2020 is right around the corner—less than a week—and although the decade may be coming to an end, some trends never go out of style. Every year, we take elements from the past and mix them with current trends to create something new.
“Everybody, including my own generation, has found inspiration from the past, everyone has looked back at decades before. The skinny jeans that kids wear now, was already a style in Trinidad called tight pants; we were already wearing that in the 60s,” said Mr. Keith O’Brien, a teacher at Miami Lakes Educational Center (MLEC).
Fashion today has grown to accept many different styles, and this generation has found a way to merge the past and present.
“I think our generation has been obsessed with nostalgia, for example, Disney+ gives us a chance to reconnect with the shows we loved in our childhood, and it’s the same thing with fashion. People just love bringing back old trends,” said Analise Lopez, a sophomore at MLEC.
This year experienced a 1990’s resurgence where clothing such as mom jeans, scrunchies, and Dr. Martens, made an appearance in our closets and on social media.
“I see people with bell-bottoms now, the grunge look and shredded jeans, we did all that stuff in the ’90s. Fashion is cyclical and they try to add a current, modern spin on it, but it’s all the same. Back in the ’90s, mom jeans were seen as “matronly” or “uncool”, but I see all my students wearing high-waisted pants now,” said Mrs. Evans, MLEC’s Cambridge Academy Leader.
This decade was also marked by immense self-expression and becoming comfortable with your body and embracing your inner-confidence. Now, more people are stepping out of their comfort zones and showing more skin.
“Tight-fitted clothes have become super popular in the late 2000s, everything has become smaller. Women back then used to wear big poofy dresses, now girls rock crop tops and short skirts. Women have become less constricted in society and have reached a pivotal point where we can just be free and wear whatever we want,” said Emerald Green, a student at MLEC.
Another defining trend within this decade is the youth subcultures, like scenesters and emos. This decade has birthed a new generation where people are not afraid to be unique and set themselves apart from the typical norm.
“This generation has been wild. This decade was marked by subcultures like colorful scene kids and edgy goths. The heavy black eyeliner and long bangs that covered half your face was really popular around the mid-2000s, and it just shows how much fashion has changed from then to now,” said Marilyn Fonseca, a student at MLEC.
“That’s the point, fashion is supposed to be fun, controversial, and expressive,” continued Ms. Evans.
Adolescents in the 2010s wore long side-swept bangs covering one eye, facial piercings all over, and band tees while constantly updating their MySpace. Now, teenagers wear colorful dyed hair, retro-style mom jeans, and are constantly updating on Instagram to showcase their cool streetwear looks.
Fashion trends come and go. What is deemed acceptable to wear is constantly recycled, reinvented or dismissed. As 2019 comes to an end, we can look forward to the introduction of new fashion as the new year rolls in.
“Everything repeats, but each generation adds its own flavor. It’s never the same, it’s always parallel,” said Mr. O’Brien.
