In this day and age, microtrends can come and go within weeks. This creates a sort of toxic expectation of frequent purchasing and trashing cheaply made clothes after only wearing them a few times. Not only is this an unrealistic economic pressure to stay up-to-date with fashion, but it also contributes extremely to pollution and global warming. Although this is an important environmental and financial issue, some trends are simply outdated and cringy, and deserve to leave the trend cycle. Note: these are my personal opinions.

Bubble Slides

For those unfamiliar, bubble slides are slides made of squishy “bubbles” melted together. These shoes come in a variety of colors, with some even including Croc-like charms. These shoes are honestly just ugly. They look like you glued a bunch of golf balls to a pair of slides and called it fashion. There have been some statements about the benefits of wearing memory foam shoes, but most people are not wearing them for health reasons. Even if they are super comfortable, there are other far more aesthetically pleasing shoes and slides that are equally as easy to wear. Instead of bubble slides, perhaps go for a Birkenstock Boston, Adidas slide or even pillow slides.

Wavy Checkered Print

I will admit, in the past I was all over the wavy checkered print pattern. It was a cool twist on a classic design, and the application in different colors on different fabrics was a new and cool style. However, after seeing it virtually everywhere, I have become sick of it. The pattern went from stylish to overplayed, and honestly kind of fake and “trying to be indie.” The original checkered print is timeless and will never go out of style, so opting for pieces with this design will last longer in your closet (and are also easier to style).

Chunky rings

When I say chunky rings, I mean those brightly colored, plastic rings with big flowers, smiley faces or ying-yangs that you might have seen at places like H&M or Urban Outfitters. These rings are cute, but really not very practical. If you’re wearing a full hand of these rings — as many pictures advertising them show — it would be difficult to move your fingers and perform normal tasks. Also, like the wavy checkered print, these bright chunky rings were partially part of the 2020 summer of indie style wave that has since come and gone, resulting in these rings now becoming outdated and a little cringy. Rather than buying low-quality plastic rings that you will likely never wear, go for metal rings that will match your other jewelry and last a lot longer.

Patchwork tops

This one might be a bit controversial, and I want to specify that I am not talking about all patchwork tops. DIY patchwork tops can be really cool and unique. The act of sewing together different fabrics with random stitching can create a one-of-a-kind piece that looks cool and borderline punk. The ones I dislike are the “patchwork” shirts that are really made in a factory and are not really multiple pieces in fabric sewn together. They just look tacky and lazy, and are not as unique as one would hope. Because these tops have been so mass produced, they lose the sense of originality they could’ve had. If you really like these shirts, maybe try making one that is actually patchwork! Or, try out tops with other interesting fabrics.