Fashion on Repeat!

In today's fashion world, simplicity reigns supreme. At the mall, you'll spot people in cargo pants, graphic tees adorned with iconic old bands, butterfly hair clips, and more. This contemporary style stands in stark contrast to the lavish frilly ball gowns, dresses, and floral hats of the 1900s or the timeless appeal of Marilyn Monroe's bright red lipstick and voluminous wavy hair in the 1950s. However, fashion trends that have been made during these eras, like the voluminous wavy hair, have gone through a drastic decline over the past few decades, due to the influence from each year’s social and cultural factors like values and beliefs. For instance, the 1950s style was mainly worn to spread awareness about feminism, and once feminism has been more and more globally accepted over the decades, the style eventually “dies”, while a new trend is born from a new cultural issue.

Because of the rapid changes in social and cultural factors, we could assume that once a fashion trend dies down, it dies completely, but if you squint hard enough, you'll notice that fashion trends are constantly repeating themselves over time. For example, have you ever wondered why Y2K has been trending this year? In short, Y2K is an abbreviation for the year 2000, and it brings back 2000s fashion trends, such as alternative fashion. Older trends such as steampunk, goth, and hip-hop became a repeating craze in the present time . It's almost as if we're caught in an endless cycle where we romanticize a trend, forget about it, eventually hate it, and then after a few years - or even decades - fall in love with it all over again.

What causes past fashion trends to have this certain “time loop” effect? Well, one of the most prominent reasons is nostalgia. Every few decades, a new generation of young adults is born, eager to explore and define their unique identities. They’re drawn to fashion trends that are a mix of modern and ‘vintage’, adding new features into olderstyles. In fact, there’s a term for this occurrence known as the "20-year rule." This phenomenon claims that fashion trends from precisely two decades ago resurface and become hits in present time. Hence, this is evidence of fashion's cyclic, never-ending nature.

One of these “nostalgia” factors stems from the rise of thrift shopping. Thrifting has played an important role in the revival of vintage fashion because they provide incredible collections of clothing from previous generations, contributing to the reappearance of trends from bygone eras. Additionally, going back to the idea of how trends start anew based on current social and cultural issues, thrifting has also been more commonly accepted due to the cancellation of fast fashion during the past few years. All in all, the concept of thrifting largely influenced modern styles . Thrifting offers unique and budget-friendly fashion choices, making it increasingly attractive to today's teens, as well as young adults.

So, fashion trends may seem to change rapidly, but they consistently revisit the past, creating a sort of “time loop”. Fueled by reminiscence and a love for blending old and new styles, fashion remains an endless adventure through time. As we continue to witness recurrences of the past in contemporary styles, it becomes clear that fashion is a timeless phenomenon, bringing generations and eras together.