Currently, various aspects of people’s lives are changing and progressing quite rapidly. While this is a natural part of life, any kind of alteration can be rather frightening, as it usually means that every decade or era will inevitably become a part of the past, as opposed to it being a part of the present. Seeing modern youth in malls can be an insightful and slightly uncomfortable experience, as they are a living representation of one’s time period being replaced with something new.
Obviously, just like the 1960s had their own type of style, so do the 2020s. In malls, one is likely to come across teenagers and young adults wearing unisex, sweatpants, hoodies, baggy clothes, high-waisted jeans and chunky sneakers, items with minimalistic prints or merchandise of media from past decades. Some of the aforementioned items may seem odd, as they may represent something that was either non-existent 60 years ago or was ridiculed, as people of that time would have perceived those pieces as unfashionable or aesthetically unpleasant. The aforementioned items are completely different from the ones people wore in the 60s, such as tops with puffed sleeves, tie-dye shirts, bell-bottom jeans and work shirts. Understandably, due to those striking differences, one may have a strong desire to call those youths out, by either vaguely implying that the young men and women look ridiculous or explicitly stating that. And this, in turn, can lead to serious conflicts that could have otherwise been avoided.
Upon witnessing this shift in fashion, one may ask why they should not tell those teenagers and young adults that they look aesthetically unpleasing. Besides avoiding conflict, there are multiple other valid reasons to justify people not wanting to stay in the past and dress differently. First, fashion is a form of art and art is always subjective. One of the aforementioned teenagers may have the same opinion on bell-bottom jeans. It is natural, as each decade will be defined by its own trends in clothing and shoes, which is the second reason. The third reason is that people within the same generation may not agree on the same item from the same era, even if they may love the decade in question (the 60s). For example, a person’s former classmate may disagree with their love for bell-bottom jeans or polka-dot printed items, thinking they look cheap or childish. Fourth, fashion trends have a tendency to come back, as people oftentimes get inspiration from past decades. This means that someday, people may be inspired by the sixties the same way as they are by the nineties and 2000s.
However, there is a small, but crucial factor that needs to be considered. These trends will most likely be adapted to the needs and preferences of the current generation and time period. And while it may seem disappointing, one should view it from a different angle. Since fashion is a form of art, it would be quite interesting to witness how one’s dearly beloved moccasins or tie-dyed shirts would be worn in the present and what alterations or reimaginations could occur. After all, imitation is the greatest form of flattery and while the representation of a past trend may differ from its original version, it is worth observing. By gathering inspiration from the past and creating new clothing items and trends, the overall versatility and creative nature of fashion is demonstrated. Thus, instead of trying to reject it, it would be better to let people follow the flow of the present, as opposed to staying frozen in the past.