Have you ever scrolled through TikTok and felt overwhelmed with so many different fashion trends in such a short period of time? Do you feel the need to fit in every trend you see on social media, but at the same time struggle to find your personal style? That is totally normal.
First of all, finding out who you are and what you like is a long process that never ends. People change and this is the nature of being human and growing up. Feeling comfortable and not caring what people think of you seems easy to say, but we all know that it is beyond hard to achieve.
Because of the pandemic and the fact that everyone is at home 24/7, we are all going through a new experience. It is normal to be on your phone longer than you used to be, however, this also brings consequences to your face-to-face communication and daily life. I do not want to sound like a parent that is totally against technology, but we all have to admit that TikTok is a toxic social media. Besides the content itself, the 15 to 60 second videos and the unlimited For You Page (FYP) makes us less patient, and more stressed and anxious in real life. Since not everything works under 60 seconds and everyone has different needs and wants.
With this non-stop and fast-paced lifestyle that social media has brought us, and the increase in your screen time because of the COVID-19 situation, our brains easily get tired of seeing the same things for more than a week, and we feel the need to see something new. We are bombarded with the same trends over and over for three days straight and it becomes oversaturated in a week. Then we look for something totally new in a short period of time to fulfill our entertainment.
The fashion industry usually works with two different trend cycles: spring/summer and then fall/winter. But with this new pace, there are over 50 trend cycles (1) in fashion, engaging in overconsumption of new clothes. (I am not going to comment on how fast fashion collaborates with these micro trends because this goes out of line but they are the ones that support this overconsumption the most.)
The House of Sunny dress, for instance, is a dress that everyone on my For You Page was praising and wanting. Two weeks later, the people that would wear the dress were considered "outdated" and not fashionable anymore. But how do people have the time and money to buy something new every two or three weeks to fit in with the trends of the moment?
I know how comfortable it is to belong somewhere and be considered the fashionista in the group because you follow the "hot trends".However, you have to reflect on yourself and ask, "Do you really like this?"This is my number one tip to find out your personal style: reflect on yourself and explore what you like. It is totally fine if you do like something that is trendy, just do not be fooled to think you like this just because you have seen it a hundred times. Fashion is an amazing way to express yourself and your identity. The most important thing about it is to feel comfortable in your own skin.
(1 ) "The Apparel Industry’s Environmental Impact in 6 Graphics": https://www.wri.org/insights/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics
(2) "Kendall Jenner Owns The Cult Dress Of Summer 2020": https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/dress-of-the-summer
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