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Fashion trends that need to die in 2020

Fashion trends that shouldn’t follow us into 2020.

New year, new trends. However, some trends tend to outstay their welcome (or were never even welcome in the first place) and stick around for too long.

One of my previous blogposts ‘Fashion trends that need to die in 2018‘ seemed to be popular, so why not reflect on the trends of 2019 that need to die?

This is a disclaimer: don’t get offended if you like any of these trends; this is just my opinion. If you like to dress like this, I’m sure you’re still a nice person.

Here are the 8 trends that need to disappear in 2020:

1. Cycling shorts

Unless you’re training for the Tour De France, you have no place wearing these outside of a gym. They do not look good with a T shirt, a baggy jumper, a nice top, a shirt, trainers, sandals or heels… they do not look good with anything. I’m sorry, cycling shorts are awful and should not be worn for “every occasion” as Glamour magazine suggests you should.

2. Ridiculously tiny ‘bags’ aka ‘micro bags’

It was the 2010s – where mobile phones started to get bigger and bags became so small the phones cannot fit in them. It is extremely logical… (note the sarcasm).

These are not functional by any means, but fashionable? Also no. There is literally no point in these but to make people look at you and think ‘did that bag get shrunk in the wash?’ or ‘is that person carrying a Barbie doll’s bag?’.

I’m not talking about the bags that are also classed as a ‘wallet on chain’, you know, a device that can actually fit in your credit cards and a set of keys. No, I’m talking about the micro bag by French designer Jacquemus which sparked the tiniest trend yet.

The bag I’m referring to is a massive one inch deep, two inches high and wide and weighs 3oz. You’d be lucky to fit a Lil-let tampon in there.

But don’t worry, for your £200, you’ll also get a dust bag included, and I can see why a dustbag is necessary, because by the looks of it, it’ll only take two specks of dust to disintegrate this thing.

3. Bucket hats

The only person that can get away with wearing a bucket hat, in my opinion, is Billie Eilish. But, even the most stylish celebrities I’ve seen wearing a bucket hat end up looking like a long-lost member of Hanson. Bucket hats paired with floaty dresses and chic suits? For me, it just doesn’t go and looks off-balanced. I guess it works if you’re going straight from fashion week to fishing though.

But maybe I’m just jealous because I struggle to find hats that suit me.

 

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A post shared by BILLIE EILISH (@billieeilish) on

4. Shoes without socks

I’m talking about the typical Essex boy look here. Leather loafers or trainers worn WITHOUT socks. I mean, some shoes will lend themselves to the ‘no-sock’ rule, such as espadrilles, but fully enclosed leather brogues? That’s just screaming fungal breeding-ground.

Every time I see a guy without socks I want to ask: ‘are your feet not extremely sweaty??’. I’ve even seen some go sockless along with tight, rolled-up chinos to a wedding. Unless its a wedding on the beach, this is not acceptable and Ascot agrees – as men without socks will now be refused entry to the races.

Finally, this trend has introduced the word ‘mankles‘ to the English lexicon. MANKLES! If that’s not a sign to ditch this trend I don’t know what is.

5. Socks and sliders

Now this is why I’m confused… Aforementioned men who don’t wear socks with shoes will also be the ones who wear socks WITH sandals? Oh, the irony.

Socks and sandals has notoriously been a fashion faux-pas, so it’s actually quite impressive that this one has caught on. Well done socks and sandals.

6. Joggers

Couple joggers with the socks and sliders and you’re on track for the perfect outfit for taking the bins out in the morning.

I’m not hating on joggers; they are very cosy. I have many pairs. The reason I wear them is either for slobbing about watching Netflix, travelling or actually jogging (pffft who am I kidding? I don’t jog).

I would just like to campaign for people to stop wearing joggers to restaurants and other public places. Nando’s isn’t Michelin star cuisine, and Odeon doesn’t call for a black-tie dress code, but come on, have some decency to wear actual clothes to go out to eat. And proper shoes with socks too.

