Personal Style As We Know It Is Being Dismantled – Here’s Why – Essence

When I used to be a child in Orlando, I even have vivid memories of watching my mother prepare for work. She held many corporate roles within the 90s and early 2000s, so she often wore suits in quite a lot of shades. However, there have been times when she wore “hiking” dresses in shades like turquoise and black. My sister and I might frequently accompany my mother to antique shops, thrift stores, and malls in the department stores, where she would spend hours searching for things that weren’t necessarily work clothes. She would also enter a zone where she would confidently wear jeans and T-shirts for more casual events or work meetings. In addition to her corporate roles, my mother also taught workshops for underprivileged black teens through her nonprofit. Her versatility and selection of workwear made a long-lasting impression on me, and her enjoyment of dressing was an awesome source of inspiration throughout my childhood and adolescence. Reflecting on her style gave me the space in my head to reflect on how office wear has modified in recent times, but additionally personal style. The pandemic has affected our personal style, and the influence of social media can’t be ignored.

These days, it’s hard to disregard the connection between trends and social media. Algorithms on many platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, dictate trends for us. Examples like “office siren,” “tennis core,” and “office core” are common. Sometimes I’m wondering if our “Explore” pages synthesize data based on what it assumes we’ve engaged with up to now. That could mean that if something’s on the “Explore” page, it may not be a trend—but is as a substitute simply thrown into the feed, where it’s predicted to get liked or commented on. According to Instagram, the “Explore” page is “a complete search experience.”

“Explore is a discovery surface where Instagram pulls content from across the platform based on factors like the accounts you follow, the photos and videos you like on Instagram, and the people you’re connected to,” Instagram shares. Either way, for months this yr, I’ve seen the influencers and fashionistas I follow on Instagram gravitate toward the aforementioned aesthetic. Honestly, the “office siren” of baggy blazers, well-tailored or menswear-inspired pants, and baggy button-downs continues to be all the fad straight away. It begs the query: Are we being told what to love as a substitute of discovering what design codes, patterns, and types we would relate to outside of our feed if we weren’t scrolling through social media platforms for hours every single day? I believe so, and I also imagine that social media has made fashion look like a straightforward-to-copy medium of self-expression.

The pandemic can be liable for the shortage of originality we’re seeing in personal style straight away. It’s been an unprecedented block of months, and a few fashion-forward cities have disappeared to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life (myself included — I went to Florida for eight months). The fashion center in New York City has been largely affected, with offices closed entirely. Office wear was something that was at the guts of the town — so when it was taken away, it felt like life had been snuffed out within the place. Sweatpants, hoodies, and T-shirts, and anything deemed clean enough to wear on Zoom calls, became the norm.

Unfortunately, that’s where I discovered myself. Zoom and video attire wasn’t inspiring and left me feeling stuck in a mode rut for months throughout the pandemic. But once things opened up, it felt like a little bit of a rebirth. This era, while preceded by one other that felt stagnant, is about how you should present yourself to the world. Do you should follow trends or carve out a path for yourself in the case of style? I select the latter.

There can be hope for the brand new generation: Generation Z loves vintage items. Depop It’s called circular shopping, and so they found that 40% of faculty students will buy second-hand clothes for back-to-school. I’ve seen it firsthand, too. My younger sister, who’s now a school student in Washington, is an everyday at Goodwill and other vintage stores, even ones which might be half-hour from her school. I find it refreshing, especially because it was a hobby I did with my mom. But I adore it because thrift shopping lets you explore and determine what styles give you the results you want whatever the trend cycle.

Finally, I’ve also occasionally given in to social media for inspiration on on a regular basis wear and office attire. Kitten heels are something I’ve began to embrace because I’ve seen countless influencers embrace them – and barrel jeans are a denim style I’ve been wanting to check out due to the fashionable feeds from fashion enthusiasts including Vivian Li AND Sophie Cohen that I also see frequently. But my inner compass tends to remind me that trends come and go. This concept, along with the incontrovertible fact that I feel most confident within the things I purchase after I’m not counting on social media or what I see people wearing within the wild. This goes back to my belief that my mother’s experimentation and lack of conformity is something I may embrace as I grow up and explore style more. Might I suggest that as a substitute of giving up on personal style, you place your phone down and get out in the actual world and find what you like and what you hate? I promise you’ll discover your essentials and what you are feeling most comfortable in.