In my previous post - What Happened To Dressing Up? - I mentioned a day in which I saw what felt like 500 women in the exact same copy and paste outfit, in central London. Not a single detail about each was unique, perhaps one carried a bag that another didn't, but that bag was also a trendy, knocked-off-to-death style too. Of course, the outfit I'm referring to is the Samba, Jeans, White crop top, Black leather blazer combo (naturally, with a slick back bun). And it got me thinking, does anyone have a genuine sense of personal style anymore or are we all plagued with copycat syndrome, causing us to chase any viral product and ditch it as soon as one person tells us it's no longer 'in' or cool. So naturally, today we'll be discussing The Curse Of The Micro-Trend...
Trends vs Micro-Trends
Now, before we dive in, it's important to clarify the difference between a trend and a micro-trend, so by Google's definition: A trend is 'a general direction in which something is developing or changing', and a micro-trend is 'a short-lived, niche consumer trend that's often a reflection of contemporary culture'. Essentially, a trend is something that can be studied, predicted and felt as it (perhaps a ubiquitous way of dressing or of life) gradually shifts toward a new direction, whereas a micro-trend seems to be much more specific, often based on something that has become rapidly relevant in popular culture, so has huge appeal and attention that might be sustainable.
A micro-trend seems to be fleeting, never sticking around long enough to become a universal trend or impact main stream fashion or culture in any significant way. They often seem to fall under the umbrella of a larger trend, as an example: dressing up sneakers is a trend that has risen in popularity and become incredibly common in culture and fashion, whereas those yellow Onitsuka Tiger's became popular and vanished from people's wardrobes within months - if not weeks - whilst the trend of wearing sneakers dressed up still outlasts it.
Micro-trends are often so viral and then so canceled in such a short time, that they almost become signifiers of a moment in time. If I showed you a galaxy print tee, or a pair of crocs, timberland chunky boots or full-beat sharpie-brow makeup, you would almost instantly be able to tell me the year that these were prevalent during. You likely also laugh at the notion of wearing those items or micro-trends in your 2024 life.
You understand what a micro-trend actually is, but might still be thinking 'but what IS a micro-trend?'. Let's remind ourselves of some examples from the last year that will clear things up: mob wife, micro-miniskirts, football tees, buckle boots, huge chunky buckle belts, sambas, boxer shorts and layered belts. Need I go on? No, I think you get it now, so let's dive in.
Why Are Micro-Trends Even A Thing?
The rise of Tiktok and short-form content has unlocked access to more content than ever, at a faster pace than ever. If you have access to be reading this blog right now, you have access to the OOTD's, day in the life's and style of hundreds of millions of people from all over the world. This access is an incredibly valuable resource to have in 2024, allowing us to do more, learn more and enrich our lives thanks to information and content we couldn't acquire previously, however, the sheer quantity and ever-accelerating speed of this content has totally destroyed our collective attention spans and intrigue/curiosity - particularly within Gen Z and Alpha. It's a much bigger conversation for another day, but for this post I would like to lean into the impact that this problem has caused for the trend cycle within fashion.
One reason we might be subconsciously latching onto micro-trends now more than ever, is that the creators we watch, who are often the ones promoting and styling these products or clothes, are incredibly successful - or at least it seems that way - in life, financially and on social media. When we see them portraying this life on Tiktok, Youtube or Instagram, it's very easy to unintentionally link their 'success' to the way they dress or the products they use and even attribute your perception of their position in life, to these trivial details. Naturally, we are creatures the seek validation and appreciation from others (regardless of whether you want to or not), so it is easy to fall into the trap of the trend cycle, wanting to fit in - even unintentionally - as we are built to believe that it makes us a part of something. Maybe we think that dressing in the same way as someone successful will in some way create the same success for us. Wait, is following trends a form of manifestation???
People want to be in the know and look like they know something that others don't see yet. So people see something trending and hop on it, to appear as if they 'get it'. In the same vein though, people now are equally likely to bash a trend and cancel it because once enough people are participating in trend culture or a certain trend, it is now cool, quirky, or uncommon to say that it's no longer cool or trendy, which in itself becomes the new trend. This increase of popularity in micro-trends, combined with people inclination to end trends or cancel them, has become this almost conscious monster of destruction that is constantly speeding up the trend cycle.
Taboo Time...
