An ever-changing fashion trend cycle has created a costly situation for Gen Z. At this point, you can’t go through a day without coming across one of the many popular fashion trends. Stanley Cup water bottles stock the shelves of sporting goods stores, graphic baby tees line the front of Target’s clothing section, and the windows of shoe stores display a colorful array of Adidas Samba sneakers.
By next summer, all of these displays will be replaced by new trends that everyone will decide they have to buy.
Don’t get me wrong; I know that I’ve fallen victim to many trends over the past several years. (Weren’t we all VSCO girls at one point?) However, I’ve recently found myself moving away from the rapidly cycling micro-trends that flood social media.
I’ve started to wonder why we even follow fashion trends in the first place. Why do we want to blend in with everyone else our age? What part of our brain longs to purchase what is popular at that moment in time?
Fashion trends and the brain
Why do humans feel the need to fit in? According to an article by Peter Jeong, “Certain brain areas get highly activated when we conform, specifically the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum.” ScienceDirect mentions that the lateral orbitofrontal cortex is involved in changing emotional behavior. This makes sense, considering the role emotions play in the desire to fit in.
This can also apply to peer pressure, which plays a role in conforming to fashion trends. Typically, when thinking of peer pressure, more intense situations might come to mind. However, peer pressure occurs in fashion when a teenager sees what everyone else is wearing and feels the need to conform to that.
ScienceDirect also says that the ventral striatum plays “a prominent role in reward processing” and “is active during the anticipation and receipt of monetary and social rewards.” I’m sure that everyone has felt validation from their peers at one point or another — this is the part of the brain responsible for that!
In-groups and out-groups
Ingroups and outgroups are classifying categories. In this context, they are used to categorize types of people. This is pertinent to understanding why we seek validation from certain groups of people.
Ingroups are what someone identifies as being a part of. Outgroups are a category of people that someone does not identify with. Effectiviology writes, “One example of an ingroup and an outgroup appears in the case of a teenager, who views other teenagers as members of their ingroup and adults as members of their outgroup.” The phenomena of ingroups and outgroups explain why we seek validation from our peers.
Most people our age understand what fashion trends are considered socially acceptable at a given point in time. While this applies to any age category, I notice most young adults in their mid-to-late teens and early 20s care about wearing what’s popular. Peer pressure is less prominent at this point than in middle or early high school, but the desire to fit in still lingers.
Fashion trends and growing up
Those who watch fashion-related content on TikTok have likely seen the trend where someone posts a compilation of outfits they wore while they were trying to find their style. In this video, all of the creator’s outfits are heavily influenced by the 2020 and 2021 fashion trend cycle. The outfits aren’t bad, but the creator expresses distaste for them because of how out of style they are now.
A lot of Gen Z can relate to looking back at outfits they wore while in the throes of high school influence. COVID definitely didn’t help, as it brought a strong wave of fashion trends like argyle sweater vests and cow prints. This makes sense, considering we had nothing better to do while in lockdown, and it is a prime example of peer influence on fashion.
Going to college also has a major influence on one’s style because of the new group of peers you are surrounded by. Following trends might still be tempting, especially if you move geographically to a new area for college. A new demographic brings a different collective fashion style than what you experienced at home.
In my experience as a 20-year-old, leaving high school has made me less likely to blindly follow fashion trends. I still recognize what’s popular, but I’ve used trends to figure out what I enjoy wearing. While I love trends like looser-fit jeans and basic but not boring tops, longer jorts and shoes like Adidas Sambas simply don’t flatter my body type or fit my style.
There’s nothing wrong with following trends if that’s what makes you happy! However, I realized at a certain point that I was following trends just because it was what everyone else was doing. I’ve saved so much money by thinking about what aligns with my style.
Finding your style
Once I knew I wanted to adjust my style, it took some time to realize what I even liked. It is so easy to be influenced by all the noise surrounding fashion on social media. Social media can be a great tool to find what you enjoy wearing without necessarily copying everyone else.
Pinterest is one of the best tools you can use to find outfit ideas. I like saving a bunch of outfits to a board and finding the common threads in each outfit. This helps me to understand exactly what articles of clothing I am drawn to.
Once I figure out what I am drawn to the most, I look for those pieces online or at thrift stores. It’s helpful to build up a closet with basics and then look for fun pieces. For example, I enjoy a neutral outfit with a colorful shoe. Fun shoes can get expensive, so I recommend finding a trusted seller on Depop or Mercari to purchase from at lower prices.
At the end of the day, wear what you want!
The most important thing to remember throughout all of this is to do what makes you happy! If following trends and having a closet that cycles frequently makes you happy, then do that. Someone might resonate with this experience of finding myself through fashion and going on this journey themselves.
