Schooled Fashion: Look Back at 2021
Alex Curry
Whew! What a year! 2021 was definitely a year to try new things and most definitely find our own style. I know that many students (along with myself) were excited to showcase their new outfits they’ve been holding for what felt like forever. The entire year gave us many new fashion trends that took the world by storm, whether it was clothes that gave nostalgia or new and creative modifications to today’s fashion.
Purewow published a great article sharing the years’ biggest and most influential fashion trends that can be found here: https://www.purewow.com/fashion/biggest-fashion-trends-of-the-year
I interviewed a couple of students who I asked to share their opinions on some of the trends!
Silvia Hliang:
Silvia explains that she believes her style has changed a lot from the beginning of 2021 to now. She spent time trying new styles and ideas, experimenting until she found a style she was happy with. Now, she doesn’t give a specific aesthetic to how she dresses but describes it as minimalistic on a softer side which she feels comfortable with.
Her most frequented clothing item was high-waisted/baggy jeans. They were and still are a very popular clothing item.
From the article, Silvia says she really liked tennis skirts which became a hot fashion item in 2021. She also says that she was never really big on accessories until baguette bags made a popular comeback, these inspired her to match her outfit with a bag more frequently. Along with saying that she wore high-waisted and baggy jeans often, she loves low-waisted flared jeans. She mentions her admiration for Paris Hilton’s famous velour tracksuit trend which arose in the early 2000s.
Layla Khan:
Layla defines her style as comfy sharing that she mainly wore cardigans with dress shirts over them this year. She tries not to buy many new clothes, wanting to reuse pieces that she already has, most of them coming from her parent's closet.
Similar to Silvia’s answer, Layla also frequented jeans that she loved a lot. Straight-legged and high-waisted jeans, basically jeans that gave an 80’s vibe. She switched up sweaters and accessories, making each outfit unique.
Because the weather is so temperamental in the midwest, Layla explained that she really likes sweater vests because they can be versatile with any weather. Having a pair already, Layla also highly approves of Doc Martens. She does say she feels a little iffy about y2k fashion. She’s always been a fan of gender-neutral fashion and highly encourages the mindset of wearing whatever you want. “I think everyone should at least have one gender-neutral outfit in their closet,” she said. Lastly, she’s really big on flare anything, as it gives a 70s feeling.