While Following the Mainstream

It is a common misconception that people who adopt trends lack genuine style, and quite frankly, it’s pretentious. You can be ‘on trend’ and simultaneously nurture your unique style. To me the whole ‘cultivate your personal style’ thing should be a never-ending journey. Perhaps it’s my youth showing, but I’m reluctant to commit to a ‘unique personal style’ out of fear that once you get there there’s no going back.

Maybe the expectation to have a consistent personal style comes from the comfort we get from the status quo; some people are quite simply at peace with having locked in their style for good. They don’t follow trends because it’s not on their agenda, let alone their goal. And nine times out of ten, they look great doing it.

Meanwhile, like a lot of my Gen-Z peers, I’m a sucker for trends. Social media has revolutionised how we consume trends. Like just about everything these days, we can engage with how people interpret and set trends at our fingertips. The seemingly effortless transitions between outfits in a reel or on an Instagram story makes us want to replicate the seamless trend-hopping in real life. Sadly, life is never quite as effortless as an Instagram reel. However, regardless of whether you’re militantly anti-trend, or in favour of all things fickle and fleeting, everyone can have a unique style. We shouldn’t feel guilty for falling victim to the Lolita ribbon trend or the return of the Ugg boot. Trend-hopping is not a crime, but rather a process of regular experimentation that helps us see what works for us on an individual level. It enables us to discover something in the process, like a new-found love for the beret. When it comes to my personal style, I’m in no way ready to reach the finish line. Fashion should be fun and fluid forever.

It is possible to nurture our individuality at the same time as hopping on the bandwagon but the secret is in how you do it. Our Instagram and TikTok dominated world is a risky one when it comes to developing personal style. The prevalence of brand deals meant I saw the same new Isabel Marant bag on about 20 different influencers in the space of a week. I don’t doubt that I’m following too many influencers of a similar ‘type’, nor did I give enough credit to how each individual styled the bag according to their personal vibe. Even so, something about seeing the same bag on countless content creators riled me up and prompted a spring clean of who I follow on Instagram, which I think is a healthy habit anyway. There is a vast scope of content creators out there who don’t straight jacket themselves to this season’s ‘must-have’ Zara blazer, so tailor your feed to give you inspiration you care about.

There is danger in adopting every micro trend that comes our way. Now more than ever we have to hold ourselves accountable for the climate crisis. Fast fashion retailers have perfected the toxic cycle of mass producing trendy items that no one cares about three months down the line. We must engage with fashion sustainably which means we should shop second hand to satisfy our styling and trend-hopping desires. So when we see a look we love and want to try out, what can we do? Firstly, we can pause. I am guilty of immediately scouring the Internet for the exact hat, coat, necklace, or whatever it may be. But, by pausing, you have a moment to ask yourself whether you identify with the item you’re looking at. Perhaps you haven’t tried the style before but you want to: sometimes challenging your own status quo means you discover a new part of yourself. However, we should still pause for thought and be selective with the trends we try.

Searching for trends in charity shops is a labour of love. Ask yourself: how can I make this trend more ‘me’? Possibly it needs an alteration if it’s going to work with items I already have in my wardrobe. Finding trendy items in charity shops demands an open mind about what the trend could look like. If you go in looking for an exact replica, chances are you’ll leave empty handed. Charity shopping is often a lot of leg work and little reward. You’re faced with problems of sizing, shape, and the ‘not my colour’ myth. But there are solutions: wear a top as a dress, turn it back to front, inside out, or add a belt. Nurture your creativity: a belt doesn’t have to be a belt, it might be a scarf or a long, chunky, beaded necklace. If you have the luxury of time, shopping preloved is the most rewarding way to be creative and experiment with trends.

Committing to shopping preloved does not mean waving goodbye to trendhopping. What it does mean is that your interpretation of the trend will be original. Your take will be reflective of you and what you’re about. If three, four, or even six months later you realise the trend isn’t up your street after all, give it back to charity or sell it on. That’s the beauty of circular fashion. Trust me, you’ll have a lot more main character moments if you give some extra thought to how you approach trends. This is not a foolproof formula for being trendy and simultaneously cultivating a timeless personal style. It’s about embarking on a new, exciting, and long-term journey that appreciates the potential for style and trends to work in tandem.