I have a lot of thoughts about this topic, and I’d like to add that I think that generational shifts also brought this aesthetic into the mainstream.
I’m a zillennial who leans more millennial in spirit, but my sister and her peer group are full-fledged gen Z. They started dressing like this in the years leading up to 2020. There are two key factors which in my mind contributed to the youth dressing like this: a reaction against the existing trends and what they seemed to represent, and thrifting.
In the late 2010s, much of the clothing that was marketed towards youngish women fit one of two general molds: bland, capsule wardrobe-ready clothing, or sexy instagram baddie clothing. Many Gen Z girls were decidedly not into it. To them, it felt like millennial female fashion was beige and bland and corporate, or sultry, hyper-feminine, and Kardashian-obsessed. What were the young girls, who liked color and patterns, wanted to express individuality, didn’t want to look overly sexy, and weren’t concerned about what might fly in an office to do?
Thrifting. Gen Z embraced buying weird sweaters from the 80s, tie-dye t-shirts covered in butterflies, bold print pants, chunky 90s shoes. To Gen Z, thrift stores sold clothing that was interesting, kitschy, and less expensive than brand new clothing. It wasn’t corporate, consumerist, heteronormative, or serious, it was quirky, rebellious, accessible, and youthful.
Gradually, I think the clothing industry started noticing. You saw the rise of maximalist brands, and existing brands started incorporating those elements into their designs. In the second season of The White Lotus, the Gen Z character Portia dressed in a distinctively avant-basic style, and a lot of older people looked on and asked why she was dressed like that. She was dressed the way my sister and her friends dress. I asked my sister what she thought of Portia’s wardrobe, and she said that Portia just dressed normally for someone in that generation and would fit in perfectly in her friend group.
It was a reaction against the minimalism that dominated fashion in the years prior, but it was also a reflection of a new generation of girls aging into their teens and twenties.
"I didn’t leave the house at all from March 2020 until May of 2021, for anything other than medical appointments."
You didn't even go for a walk? No going outside at all? That must have been terrible for you if so. I am so sorry that some people felt they had to go to these extremes
I have a lot of thoughts about this topic, and I’d like to add that I think that generational shifts also brought this aesthetic into the mainstream.
I’m a zillennial who leans more millennial in spirit, but my sister and her peer group are full-fledged gen Z. They started dressing like this in the years leading up to 2020. There are two key factors which in my mind contributed to the youth dressing like this: a reaction against the existing trends and what they seemed to represent, and thrifting.
In the late 2010s, much of the clothing that was marketed towards youngish women fit one of two general molds: bland, capsule wardrobe-ready clothing, or sexy instagram baddie clothing. Many Gen Z girls were decidedly not into it. To them, it felt like millennial female fashion was beige and bland and corporate, or sultry, hyper-feminine, and Kardashian-obsessed. What were the young girls, who liked color and patterns, wanted to express individuality, didn’t want to look overly sexy, and weren’t concerned about what might fly in an office to do?
Thrifting. Gen Z embraced buying weird sweaters from the 80s, tie-dye t-shirts covered in butterflies, bold print pants, chunky 90s shoes. To Gen Z, thrift stores sold clothing that was interesting, kitschy, and less expensive than brand new clothing. It wasn’t corporate, consumerist, heteronormative, or serious, it was quirky, rebellious, accessible, and youthful.
Gradually, I think the clothing industry started noticing. You saw the rise of maximalist brands, and existing brands started incorporating those elements into their designs. In the second season of The White Lotus, the Gen Z character Portia dressed in a distinctively avant-basic style, and a lot of older people looked on and asked why she was dressed like that. She was dressed the way my sister and her friends dress. I asked my sister what she thought of Portia’s wardrobe, and she said that Portia just dressed normally for someone in that generation and would fit in perfectly in her friend group.
It was a reaction against the minimalism that dominated fashion in the years prior, but it was also a reflection of a new generation of girls aging into their teens and twenties.
This is actually so true and fascinating!
"I didn’t leave the house at all from March 2020 until May of 2021, for anything other than medical appointments."
You didn't even go for a walk? No going outside at all? That must have been terrible for you if so. I am so sorry that some people felt they had to go to these extremes
The early 2020s were the neo-1970s in so many ways, including inflation panic, back-to-the-land-ism, and maximalist fashion.
Wow. You came across as pretty entitled and rich in this article. And snobby.
Sadly I’m not rich, but we could make that a reality with a mere $40/year subscription to my Substack!