Going back to the creators we watch once more, there is something that no-one really wants to acknowledge, but I will, which is that the creators that seem to gain traction within the fashion realm - particularly on Tiktok - are of course the wealthier, thinner, female, white creators (generally from the States or UK) with a pre-existing following. Not only does this limit the way we view fashion and change the way we value it - thinking that this exact kind of person is who we should look to for our fashion advice or trend predictions - but it means the creators we look to are already copy-and-paste, so when fashion and cultural trends seem to be copy-and-paste, we are SO OVER IT immediately. I believe that this has happened subconsciously, we aren't all filtering Tiktok's to find slim, white, rich creators, but the content that seems to do best and that Tiktok pushes is such content. Seeing the same thing again and again once again adds to this sense of overwhelming popularity when something becomes viral, as well as the almost immediate sense of boredom, speeding up that cycle yet again.
I think that in order to combat this, we must make a conscious effort to seek out black creators, POC creators and creators from marginalised communities, not only to champion them and give credit where credit is due (as the majority of mainstream trends can - if you make the effort - be traced back to the LGBTQ+ community, specific cultures/ethnicities, or to people of colour), but also to open up our eyes to creators and people that are doing or wearing something that is not being pushed in popular culture, allowing us to see beyond the micro-trends.
There is an incredible sense of fatigue that comes from viewing almost the same exact thing/outfit over and over, each time being portrayed as if it is one-of-a-kind or unique and we are starting to see right through it. So make the conscious effort to open up your vision to allow yourself to be influenced away from mainstream fashion and the trend cycle.
Let's Talk Sustainability
One of the most imposing concerns around the presence of micro-trends is of course, the sustainability and impact on the environment. In terms of sustainability in culture, fashion fatigue and our attention spans, I feel that we are already beyond breaking point with micro-trends, in terms of the effect they have on our joy and love for clothing or fashion. There are constantly so many pieces or products going 'In' and 'Out' that it has become too taxing - financially and energetically - to keep up, causing a seemingly universal sense of fatigue.
Far worse than this, however, is the devastation caused to the environment by the speed of new micro-trends coming in and out. In the space of a single day (to keep up with all the latest fashion fads), the fast-fashion-monster Shein uploads anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 new products!!! Imagine the process of a new piece or product going viral, suddenly every brand tries to knock it off - imagine the INSANE number of products being released for sale - but then, by the time people have ordered it and received it, or before they even get to ordering one for themselves, that specific style is no longer trending, meaning that companies ship millions of tons of textile waste to landfill - and the items that have been purchased by consumers end up there too. This is also a bigger conversation for another day, but was important to mention under this topic.
Now let me ask you: how many more trends do you think you'll participate in, and cancel, before the planet burns? Just a thought XOXO
My Tips For Participating In Micro-Trends
I am going to give you some advice, but I would like you to consider my 'Rule Of Micro-Trends' throughout and hopefully you'll be inspired to implement it in your own consumption moving forward. The rule I love to live by in this culture is: Be Late To Trends. Being late to trends, for me, means that I wait and watch as a product goes viral. I feel the same urge as everyone else to impulse buy, as I want it now, but I decide against it and give myself 3 months. By this point, I am usually over the hype and the micro-trend has ended, although if I still have the same passion and love for it I purchase it, knowing that I truly love it - plus it is suddenly unique and exciting now that no-one is wearing it anymore.
The second tips is not the easiest, but will help you so much to stay out of the loop - which, trust me, is a good thing - is to Delete Social Media. Removing Tiktok from my phone has singlehandedly given me more time in my day, taken me out of the virtual omnipresence of a micr-trend when it blows up, and has helped me to slow down my personal attention span and consumption habits.
Third tip, which I believe will have the largest impact on the industry and the world (if only we would all implement it) is to Buy It Second Hand. If you implement tip 1, and wait until the trend has died down, most of the time you can go into a thrift or charity store and find the exact item that was all the rage three months ago, for a fraction of the price, and still in almost perfect condition - as no-one kept it long enough to wear it down. Doing this takes away at least some of the demand directly from fast-fashion suppliers, which is always a great step to take.