7. Saddle bags

Okay, this may be controversial… but the Dior saddle bags and all the liver-shaped replicas that it inspired should have stayed in 1999. I liked it on Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City and that’s where my interest in this bag ends. Vintage pieces can bring another layer to a modern outfit, but a brand new copy-and-paste version of the original that has been brought back by Maria Grazia Chiuri still feels out-dated (and over-priced at that).

Carrie Bradshaw played by Sarah Jessica Parker in an episode of 2000's Sex and the City. She wears a Dior saddle bag (original) with a white vest top and a purple flower brooch on the strap.

Photo: Getty Images.

8. Boiler suits

So this last one I’m a bit on the fence about. Perhaps it’s because I’ve not yet found a flattering boiler suit, and yet, it can look quite chic when styled up the right way. However, I can’t really get the image out of my head that if I wore one I’d look like I’m about to shovel some coal or like an extra in ‘Orange is the New Black’.

Trends will come and go

Every year there’ll be some new weird and wonderful clothing styles and I look forward to seeing them. Perhaps we’ll have creative clothes made out of old Tesco uniforms, in the same way the IKEA blue bags had a moment. I was going to say Sainsbury’s in stead of Tesco, but Beyoncé’s brand Ivy Park already has that covered.

Are there any ‘ugly fashion’ trends that you like? What do you think 2020 will bring?

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment and be sure to come back again 🙂

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Is Feminism Just a New Fashion Trend?

Trend?

Ah, Feminism, the ‘F-word’… A couple of years ago, few people would admit to being a feminist. But, now, it’s written on T-shirts in every high-street store you pass. So why the U-turn? We’ve gone from being embarrassed to say the word to wearing it in capital letters emblazoned across our chests.

Feminist T-shirt by Tee & Cake

It would be interesting to see how many impressionable young people are wearing these clothes because they identify with feminism. Then again, maybe they’re just following another trend that will be out of style next season…

So, has everyone suddenly become loud and proud to be a feminist or have fashion brands just tapped into a market to make some big money? I would hope that it’s the first option, but that seems less likely looking at these facts:

  1. Only 36% of British adults define themselves as feminist yet 76% support gender equality as of 2017
  2. Only 20% of Americans consider themselves feminist

Which probably comes down to the fact that the definition of the ‘F-word’ is misunderstood.

“Feminism has had exactly the same problem that “political correctness” has had: people keep using the phrase without really knowing what it means.”

Caitlin Moran, How to Be a Woman

Dior: Feminism, a Clever Marketing Trick?

We should be jumping for joy that a designer like Dior is celebrating feminism… Yet, why is this excitement just coming out as confusion? I check the website and it’s retailing for £490 (I was expecting it to be expensive, but woah), however, that isn’t the disappointing thing.
The disappointing thing is the lack of information and lack of credit to whom it owes its slogan: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. There is NOTHING. ZERO. It’s a missed opportunity – why wouldn’t they celebrate a woman who’s as inspiring as her? Yes, she sat front row at Dior’s show, but that’s as much reference there is.

(If you haven’t listened to her speech, then watch it here – it’s a perfect summary of what feminism is. I also got the mini book – it only takes about 20 minutes to read and it’s a cute bed-side table book).

And then I’m annoyed that it doesn’t reference anything apart from what it’s made from. Nothing about raising awareness for gender equality. Nothing about supporting female charities. At this steep price some proceeds must go to a charity?

Well, it turns out it does. A ‘portion of the sale’ will benefit Rihanna’s charity Clara Lionel Foundation (no mention of what percentage). But I only find this out by digging through the internet. Maybe they made this announcement as an afterthought to dampen the criticism they received…

So, some part of the profit of this T-shirt will go to charity, but how much is not specified. It could be 1% or 100%; but what I’m willing to bet is that it leaves Dior with a hefty profit.

This lack of information makes Dior seem so non-committal to the feminist movement that it just seems like a marketing tactic. And its clearly working, as its now sold out worldwide and high-street retailers like Topshop and River Island are following suit… as are consumers.

