With every scroll on TikTok and Pinterest, it seems that there is a new trend trying to pull women in: frazzled English women; clean girl; mob wife; pink pilates princess; vanilla girl. With every post and curated video, a hyper-specific aesthetic pushes products and philosophies in the viewer’s face. At the same time, these trends promote an image of the perfect life and how easily it could be acquired by purchasing this exact wardrobe, makeup or interior decor. Be quirky. Embrace your adulthood. Retain your youth. Act sophisticated, yet sexy. It’s inconsistent, exhausting and subtly sexist.

Since the 2020s, women have been facing a fashion identity crisis. Through social media, women are repeatedly exposed to new micro-trends that introduce new ways for them to look, act and approach life. Compared to fashion trends before the 2020s, these usually centered around a singular item that could be styled in various ways, such as the bell-bottoms of the 1970s or the mini-skirt of the 2000s. Now, to take part in a trend, the consumers need to nail an exact look with an assemblage of items, even non-fashion items like the right books or the right water bottle, to bring the look together. Significant amounts of money are spent just so someone could be able to define themselves with the right archetype that fits them perfectly– that is until the next micro-trend comes along.

While some people may associate this with the stereotype of women spending money, this hyper-consumerism actually reveals a deeper, psychological problem that many young women face today: a need to belong and understand themselves. These fashion identity trends are not just women being pulled into spending money, but also women trying to adopt a “face” that they think will explain their entire psyche and interests in an obvious manner. By adopting a ‘face’ with a specific name, they can also join a community of other women who identify themselves the same way. This line of thinking can also be seen with other female-dominated interests like astrology and personality quizzes, which are able to define people in a few key characteristics and provide a pseudo-sense of self awareness. On the surface, it may seem like these descriptions hold a key to women understanding some hidden, subconscious information about themselves. Instead, it manipulates women to push themselves into a box.

So how are women supposed to battle against these identity trends? What’s important to remember is that each identity trend is, at the most basic level, a micro-trend. Micro-trends come and go quickly, meaning that few will care in a few months. Instead, as a practice, women should try selecting photos of outfits that they would like to wear themselves and concentrate on what correlates. Characteristics to look out for include preferred patterns, silhouettes, dress/skirt/pants length and colors. By paying attention to what they actually want or like, women can become less susceptible to feeling compelled to buy something just because it is popular and embrace fashion for themselves instead of performing for others.

Written by Jordan Pierce, Photography: Sri Kuram, Social Media: Juliet Ziauddin, Styling: Zoe Stathopoulos

The Fashion Identity Crisis