Finding your own style: How to avoid the traps of rapid trend cycles
By Julianna Tuohy
Spring 2024
Everyone is familiar with the idea of having “nothing to wear” with a closet full of clothes. Which is ironic, because you probably picked out everything in your closet yourself. Sometimes, it can feel like a never ending cycle: a new trend appears, you buy new clothes, you wear them a few times until you grow bored, they hang in your closet, and suddenly you have “nothing to wear” again. Not only is this bad for your wallet, it also takes a toll on the environment. Discovering your own unique sense of style won’t only help you save money, but it will help you learn to create conscious purchasing habits and will prevent overconsumption.
Faster trend cycles and microtrends
If your goal is to always be on trend, it’s now nearly impossible. Trends are constantly shifting, an article by Vice summarizes this best. Trend cycles used to last about twenty years, then it was ten, and now it's five years or less. Trends are now so short-lived that they are commonly referred to as microtrends. The Harvard Crimson defines microtrends as “cycles of short lived trends that gain a high amount of attention in a short period of time . . . then fall off the grid and lose relevance almost just as quickly.” Nowadays, trends appear and usually blow up on social media platforms such as TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram. However after seeing the trend over and over again, people grow tired of it and it quickly falls out of fashion. The Michigan Daily describes the five stages of a trend: introduction, rise, peak, decline, and obsolescence. As mentioned before, this used to last about 20 years or so, from the point high fashion designers would debut items on a runway to the eventual obsolescence of a trend. But now, this cycle occurs faster than ever before, as short as just a year or single season. Full-on aesthetics and lifestyles go viral every year, followed by clothing brands quickly trying to produce clothing to profit from this.
Vogue made a list that summarizes and describes the microtrends/aesthetics that made an appearance in 2023, as well as what time of the year they peaked. Highlights include Barbiecore, Coastal Cowgirl, Balletcore, Coquette, Tomato Girl Summer, and Bimbocore. It is important to note that these trends are often tied to a lifestyle. For example, the Tomato Girl Summer aesthetic was inspired by the idea of traveling through European countries, eating pasta without spilling any sauce on your shirt, all while looking effortlessly cool (think: white linen dresses with red accessories). Many people buy into these trends due to a desire to live this lifestyle, and not because the clothing matches the style they realistically wear on a day-to-day basis.
Furthermore, the focus of these trends have not been centered around individuality. People see items and want to know where they can get the exact item so they can recreate the same outfit seen on social media. There is almost a false idea of having personal style when it comes to buying into new trends every year. The irony of this is seen in the “eclectic grandpa” trend from late 2023/early 2024. For those unfamiliar, the trend was centered around the aesthetic of a grandfather who has cherished and worn his clothes for years. His clothing shows off years of wear through mended holes and faded colors. Pinterest recently put “eclectic grandpa” on their 2024 trend forecast with links to fast fashion pieces to help you recreate the look. Another Vogue article speaks on the irony of this saying, “The eclectic grandpa is a trend hellbent on commodifying an idea of personal style without actually having it. It relies on pieces . . . meant to last decades, if not a lifetime . . . because they are made to last, not to be posted on TikTok.” The point of this is that unique and sustainable personal style cannot be replicated by purchasing a new set of clothes each season.
For some consumers, specific aesthetics like this help them label their personal style and can be helpful in finding future inspiration. However, if these quickly passing trends are causing you to purchase a new wardrobe every year, they’re doing you a disservice. Constantly buying and getting rid of clothes isn’t a sustainable cycle. Boston University estimates that The US alone sends over 34 billion pounds of textiles to landfills every year. It is better to develop your own personal style and understand what you truly enjoy wearing rather than to feel pressure to wear what the internet says is in style this season. That way, you can pick and choose what trends might fit your lifestyle instead of basing your purchases off of a desired trending TikTok aesthetic.
Fast fashion and its impact on the environment
With the way trend cycles have been moving increasingly faster, fast fashion brands have been growing bigger and bigger. CNN describes fast fashion as “the quick production of garments in bulk to keep up with the seasons or ever changing trends.” Examples of fast fashion brands include Zara, Princess Polly, H&M, Forever 21, and Shein. These brands are producing thousands of styles in bulk to keep up with new trends and high demand, all while keeping their prices low. The problem with fast fashion is that they often use cheap materials and underpay their workers in order to sell clothing at such a low price. The rising fast fashion brand, Shein, has recently come under fire for this. According to Time, Shein added anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 new styles to its website each day from July-December of 2021, this is an absurd amount of clothing for a brand to be producing. Additionally, while Shein claims to have sustainable supply practices by only producing small amounts of each style until they know it’s popular, the brand still manages to emit about 6.3 million tons of CO2 per year. In addition to their negative environmental impact, Shein is also known to exploit their workers. A Public Eye investigation found that employees making clothes for Shein work almost 75 hours a week, with only one day off a month. Fast fashion styles come at a cost to both the environment and the people producing the clothing.
It is important to note that buying clothes from fast fashion brands isn’t necessarily a bad thing! For many people, clothing from fast fashion brands is the most accessible way to buy new clothing due to the price and range of sizes available. However, keeping the cost of fast fashion clothing in mind can help you be mindful of what you choose to buy and prevent unnecessary purchases.
For many people, clothing from fast fashion brands is the most accessible way to buy new clothing due to the price and range of sizes available. However, keeping the cost of fast fashion clothing in mind can help you be mindful of what you choose to buy and prevent unnecessary purchases.
Finding your style in college and beyond
Developing your own unique sense of style will help you avoid buying clothing that will never make it out of your closet, and will allow you to get the most out of the clothing you do own. Plus, it’s so much more fun to get dressed and go out for the day when you love what you’re wearing.