“What does [this Dior T-shirt] say about the person wearing it other than: ‘I can afford a $600 T-shirt’? Feminism has been entirely co-opted by consumerism.”

-Jessa Crispin

When I saw this tee on the catwalk, I loved it, because I love the quote, Chimamanda’s speech and Beyoncé’s song where part of her speech is sampled… and I wanted it. (So I guess their marketing has manipulated me too!) So that’s why I decided to dig deeper.

Hannah in 'We Should All Be Feminists T-Shirt'

So I made a stand and got a copy from Etsy for a £12 which is 98% cheaper (lol) than the Dior and then donated 100% of what I paid for it to a feminist charity: The Fawcett Society.

Just a disclaimer: I don’t usually advocate buying fake luxury items and I’m not going to pretend this top’s real Dior, but in this case, we’re all winners, because:

  1. A charity received a donation and I actually know how much was donated
  2. A local small-company in London got some business
  3. It prompted me and maybe another person to think about this feminism ‘trend’
  4. I get a T-shirt with the quote on : )

(If you want to donate too you can here)

This top was one of the only pieces from Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut collection for Dior that I liked. And it’s a plain cotton T-shirt with someone else’s quote on it, so that says it all! But that’s another matter. As its first ever female Creative Director in the Fashion House’s whole history, you would’ve thought that she could’ve made a really big feminist statement and taken it a lot further than just this one piece in the collection.

But, does it really matter whether the motivations were in no way altruistic or informative?

At the end of it all, the high-street is following and people are wearing the word ‘feminism’ more than ever. Whether it’s because it’s a statement they believe in or they’re following a trend, it must be heading in the right direction. All publicity is good publicity, right?

‘Feminist’ Fashion done the best way

This brings me to Elle Magazine’s campaign This is What A Feminist Looks Like from their 2014 December issue – their first ‘Feminism edition’ on which Emma Watson covered.

Their T-shirts, worn by nearly every celebrity you can think of, female and male, had a clear purpose of raising awareness… and they donated all the profits.

100% of profits from the ethically-produced range go to gender equality lobby group The Fawcett Society.

-Elle

A version of this T-shirt is still available on the Fawcett Society website.

So, is Feminism a trend?

Yes. It is. But, it’s not just a trend. Slogans will always be a thing in fashion. Right now, it’s a statement about female empowerment. But, feminism being a fashion trend isn’t a bad thing. It’s starting to open up more conversations about it. It doesn’t necessarily mean this trend will fade away either. It might just be the push some of us need to stop feeling afraid of or embarrassed by the ‘F-word’.

And I will disagree with what some of Jessa Crispin says in the article I quoted above: that young girls who are now starting to identify as feminist are bland and lazy. If people are wanting to wear a T-shirt with the word Feminist on it, then no-one should discourage them.

Maria Grazia Chiuri’s T-shirt wasn’t just the stand-out piece from this Dior collection, but from the whole of this year’s Paris Fashion Week. Regardless of my scepticism, this T-shirt alone got a global conversation going about Feminism and I think that is what we’ve been needing for a long time.

I think this quote nicely sums up why fashion is fully on board with feminism:

“When you are a woman making clothes for women, then fashion is not just about how you look. It is about how you feel and how you think. Feminism for me is about equal opportunities. If I am going to stand for something, I would like to stand for this idea: that if you are a woman you can have these opportunities in life.”

Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director at Dior

So, yeah, why not fully embrace this trend?!

What are your thoughts?
Is is just a marketing tool for retailers or do they really care about raising awareness about gender equality?
And will you be following the trend by wearing a feminist T-shirt?

Thanks for reading my first ever blog post! ♥

Products in this post

Update!

As of 15 July 2017

Look how similar this H&M T-shirt is compared to the Dior T-shirt! Like, so similar that I’m surprised they got away with this being the world’s largest clothing retailer?! But at £17.99 it’s a steal. Any lawsuit coming their way from Dior, I’ll let you know!

H&M The Revolution is Female T-shirt
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