After life in the pandemic and going back to in-person learning, I’ve had a lot of time to plan out outfits that I could wear going back to school, and because of it, I’ve developed my own style. However, some people might want to keep up with the trends, sometimes they can be in for years or a few days, so it’s hard to keep up and to be able to buy clothes, as some people don’t have the luxury of shopping sprees. 

Many recent fashion trends have started from TikTok, which have then led onto the runways. Some of the trends that will follow into the year 2022 will be corset and bustier tops, crochet and cutouts. Retro patterns and styles are coming back as well as early 2000s looks (“Y2K”) like low-rise jeans, rhinestones, chunky boots and double denim. I like the early 2000s style because it’s very nostalgic and it’s not just the early 2000s, there are 80’s and 90’s styles that I like more because they’re more simplistic. 

Although Gen Z grew up in the 2000s, we didn’t experience the style, so Gen Z revived the Y2K and vintage wear. Many people like simple plain basics, which are essential if you have no idea what to wear. Some like to have big bold colors or even statement pieces. A statement piece is what someone will notice first, like if you wear all black then wear really bright shoes, or it can be a necklace, or something that is unique to you and one of a kind to many others.

One of the styles I like to do is layering — adding accessories such as necklaces, rings, earrings or a hat. Even if you don’t have colorful clothes or even a lot of them, you can develop your own style. Depending on what you would like to look like and your body type, you can find what kind of shirts and pants work for you and that different styles can give off different illusionsor someone who is short like me, I like to wear platform black boots that make me a little taller, but I pair them with wide leg jeans or flare pants and a smaller more fitted top and a cute jacket. Another illusion is that if you wear vertical stripes, it can make you appear taller, yet horizontal stripes can make you seem short. Also, if you are just visibly tall, you probably won’t feel the need to seem taller, these tricks are more recommended for average height or shorter than average. 

However it can give off a different illusion. Someone can judge who another person is without even getting to know them, and that is not for everyone. For example, in movies they usually base characters off of cliches. Mean, popular girls have the latest thing and wear the latest clothing trends and pick on others. Jocks wear their letterman jackets and nerds wear glasses and dress like it’s halloween. Though, again, those are just stereotypes, and maybe some are true, but that doesn’t mean they all are.

Though, when I say that I express myself through my clothes and mood, there are definitely days where I roll out of bed and go to school in sweats. 

I would recommend dressing accordingly to the weather, especially when living in Minnesota or any location that snows half of the year. Target is a good store that has affordable, trending clothes and are almost everywhere. Make a Pintrest board and just look up different sorts of styles and then look through them and pick out the ones you want to wear and give your own twist to it