Fashion among teenagers has changed drastically since 2020. With limited access to public spaces, exploring fashion through media instead of the real-world during quarantine seemingly opened up a new dimension of personal style and sense of identity. Pinterest, in addition to Tik Tok and Instagram, heavily aided in fashion’s evolution into the new decade.
A major style that emerged from quarantine was alternative fashion. Although it was an already existing style, it gained traction again among teenagers who enjoyed nu-metal music and the overall rock scene. Brands like Tripp Nyc, Hot Topic, Demonia, Lip Service and Dolls Kill all catered to the edgy genre of clothing, especially during a time where online shopping was necessary. Alt-fashion is centered on non-mainstream trends and more focused on music culture. Much of its clothing items consists of fishnets, band tees, studded belts and bracelets, plaid patterns and platform shoes.
The globalization of social media has also allowed for the rise of more eastern styles. J-fashion, also known as Japanese fashion, has made its way into the western world. Although there are thousands of subgenres within J-fashion, Pinterest’s niche aesthetics have lured out this specific genre out of hiding. A main takeaway is leg warmers, which are seen in the Kogal style. The legwarmers are widely seen paired along with Japanese students’ uniforms, but western fashion has learned to adopt them into regular use. The legwarmers can be styled with any type of shoe, but are most often used with Mary Janes and sneakers.
Y2K fashion has resurfaced after more than an entire decade of being dormant. Social media platforms like TikTok, Tumblr and Instagram have all fueled the trend’s comeback for this generation. Y2K reflects a more carefree and analog time, with cyber-inspired styles alongside the McBling era.
One difficult thing to maintain with this trend is authenticity, because a lot of older clothing designs have been discontinued by their manufacturers. You can find authentic clothing from the 2000’s on Depop, but because of its scarcity, the clothing can be quite expensive. Another option could be thrifting, or tailoring your modern clothing to fit into the Y2K template. Main accessories include rimless sunglasses, bedazzled items, rhinestone belt, bamboo hoops and mini shoulder purses.
Coquette has been a popular genre of fashion for quite some time. It uses pastel palettes, florals, whites and reds. This style celebrates girl-hood, by including ribbons, frills, lace and pearls. It is a very flirtatious style and requires no extensive effort to search for an accurate piece. Unlike Y2K, it is more accessible, but because this style is widely available, online web stores such as SHEIN and ROMWE do overproduce it and often sacrifice the quality of the clothing.
The downtown girl aesthetic emerged from people’s romanticization of living in a downtown city such as New York. It references a subdued version of grunge clothing, and revolves around the culture of museum visits, bookshops, cafés and meeting up with friends. Downtown girls are often seen sporting a tote bag, leather jacket, doc martens and thrifted clothing to add to the overall coziness of the aesthetic.
While fashion trends of the past used to capture the zeitgeist of the moment in one or two styles, Teenagers’ clothing nowadays reflects their interests and the specific niches that they’re into. Personal style supersedes any sweeping fashion trends, leading to much more diversity than in decades past. While fashion has always mirrored historical moments and societal changes in our world, looking back on style during this time in the future might be more nebulous than previous decades.