Breaking the Micro Mold
Developing your personal style in an endless sea of micro-trends. “This is so ‘tomato girl summer’-coded,” my friend coos, her eyes closely trained to a red linen maxi dress on display at the Chelsea Flea Market. “I can’t really explain why.”
“Yeah, neither can I,” I manage to blurt in response, before promptly opening the Pinterest app and typing “Tomato girl summer aesthetic” into the search bar with frantic speed. But hidden between the hundreds of moodboards and vibrant photos of girls with sunkissed skin draped in flowy red fabric lies the true conundrum that has come to vex me as of late:
“Why are we cycling through trends so quickly? Why can’t I keep up?”
The answer put plainly? The takeover of the micro-trend.
There’s no singular zeitgeist to describe the 2020s so far, and that’s purely due to the domination of micro-trends in current fashion culture. The rise of social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest as hubs for fashion content has made the latest trends and popular items accessible to anyone and everyone with a phone in their hand. While I can’t complain about how these apps have made the sprawling world of fashion less elusive, trying to maintain individuality in a world where what influencers say goes and social media reign supreme has become extremely daunting. And the infamous algorithm on these platforms that provides you with personalized, tailored content doesn’t help matters.
If the algorithm were to speak, it would probably sound like this:
“So we noticed you liked an ‘outfit of the day’ video by your favorite pilates influencer. Aren’t the ballet flats she wore to die for? Did you search ‘Balletcore’ after the fact? Please, we didn’t have any part in that. We just recommended that search to you at the top of the comments section. And now that we know you’re curious, we’re going to bring an influencer who uses ‘Balletcore’ hashtags in her videos to your ‘for you’ page. Crazy coincidence that she has a convenient TikTok shop link to a pair of ballet flats just like the ones that have gotten so popular, right? You should probably buy those now. Let’s be frank, you need to buy them now, before the next trend rolls through in the cycle. You have to ride the trend, or you’ll be deemed outdated.”
Pretty intense, but you get the idea. From “Mob Wife” to “Vintage Americana,” we’re always looking for a way to discover ourselves, even if it’s for a short period of time. And to me, that can get pretty stressful with the rapid pace at which these micro-trends die off, just to be replaced by the next big aesthetic. Not to mention the massive overconsumption that comes with the territory.
So how do we preserve our sense of self in the midst of all of this chaos? How do we exercise restraint when this lifestyle is so prominent in modern fashion?
As stated by author Maggie Zhou from Good on You, “Trends themselves aren’t inherently evil. But when an exploitative business model drives us to overconsume in the name of self-expression, that’s when we know we have a problem.” The first step in battling this harmful mode of consumption starts with the way you shop.
The next time you see an item of interest, ask yourself,
“Do I want it because I genuinely like it? Or do I want it because it’s trending on social media?”
Oftentimes, I find that it’s the latter. At the root of following a trend is the internalized desire to fit in, to belong. By taking a moment to rationalize your purchases, you can start to build a closet that feels like you.
To me, that’s the overarching goal of fashion. To provide an extension of your inner self on the outside and to express your identity without words. Even as trends come and go, your sense of style remains uniquely and timelessly yours.