For me, this is something I’ve been working on for a long time. I love to shop, and over quarantine I was buying clothes simply because I saw other people wearing them on social media and not because it was something I would actually wear. I was buying bright yellow jeans from Zara, zebra print flares from Shein, the list goes on. There is nothing wrong with these pieces on their own, but I never reached for them when I was getting dressed (I think I eventually got rid of them without even wearing them once). Now when I shop I have to be mindful of what I truly wear, this prevents me from buying clothes that l I won’t reach for. I keep in mind what style of jeans I like best, what colors I wear the most, what materials are most comfortable, and I try to think of at least five ways I can style an item before I buy it. I also try to wait a bit before I buy something brand new. This helps me keep myself in check and prevents me from impulse buying.
When it comes to fashion and mindful consumption, I love Heather Hurst’s (@pigmami on TikTok) perspective on it. She spells it out perfectly in a TikTok saying “Trends are not a bus that you have to run and catch . . . trends are like a sushi conveyor belt. The food passes by, and you stay still, take what you’re hungry for, and leave the rest.” Hurst is a content creator who encourages her followers to have fun getting dressed, experiment with styling the clothes already in their closet, and to make mindful purchases. I was so excited to have the privilege to pick her brain on advice for finding your own personal style and the process of adding items to your wardrobe. When it comes to buying new clothes, I asked Hurst if she has any sort of criteria that it has to meet. She says she asks herself questions like, “How long have I wanted XYZ thing? What does this thing make me feel? Is this for inspiration (looking, dreaming, ideating) or actual expression (using it, living in it)? . . . Does this purchase make sense for my real life?” Questions like these allow you to reflect on what you want to buy, they can help you verify that it’s not an impulse purchase you are going to regret and that it’s an item you will realistically wear.
Additionally, Hurst says she loves to browse secondhand sites such as Grailed, The Real Real, Vestiare, and eBay, as she says this helps remove the noise of trend cycles. “Seeing hoards of images [of clothing] with no context helps me discern between what I'm organically drawn to vs. what I may like because of the mere exposure effect…” Hurst says. Lastly, I asked if she had any advice for someone who has a closet full of clothes but feels as though they have nothing to wear. She says, “Look at what you've already bought and ask why or how you thought that would change your wardrobe vs. what you actually find yourself doing with it. . . . Do you tell yourself that you're going to look frivolously chic on your dog walks in little kitten heels and hot shorts but end up in an oversized fleece and leggings? There's nothing wrong with the latter, but if you're holding onto the vision of the former, how can you iterate to find a realistic happy middle between those fantasies?” This is great advice. Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in buying clothes for an idealized version of your day-to-day life. This is something I’m guilty of myself; I have definitely purchased clothing thinking, “This would be perfect for XYZ scenario” but realistically I never wear it on a day-to-day basis.
When it comes to sustainable fashion advice, Ilirida Memedovski (@notilirida on TikTok) is the perfect person to ask. Ilirida creates content on TikTok centered around outfit inspiration and upcycling clothing. I’m always inspired by the way she takes secondhand clothing and turns it into something new! When it comes to following trends, she says that she looks to trend cycles for inspiration, but sees how she can replicate it from items she already has in her closet. This allows her to participate in trends that she likes without having to go purchase new clothing. When asked about how she shops for clothing with longevity in mind she says, “I’m picky and pretentious about clothes and I think that’s okay! . . . I have sweaters I thrifted in 2012 that I still wear regularly because they’re constructed with quality in mind and will forever work with my personal wardrobe.” Being picky is one of the best ways to build a collection of clothes you love. If you’re only buying items that check all of your boxes, you’ll have a much easier time getting dressed.
Another great way to help you find your style is to look for inspiration. Personally I love using Pinterest, but it's also important to not get caught up trying to purchase items in order to replicate a certain look. I like to create multiple boards, one for style inspiration (more of an aspirational vibe) and one with outfits that are more realistic to what I wear on a day to day basis. I asked Cole Zemore, a student at Michigan State University, about where he looks for style inspiration. He says, “Usually I base my style on celebrity outfits, or outfits that I see and love. I take a lot of inspiration from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but I usually put my own twist on it!” Taking inspiration and styling things in your own way is one the most fun parts of exploring your personal style, have fun with it!
Tips for a sustainable wardrobe
Whether you’re opting to shop secondhand or fast fashion, here are some ways you can practice sustainability in your wardrobe:
Wear what you already have. The most sustainable clothing is what you already have hanging in your closet!
Take care of your clothing. Mend the hole in your sweater, take your leather boots to the cobbler, sew the button back on to your shirt! In 2024, it’s cool to take care of what you have.
Be an outfit repeater! Just because you posted an outfit on Instagram doesn’t mean it has to be archived forever!
Only buy what you truly need. Take inventory of what you have. Do you really need another pair of light wash blue jeans? Or can you tailor one of the pairs you have now?
Shop secondhand. Shopping secondhand is the best way to find unique clothing at a low price. If you prefer online shopping, sites like Depop, Poshmark, ThredUP, Vinted, and eBay are great options!
Experimenting with clothes and finding your personal style can feel overwhelming at times, but have fun with it! Look for inspiration and what you already love to wear, and go from there. Creating your own unique style will help you be mindful of what you buy in the future. Your wallet and the earth will thank you!
Julianna Tuohy is a fourth-year marketing student at North Central College. She is a part of the College’s Tau Sigma Honors Society and Jazz Band. Outside of school she enjoys attending concerts, secondhand shopping, and spending time with her friends. She is still working on perfecting her personal style. Her favorite part of the day is getting dressed.