Is Your Style Personal or Performative?
It’s the year 2020. The terms “micro-trend” and “cheugy” are rapidly circulating throughout the fashion side of Tik Tok.
This is the year that changed fashion as we know it today. Before Tik Tok, there were different aesthetic styles, yes, but there were very few that were popularized. Trends were also known as more of a widespread thing, having a longer run, rather than many little trends all happening simultaneously, and that burn out quick. There was a renaissance happening, and people decided to embrace different types of styles and explore their creativity in fashion.
We’ve made being “not-so-trendy” a trend.
Since 2020 and the rise of Tik Tok, it’s so easy to look up a style, or “aesthetic”, and it’s not like before where there’s not many to choose from. There’s now tons of aesthetics, or “cores”, from cottage-core and coastal grandma, to the opium or mob wife aesthetic. The fashion menu is hot with many things to choose from, and now more than ever, people are choosing things from the menu that they truly want, rather than conforming to broad trend cycles and styles that aren’t authentic.
However, it’s hard now, to say that people are choosing their style based off their preferences and tastes, especially when everything online is so performative. Are we really dressing for ourselves? Are we dressing to attain a certain lifestyle we desire? Are we dressing for approval, so others online can say “she’s so cool”? Or is it all of the above? Why has it become trendy to be different?
Some outfits are so far left field that they kind of look…good. Majority of outfits nowadays, however, try so hard to give off the “cool” and “ugly” type of fashion look that makes people stop and think “she’s different and her style is so unique and cool” that the outfit looks…trash.
On some level these are truths we face when it comes to our style. Myself included, there is a part of us that keeps in mind how our style will look to others. For example, receiving compliments on an outfit gives a boost of validation. You’ll be more likely to wear clothes of that variation. This is the same with the vast majority of social media users. Once they post an outfit online, they either receive many compliments, boosting one’s confidence to wear clothes like that again. It’s just psychology and your mind receiving reinforcements from the clothes you wear.
The takeaway I want you to take from this article is to wear whatever you want! Think about the next time you put on your outfit. As yourself, “does this reflect the vibes I want to exude today?” and dress accordingly. I also want you to put that phone down. Taking social media breaks and a break from phones all together can bring your creativity and individuality to the forefront, forgoing any doubts or lingering thoughts about how your style will be perceived by others, in person and online.