Bid Farewell to Personal Style

Microtrends are Posing a Threat to Individual Style and Intentional Consumption.

We are living through the most confusing time in fashion history, as life becomes increasingly digitized. Microtrends spawning from our “For You” pages have the shelf life of mere months before being replaced by newer contenders for the latest viral pop culture obsession. The glamorous and hot-pink “Barbie Core,” inspired by the release of the live-action Barbie movie, was immediately tossed aside once Charli XCX’s Brat album birthed Brat Summer, a 2000s-inspired indie sleaze aesthetic, which took the TikTok community by storm. 

What is a microtrend exactly? Microtrends are short-lived trends that gain attention in fairly short time periods, then fall off the grid and lose public interest just as quickly. Microtrends have accelerated the pace of the trend cycle, representing a departure from the once-reliable 20-year rule, which claims fashion trends fall back in favour every twenty years. Due to the speedy nature of today’s trend cycle, fashion consumers are increasingly struggling to shop with intention, while former fashionistas are identifying with their closet less and less. 

Wearing Was Declaring 

Fashion trends were once a reflection of the cultural, political and economic state of the world. (No Jaden Smith pun intended.) Bell-bottoms represented rebellion against the government in the 1960s, and the skirt hemline was the outcome of economic shifts in the stock market. Trends were an indication of people’s beliefs. To wear bell-bottoms was to declare your stance against the military and war. To wear a miniskirt was to declare you could afford stockings. 

The concept of fashion trends being the product of political and cultural shifts has died, and the culprit is on your very own For You page. Microtrends are in and out of style too quickly to define significant societal shifts, which leaves them holding little emotional value or intentionality for the person wearing them. With little to no significance or correlation to societal events and the identity of the wearer, donning microtrends is akin to a person wearing a costume, rather than an outfit they intentionally chose. 

Digital Popular Culture Erases Personal Style 

Microtrends go hand-in-hand with internet culture. Think Barbie core, where friend groups would dress in all pink for their trip to the movie theatre and document it on social media, imitating Margot Robbie’s method dressing during the Barbie (2023) press tour. Or the impractical “Office Siren” trend, where TikTok influencers used supermodel Bella Hadid’s street style as a guide to edgy “corporate” attire (although none of the outfits would pass an actual corporate dress code). I’ve even fallen for the Adidas track pant trend, which was the outcome of a collaboration with Wales Bonner, inspired by Bob Marley’s concert outfits. 

A common denominator among these three examples is that we base our purchasing decisions on popular culture personas, rather than our own identity. Unfortunately, given the nature of social media trends, these phases only gain traction for a few months before the next covetable personality hits the market. Because of this vicious cycle, TikTok consumers are encouraged to over-consume items without reflecting on whether the item genuinely resonates with their own taste and identity. 

Some have argued that experimenting with a variety of microtrends, trying them on for size, and embracing elements they like from each aesthetic can help one discover one’s personal style. However, buying an aesthetic just to “test it out” is harmful not only to the environment through overconsuming garments only to dispose of them after a couple of wears, but also to your wallet—and in this economy, need I say more? 

How to Shop with Intention and Regain Your Sense of Self 

Shopping with intention while being force-fed Zara try-on hauls is tricky. Enter Marielle Lachey, a fashion-lover whose wardrobe mainly consists of thrifted items she has carefully curated over the last few years. Lachey describes her personal style as androgynous, using pieces she has thoughtfully chosen to represent her identity. She mentions the importance of being deliberate while shopping, “I usually go in with a mission, and I’ll go straight to that section first.” Even at the thrift store, shopping just to shop is an impulse-buy guarantee. 

Lachey also recommends always looking at an item's tag to narrow down potential purchases, because material matters for your skin and the environment. “Look at the material because if you think a piece is really cute but it’s completely polyester, get your hands off of that, get out of there. Don’t buy a polyester shirt, you’ll smell terrible and the shirt won't last at all.” 

Another pro-tip: try brainstorming outfits on the spot to gauge whether an item will genuinely align with your individual style and fit in with the rest of your closet. “I was out with my friend,” recounts Lachey. “She had this pair of shorts she went to try on and I told her to think of four to five outfits you could make with those right now. If you can’t think of four to five outfits with it and don’t think you’ll put it on right away, don’t buy it.” 

The microtrend cycle has wholly distorted the way we engage with fashion. What used to be a form of self-expression, deeply tied to personal identity and cultural shifts, has been reduced to a revolving door of aesthetic phases, dictated by whatever’s trending on the For You page. 

But there’s a way out. As Lachey proves, you don’t have to let TikTok determine your style for you. Shopping with intention makes all the difference, whether that means thrifting, investing in staple pieces, or just taking a second to ask yourself if you’d actually wear something outside of a single Instagram post. Next time you’re about to buy something just because it’s dominating your For You page, pause, picture it in your wardrobe. Can you style it with things you already own? Does it actually fit your personal style, or is it just another trendy impulse buy waiting to collect dust?

At the end of the day, fashion should be something you curate, not something the algorithm curates for you. Trends will always come and go, but the best thing you can wear is a sense of self.