My final tip for micro-trends is to Keep Wearing It when everyone else says it's over. The rise of the micro-trend has come hand in hand with the rise of cancel culture. It seems, now more than ever, that the bigger or faster a micro-trend rises to popularity, the bigger or faster it must become 'canceled'. As much as people like to participate in a rising trend, they absolutely love to be the one to 'cancel' it and announce it as 'Out'. For most people, the moment even one person deems a micro-trend as 'Out' or uncool, they abandon it immediately - fated for the ever-growing stash at the back of the closet, where micro-trends go to die - so as to not be seen as uncool by the masses. However, the thing that I think is far cooler, is to continue wearing an item once the hype around it has settled. By following tips 1 & 3, you have already ensured that by the time of purchase, you truly love the piece you own, so you continue to wear it and don't contribute to the destruction of the planet or the toxic micro-trend cycle. This fourth tip leads me perfectly into my next point, which is:
Ditching Micro-Trends To Find Your Personal Style
I'm sure we've all been there at some point in our fashion journey: putting on those 'ballet flats', then adding those boxer shorts, "ooh... maybe I'll do some layered chunky western belts", can't forget that football tee (those are cool today, right?). Before you know it, you have become the Final Boss of micro-trends, each one relatively inoffensive on its own, but once blended together, you have to admit to yourself, it looks horrific. In the excitement of trying to join in on all the cool, 'In' micro-trends, you have ventured into the land of UGLY outfits. "But it looked cool on Pinterest" you tell yourself... And then comes the time for reflection, maybe Pinterest isn't reality?...
So, what do we do about the cursed micro-trend cycle? We get out of it. Simple. We are approaching, or are already in, a time where the trend cycle is so ridiculously fast that almost everything is trending all at once, but simultaneously (or consequently) nothing is truly trending at all.
This is both a scary and exciting place to be in. Scary, because every single thing you might wear could be seen as a trendy piece or equally seen as an ex-trendy piece, meaning nothing you decide to wear can fully be perceived as your own personal style or even just as clothes. Exciting because now that nothing is trendy, you can choose to wear anything and it can't be perceived as following a trend. It's complicated because as you will have just read, the two concepts completely contradict each other. But I don't think it's black and white. I don't believe that the two are mutually exclusive.
I think it's a personal journey that anyone in this era must go through. Whether or not you ever did so intentionally, we have all participated in a trend in one way or another, at one time or another. Some of us kept wearing that trendy item once the trend was over because we genuinely liked it, some of us were wearing something before it became a trend. Some of us became so aware of the micro-trend cycle and decided to not participate in micro-trend culture, instead deciding to wear things because we felt the inherent desire to wear them, regardless of what society - or social media and the fashion world - said was cool at that time. I think that everyone is at a different point in their journey and relationship with trends, so when you can wear an outfit today, you will be perceived by different people as trendy, untrendy, above all trends, unique and just another sheep all at once.
The key is to be confident and sure of your own passions/style and to not be effected by the opinions of others. I think that speaks to the human condition at large though, does it not? That you can never control others' perception of you, so you must become confident and sure of yourself first, to not be cripplingly effected by the views of others. I can't impress on you enough, the importance of learning to listen to your mind and body, your likes and dislikes to - over time - build your own personal style that is entirely unique to you and completely unaffected by the trend cycle or thoughts and suggestions of others.
Of course, we live in a world with other people, so it is impossible to completely eradicate the perceptions of us from others, similarly, it's naive to think that you can achieve a completely unbothered state where nothing anyone could ever say, do or think will have any effect on you; but it's a nice thing to work towards.
Finally, as I always think it is important to play devils' advocate - hello critical thinking - I must take into account that on the other side of this argument, it truly is important to notice that trends as a concept are not rooted in evil! Some trends bring small fashion brands and hidden gems to the public view and create opportunities, and end up falling into people's actual personal style in the long-term. But generally speaking, this accounts for maybe 1 in 50 micro-trends so... moving on.
To Wrap Up
Of course, I can't deny the fact that trends - as a concept - will never go out of style. It is natural for us to see something gain traction and become intrigued or captivated by it and eventually decide to want in. As well as seeing too much of something and getting bored by it. If someone told you it was going to be Christmas everyday, you might be excited at first, you might lean into it and have be obsessed for a while. Although, over time you are going to grow bored, fed up or even hate the fact that it's everywhere, all the time. You might never want Christmas again in your life. Hence, micro-trends will always rise, but always fall.
It is your decision only, to get out off the rollercoaster and let the trends come and go without getting involved (unless you want to). Hopefully, you have read this post through and considered what you actually care about in the fashion world and have even a slightly new outlook on how you will participate in micro-trends going forward.
In this post more than ever, I am truly intrigued to hear your opinions and thoughts on this topic, so please leave a comment, drop a message in the box, reach out to me on socials and join the conversation. I am always excited to hear what you would like to discuss.
Next week - undeniably inspired by Emma Chamberlain's podcast 'Anything Goes' - I will discuss a list of pieces that have gone viral in culture and media and decide whether they are Trendy Or Timeless. But for now, check out my Pinterest and read another post XOXO
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