part of a club and had a sense of belonging. I would see groups of people wearing all of these brands such as Off-White, Anti Social Social Club, and Bape which made them look like they had no idea how to dress for themselves.
There are also fashion gurus who are mostly on YouTube but exist on other platforms too. They usually try to give tips on how to dress but they seem to try to fit their audience into a square which kind of ruins the point of being fashionable. Sometimes they put you down and say you’re dressing wrong. While it’s good for stuff like dressing up for professional environments, they don’t seem to take into account how to dress in everyday situations or for yourself. On the men’s fashion side, they normally use tactics such as “teaching” people how to dress for women or to feel like a man. This is definitely preying on most young straight cisgender men’s hypermasculinity and heteronormativity since they don’t like being seen as feminine and/or queer. The women’s side of fashion influencing is significantly more tame as they give a little bit more room for creativity when it comes to what they wear. They are given more options compared to men and they don’t normally emphasize femininity to the same extent as masculinity.
The other big problem is trying to keep up with fashion trends. One day one thing is going to be popular and then the next day it’s no longer the case. Everyone has moved on to the latest thing while you’re stuck with yesterday’s hot thing. Then you catch up for a bit before you get behind again. You’re now stuck in this endless cycle of trying to be fashionable. You can stop this right now and start dressing for yourself. Good fashion means taking risks. When people are designing clothes, they have no idea how it’s actually going to work in real life. However, we never actually give it that much hate since some of these things is only out for a bit.
Fashion is subjective. If you like something, you can wear it. If you don’t like something, you’re not obligated to wear it. Just don’t put others down for wearing something that you despise. The only thing that matter is whatever you’re wearing is comfortable and appropriate. Besides, everyone will eventually forget what you wore that one day. And if they do for negative reasons, they’re just a bunch of losers who think people’s validations are what drives society.