Last month I read the book 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand. The story is told over 28 summers and a little blurb covering noteworthy things that took place in a specific year prefaces each chapter/year. For example, the Harlem shake went viral in 2013 so it was mentioned in the little blurb at the beginning of the summer of 2013 chapter. Reading about what was popular in the 2010s unlocked so many forgotten memories. Flashing back to each year in the novel made me wonder what fashion style was worn each year. This blog post will be a look into what was fashionable to wear in the 2010s. I am starting in 2010 and working onwards because I was in middle school in 2010, and this is the time when I can clearly remember the fashion trends going forward.
Fashion Trends: Early-2010s
What are we wearing in the early-2010s? Low-rise skinny jeans, low-rise/fold-over yoga pants, long tank-tops under your shirts, long-length shirts, Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Ugg, Converse.
The most memorable fashion trend in the early 2010s was wearing low-rise bottoms with long-length tops. There are two iconic outfits I remember wearing to school every day. The first being low-rise jeans, a long-length tank top underneath a long sleeve or sweater, and a pair of Converse. The jeans were most likely from Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister. The second outfit was a low-rise, fold-over pair of Victoria’s Secret yoga pants, a long-length tank top underneath a long sleeve or sweater, and a pair of Uggs. These were the two outfits that every girl wanted to wear in middle school. I remember going into Abercrombie & Fitch and trying on the lowest rise jeans available then getting super long tank tops that were long enough to cover everything above the waistband of said jeans. I also remember wearing tank tops under everything (short sleeves, long sleeves, and sweaters).
Fashion Trends: Mid-2010s
What are we wearing in the mid-2010s? Leggings, flannels, high-waisted jeans, Toms, Superga, Forever 21, North Face
Athleisure took off in the mid-2010s. Bootcut yoga pants were replaced with leggings and leggings took the fashion industry by a storm. Victoria’s Secret still held a little popularity with their leggings, but Lululemon entered the scene and was the number one pick for pants. Gone was the allure of Abercrombie’s low-rise jeans. Leggings replaced low-rise jeans and created a space for new jeans to enter the market: high-waisted jeans. Flannels also rose in popularity and people would wear flannels with their leggings everywhere. In terms of shoes, Toms was at the height of its popularity around 2014 and Superga sneakers were at the height of their popularity around 2016. Superga and Converse paved the way for white sneakers to become popular in the late 2010s. Forever 21 was still considered relevant and trendy in the mid-2010s. Every girl in high school wanted a North Face backpack.
Fashion Trends: 2020s
Yesterday I listened to Emma Chamberlain’s Anything Goes podcast episode titled “Trendy vs Timeless” and found it very inspirational for this blog post. The theme of the podcast was that in today’s world, fashion trends come and go so fast you get whiplash trying to keep up with them. In the 2020s, TikTok became very popular and is a platform that can make something like a green dress trendy for a week, then passe the next. When I was in middle and high school in the early to mid-2010s, fashion trends were less so influenced by social media and more influenced by the people you were around. Trends lasted for a longer time frame and it was easier to know exactly what was “in” and what was “out”. Today it is so hard to know what is “in” because it changes every week. In the podcast, Emma mentions that this idea of trends moving extremely fast is uninspiring and she would rather purchase clothes that are timeless and make her happy. I resonate with this statement completely. However, how do you find timeless pieces when the fashion industry is so focused on trying to pump out the next trendy item?
Trying to only purchase timeless pieces that make you happy is as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. Emma recommends turning to thrift stores to find unique pieces, but this can be daunting and exhausting itself. During my middle and high school days, I knew exactly what was trendy and would pine over a type of shoe or piece of clothing before purchasing it. It has now been four years since my high school days and I have not experienced this feeling of wanting something fashion-related since. Maybe this is because there is no real definition of what is trendy, or because I am no longer in an environment where I see the same people every day, or maybe it is because I have much more to do than pine over clothes all day. I realize that it is very easy to fall into the trap of over glamorizing the past, but I miss the feeling of knowing exactly what I want, pining over it, then purchasing it and wearing it for a while. Let me know if this resonates with you.
XO, Alicia
I do not pine for a new outfit. I pine for what was thrown out as I could never replace it. I still miss a comfortable skirt and short sleeve blouse. Both were matching light blue with pockets. Your words always take me to a new place.
Perhaps with time one stops looking outwards for fashion and trends, and instead one starts looking inwards. I hope I never lose my interest for color, fabric, quality, and what I consider beautiful to wear. As I age, I hope to be the older lady with white hair wearing the sparkling barrette on her hair.