Throughout the decade, fashion trends have grown and changed a great deal. Going from the outlandish fashion statements in the 2000s, the 2010s seem more tame. However, from the beginning of the decade until now, what is trendy and acceptable in society has certainly seen many different looks.
The 2010s have mostly featured athleisure, alternative fashion and a growing emphasis on comfort. A lot of styles from the 1980s and ‘90s have been making a huge resurgence, with the grunge ‘90s look and the bright colors and silhouettes of ‘80s fashion.
Lisa Williams, associate lecturer and the program coordinator for the retail merchandising and fashion product development program, is privy to the change in fashion over the decade, but has mostly noticed the emphasis on comfort grow from randomized to a put-together look.
“Going from a North Face and Uggs to athleisure is something I expected, because it’s not a huge change,” Williams said.
Williams notes how the beginning of the decade mostly brought North Face jackets, leggings and Ugg boots for a lot of students, particularly female students, and there wasn’t much variation in the style. Now that there’s an emphasis on athleisure, there are still some outfit similarities, but there is quite a lot of variety among outfit choices.
Activity has become much more popular, more outdoor activity, more people going to the gym, so it’s convenient with everyone being busy to dress in clothes that can be predisposed with day-to-day life. But whether you are really being active or not, athleisure is now the trend the group wears.
A huge part of the variation in clothing is thrifting, Williams said. Whether that’s a trend in and of itself is another issue, but thrifting provides a sustainable and unique way to wear clothing, because it doesn’t result in buying clothes from a department store that anyone could purchase.
Some thrift for sustainability purposes, while others thrift due to social media influencers who have made the idea of thrifting trendy. The later years of the decade have shown the rise of influencers on social media, which has greatly impacted people’s fashion sense.
Students notice the trend in thrifting as well. Aeden Grothaus, a sophomore studying retail merchandising and fashion, feels that of all the new trends and resurgence of old trends, thrifting is the best one.
“I see a lot of people mostly get their clothes from thrift stores so I think people buying reusable clothes is a really good trend,” Grothaus said.
In keeping with the theme of thrifting and social media influencers, street fashion has seen a resurgence in popularity. Street fashion takes after the ‘90s grunge look, but with a more artistically elegant look.
“Seeing influencers and people on the street and street fashion has inspired students to be a little more individualistic about what they’re wearing,” Williams said.
A lot of the basis of street fashion has to do with thrifting older and more grungy clothes, and it’s a trend that Williams didn’t see coming.
“The thrifting part is something I hadn’t necessarily expected, and I find that really refreshing,” Williams said. “People aren’t necessarily focused on having a certain item from a specific store, but they’re more focused on having items that no one else has.”
Williams always encourages people to invest in classic, good quality pieces that can be changed up by adding unique features. No matter what those pieces may be, Williams knows it’s good to have a few great clothing items that will last through multiple seasons, rather than buying clothes for specific seasons and getting rid of them immediately after. She hopes the new trend of sustainable shopping will continue.
Students have noticed a change in the fashion sense in the decade as well, and believe it’s for the better.
“The change is good because people are more open to express themselves with fashion and not be held back, because people are more open and understanding with other people now,” Kailey Bolender, an undecided freshman, said.
In keeping with the theme of fashion changes, Williams predicts the next decade will show changes in gender-specific clothing, and will have retailers selling more gender fluid pieces.
“Probably in the next ten years we’ll move away from gender-specific clothing, and go more gender neutral,” Williams said. “I think more designers and more retailers are going to start offering things that are more fluid and able to be worn by more than one gender.”
