Fashion has evolved over the past couple of years and introduced new trends, some of which will be considered fashion fails in the future. These are the trends that will be considered fashion fails in the future because they will become increasingly outdated and overexposed to the public: “VSCO girl accessories,” shoes including Doc Martens and checkered Vans, mixing formal and casual clothing pieces, and specific Brandy Melville graphic tees.
The rise in “VSCO girl” trends stemmed from the VSCO app, a photo-sharing social media app, and its influence on adolescent girls’ clothing and accessory choices. Most commonly, girls took part in this beachy aesthetic and trend, which pushed them to purchase puka shell necklaces, oversized graphic t-shirts, Birkenstocks or Crocs, and Hydroflasks in vibrant colors. These clothing pieces are fashion fails because they give off early 2000s vibes rather than current times. Paired with these clothing and accessory choices, teenagers wear their hair in high messy buns with scrunchies and create sunkissed makeup looks. Though some people may think messy buns are cute, this hairstyle embodies its title: they are messy.
Sneakers have also evolved over the years, influencing people to purchase certain brands, styles, and patterns of shoe wear. Popular brands such as Doc Martens and Vans experienced a rise in popularity and revenue in the mid-2000s. Doc Marten is known for selling the “1460 Smooth Leather Lace Up Boots” which retailed for 170 dollars. These boots were most commonly paired with baggy and ripped jeans in addition to mini skirts. This shoe, in particular, is a fail because it gives off “goth vibes,” bringing down the vibe of certain outfits; for instance, even if one is wearing a rather bright outfit, pairing the shoe with it changes the outfit from a bright, happy style to a more downhearted, goth style.
In addition to this popular shoe, Vans released the “Classic Slip-On Checkerboard Shoe” in 1997, most commonly worn in elementary school today. These sneakers are matched with “indie vibe” clothing which includes sweaters, patterned clothing including animal print, florals and plaid, retro graphic tees, and layered accessories. This product is a fashion failure because the shoes draw people’s attention to your shoes, making the busy patterned shoe the main focus of the person’s look instead of it being their actual clothing outfit.
Mixing and matching can introduce a creative style if done well, but it looks unflattering when mixing and matching formal and casual clothing. One popular clothing brand, Lululemon, best known for selling workout clothes, sells a variety of workout tops, leggings, shorts, and shirts. Lululemon’s best-sellers include their “Align tank,” “Swiftly tech” tank top and shirt, and “Align jogger and leggings.” Over the past couple of years, people have begun pairing these casual items with more formal clothing, including jeans and sweaters. Mixing casual and formal attire should not be done because the clothes don’t fit the same feel and flatter one another; instead, tops and bottoms should fit the same vibe to look adequate.
Fashion fails also include the uprising in purchasing specific Brandy Melville tees. Brandy Melville was founded in Italy influencing its sales of their Italian-inspired attire. Although I have purchased a handful of pieces from this store, I consider three specific shirts from Brandy a fashion fail: “John Galt Yellow Honey Crop T-Shirt,” “Butterfly Baby Tee,” and the “Floral Zelly Ruffle Top.” These three shirts will become fashion fails as they are too childish to wear as a teenager, and they give off nostalgia.
Over the past couple of years, fashion fails have included “VSCO girl accessories,” a variety of shoes, the mixing of causal and formal attire, and specific graphic tees from Brandy Melville; as time moves on, a handful of “trendy” clothing pieces will become fashion fails just as these did.