By Smilla Eihausen (Year 12)
Baggy jeans that trail along the heels, colourful puffer jackets, oversized jumpers, colourful rings, mini-skirts, Doc Martens, flowing skirts, leather jackets, beanies, monochrome, fishnet tights, Converse, plaid, and much more. Sometimes when I walk into school, I feel like I dabbled in time-travel or got stuck in a movie from the 90s. Who needs fashion week in New York and Milan when every day feels like a new style or trend is catching my eye.
When I was living in the States, the only glimpse of fashion I would ever get was when I visited Germany over the holidays. New fashion trends from New York or Europe rarely pierced the bubble that was the suburban Midwest, and if it did, few were brave enough to actually try it. I was surrounded by a sea of Lululemon leggings and sweatpants, and my Levi’s jeans rarely made the cut. It took me ages to develop my own style because I could not gather any inspiration from the people around me or on the streets. When I moved to Geneva in autumn, it took me about two days to realize that I needed to up my game. I always thought there were certain rules I had to follow when it came to current fashion: don’t mix too many colours, monochrome outfits are hard to pull off, and never ever try to bring back early 2000s fashion. Walking into school every morning for the last six months has made me realize that there are absolutely no rules when it comes to personal style. Mixing and matching vibrant colours looks like something out of a Gucci advertisement, monochrome outfits, especially all-black, look extremely put together, and so many elements of ’00s fashion scream “you don’t need to tell me I look good, I already know it”. However, even though some low-waisted pants and colourful crop-tops have made their way into my wardrobe, I still stay away from capris and layering my dresses over jeans. Let’s just say that some trends should stay buried in the past.
I love it when people are brave enough to experiment with their style and come to school trying new things every day. It’s almost like Gen Z collectively rejected creating a “new” fashion era and decided to take inspiration from the past to define this decade. However, we don’t just copy trends from the past and repeat fashion history’s worst moments…cough cough Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s jeans-on jeans-on jeans look. Rule of thumb, just stick to one pair of jeans per outfit or try a Canadian tuxedo, my personal favourite. Therefore, we adapt the looks we like into our current wardrobe and even mix styles from different eras together. For example, rather than wearing low-rise boot-cut jeans reminiscent of the early 2000s, you can buy high-rise jeans with flares at the bottom. This one pair of jeans mixes the 70s, 80s, and 00s fashion into one look. Baggy jeans and loose-fitting cargo pants are often paired with oversized jumpers or hoodies, which is a style found in almost every late 90s and early 00s film. Leather jackets are also making a comeback, especially variations of brown and black. My advice is to stay away from floor-length leather unless you want to look like someone from The Matrix. Since trends like leather and fur are becoming popular again, especially in the winter and spring, please remember to be a conscientious shopper and buy them second-hand or faux.
Not only can you find fashion inspiration on the streets, but social media and films from the past can always give you insight. For me, the 90s style in Friends, specifically seasons 1 through 4, remains to be the biggest fashion inspiration in my life. Not only do the girls look fantastic, even in their lounge-wear, but Chandler and Joey have many fashion moments that make me wish I could reach through the screen and snatch it off them for myself. If you want to update or snazz-up your current style, my biggest recommendation is purchasing clothes at second hand or thrift stores. A majority of people make the mistake of giving away clothes the moment they aren’t “in trend” anymore, so you can often find exactly what you are looking for if you do some digging. Over the last two years I have tried to become a more sustainable and conscious shopper, so I try to stay away from online shopping and known fast-fashion brands. However, it can be very difficult to find cheap sustainable clothing brands and companies that deliver clothing in eco-friendly packaging. Therefore, thrifting is perfect because there is such a wide variety of clothing from different eras and you are preventing new clothing from being mass-produced. Most of my favorite clothing is thrifted because it is unique and you often cannot find the same piece again. In my opinion, as a jeans addict, there is nothing more exciting than finding a pair of perfect-fitting jeans at the thrift store. However, before you go out to shop, ask your parents or your extended family if they have any clothes they do not want or do not wear anymore, because they are often storing hidden treasures in forgotten boxes. Over the winter holidays, my grandmother sent me a box filled with clothes from the 60s, 70s, and 90s that she found in her storage bins. I am not exaggerating when I say that I almost fainted when I pulled out a sequin jumpsuit from the 70s.
All in all, now is the time to discover your personal style and play with different trends from the past. You need to grab those baggy jeans from the back of your closet, dust off anything you put away because it “wasn’t cool anymore,” and start styling. Most people are afraid to experiment with their style because they are afraid of being judged. However, I bet that elderly woman giving you the stink eye on the tram is just jealous because she couldn’t pull it off even if she tried. Now, go ask your parents if they have any pictures of themselves from when they were teenagers, because chances are, you are starting to look more like them every day.
