Everytime I watch a movie from before 2010, I find myself gushing over the way the characters are dressed. From bellbottoms to shoulder pads, fashion trends continue to ripple through decades. In my experience, I find myself continuously pulling items of clothing that my mom kept from the 80s and 90s, and incorporating them into my daily wardrobe .
For unexplained reasons, it feels endearing to recycle these styles into my modern day life. Searching for vintage clothing has become a trend, as the rise of interest in thrift/vintage shopping has taken over. The reason behind repeating fashions trends is not easy to pinpoint. Ominously, we see clothes resurface as the years go on.
One main explanation for this is the “20-Year Rule”, which is a term coined by the fashion industry that outlines that popular fashion trends usually repeat every 20 years. I have seen this happen time and time again. Everytime I purchase a vintage themed item, my mom never ceases to remind me that, “she’s been there” and “done that”.
A blog post published from The Medium, titled “Style secrets: why do fashion trends repeat?”, brings up a good point, regarding the 20-year role. It explains how often pop culture pulls from the past in order to be successful. T.V shows like Stranger Things and That 70s show play on this. People cannot help but be fascinated by past lifestyles that are no longer tangible. This can be also seen in the popularization of older shows, such as friends. There are numerous social media accounts dedicated to the fashion used in these shows. Watchers cannot get enough of it.
All this made me question why me, and so many others, glamorize past fashion trends. For me personally, I feel like I am reliving a piece of history when I wear something vintage. I think it calls to the human fascination with the past. These dated trends make us feel nostalgic. They bring us to a time we may have not experienced. We cannot travel back in time, but notions such as vintage clothing are a tangible means to get a jist of another time. We essentially live vicariously through clothing.
This idea of nostalgia runs deep in people. A blog post by Elite Daily called, “The Science Behind Nostalgia and Why We’re So Obsessed With The Past”, quotes a psychologist saying, “Nostalgia serves a crucial existential function. It brings to mind cherished experiences that assure us we are valued people who have meaningful lives” (Martin). In general, this explains that nostalgia is a means people use to find meaning in their lives. Repeat fashions trends may have this effect on people. By fulfilling the wearers desire to relive the past, they have a sense of meaning. It goes beyond simply wearing a trendy style and touches upon the way the clothing makes us feel.
Works Cited
Konda, Sneha. “Style secrets: Why do fashion trends repeat?”. Medium. July 30, 2019. Accessed from https://medium.com/@snehako/style-secrets-why-do-fashion-trends-repeat-3f6484807ef5
Martin, Lauren. “The Science Behind Nostalgia and Why We’re So Obsessed With the Past”. Elite Daily. July 17, 2019. Accessed from https://www.elitedaily.com/life/science-behind-nostalgia-love-much/673184
The Fashion Phenomena 