Do you try to stay on the trends with what you wear to class? Or are you more of the throw on whatever and hope to make it on time type of person? Either of these would be categorized as today’s style: Individualistic. Style has changed so much since the 90’s, and some styles are even coming back.
In the 90’s, pop culture was an enormous influence on style. This era’s style was a mix of grunge and minimalistic outfits. Icons like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein were huge. Technology like large cell phones or the early laptops had just been introduced in the 90’s. Students would carry these around campus and sometimes incorporate maybe a bag that held their large cell phone into their outfit, since their phones couldn’t fit in a pocket like today.
The 2000’s style era consisted of Y2K and logos like Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. Y2K was booming on college campuses with trends that have started to make a comeback like low rise jeans, velour track suits and chunky sneakers. A few personal favorite icons influenced this era including Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.
In the 2010’s, classrooms were full of athleisure wear like yoga pants, leggings and sneakers. Fast fashion was also flooding campuses with brands like Zara, H&M and Forever 21. Instagram influencers were starting to shape the clothing trends in this time, as well. The rise in athleisure made college campuses more of a casual setting than the last two decades.
Today, college campuses are filled with students who express their own style and look for sustainability in clothes. This may be from any of these eras or a completely different style. Thrift shopping, vintage and eco-conscious brands are in an uproar as social influencers from TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat share what they found thrifting or what eco-friendly brand is sponsoring them.
Many of today’s fashion trends are recycled from the past decades. This means that in the future when the fashion we see today goes out of style we may see it again. Or maybe technology and social media platforms will take fashion in a completely different and new direction. But whether you try to stay on the trends or throw something on, your fashion is unique to you. That’s the best things about today’s fashion era: Individualistically.
