A Trend Commentary.

I would consider myself to possess an above adequate ability to predict trends.

Perhaps I am still riding the high of having caught on early to the Juicy Couture revival in 2019, proudly wearing my baby blue velour to Sixth Form in September 2018. Or perhaps it really is down to my keen eye and acute ability to pick up on the subtle shifts of style, accessorising, and cultural murmurs that lead to reverberations in the trend cycle.

Whatever it may be, I have galvanized myself to compile a, by no means final nor extensive, commentary on some of the sub-cultures we can see emerging in fashion for 2023.

While I was tempted to title this ‘Trend Predictions’, I realise that everyone can observe these styles being birthed in real time. With the ever evolving trend cycles of today, nuances are being adopted every moment of everyday. It wouldn’t be fair to declare my observations as revolutionary or one of a kind- I won’t be the first to commenting on such styles, and this certainly isn’t the first time they can be seen in trend.

Instead, this blog post serves to act as a commentary on the main three themes and styles that I believe are characterising the current climate of fashion in 2022 into 2023. I will discuss where I believe these styles first emerged in our generation’s consciousness and how they are being interpreted in today’s fashion.

And so the Cycle goes…

Where 2016-20 saw the revival of 90s and the early 00s style, clumsily coined ‘y2k’ and crudely imitated through neon pink crop tops and ‘Von Dutch’ plastered on graphic tees, 2022 is certainly seeing the resurrection of trends from 2008-12.

This has been widely dreaded. After nearly half a decade of the return of baggy trousers and chunky trainers, would skinny jeans and ‘geek chic’ dare to rear their heads again?

But of course they would. It’s, like, the circle of life or whatever.

The way I see it is that whatever goes down, has to come back around.

The aforementioned baggy trousers and chunky trainers certainly had their time of being in the shadows. They were slowly then revived in small corners of the fashion community, gradually pioneering their way back to their prime spot on the trend cycle. Naturally, as this was occurring, the socially rejected skinny jeans and slimline shoes were orbiting the other way. They became outcast and out of fashion.

But as always, there are people committed to subverting the mainstream trends. If baggy trousers are suddenly ‘in’, its time to side with the underdog and dress away from the masses. Small communities start to then style the skinnier trouser, priding themselves for thinking out of the.. circle. Slowly, this gains momentum as people latch on to it being fresh, cool, and considered ‘different’. Thus, it crawls its way to the top.

And so the cycle goes.

2008-12 in Real Time.

2008-12 was the era of elevated basics, ‘geek chic’, and the Tumblr Girl stardom.

Tumblr was the dream factory for future It Girls, Gossip Girl was alive and well, Primark’s ballet pumps were flying off the shelves, American Apparel reigned superior, and skinny jeans were the staple.

These cultural pinpoints have been rejected, or worse, scorned in 2016-20 fashion. Any trouser that even dared to be slimline was to be burned. American Apparel had died a painful death. Primark Ballet Pumps were structurally flimsy, anyway.

Until Summer ‘22 observed their skyrocket to the top. MiuMiu’s logo strap ballet pumps brought the flat shoe back with vengeance. The Swedish Insta Princess, Matilda Djerf, emphasised the importance of effortless basics as staples in the modern girl’s wardrobe. And perhaps shockingly of all, Jack Wills was attempting a new marketing strategy: youtubers and influencers who had sworn a loyal oath to UO’s parachute pants were suddenly sporting skinny jeans in sponsored instagram posts.

There are three main styles that have caught my attention, acting as the epitome of 2008-12’s resurrection. The Holy Trinity of 2022’s current trends consists of: Ballet Core (coined by tiktok @/thedigifairy), Quirky Girl Aesthetic from 2010s 'the Twee Girl’ (discussed by tiktok @/oldloserinbrooklyn), and what I shall token ‘Secretary Chic’.

While ‘Indie Sleaze’ (think of the Rock Star’s girlfriend: big boots, fur coat, messily luscious hair and smudged eyeliner) has also made a thunderous return to the cultural vernacular, the proceeding blog shall focus on the three trends already mentioned. I believe they can be seen to merge and exist at a parallel to one another, representing what I largely view as the resurrection of 2008-12’s core trends.

1. Ballet Core.

Ballet Core is reminiscent of the release of Aronofsky’s Black Swan (2010) and is an accentuation of the elevated basics that were championed in the 2010s. Some may say it is the natural progression of the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ and coquette loving trends- dewy makeup, perfect hair and girlish garments of frills, bows, and lace. Ballet Core adopts the soft femininity and theatricality that 2022 womenswear seeks to express in rivalry with gorpcore and streetwear.

It largely consists of rompers, knit shrugs, leg warmers, yoga pants, ribbons, lace, and ballet flats.

So, what was 2008-12’s fascination with basics and athleisure wear?

I want to take your mind back to a far away time when we would all run to our nearest American Apparel, try on a whole heap of their latex basics and shamelessly take photos in their clinical-looking changing rooms for our tween Instagram pages.

The reign of American Apparel may have been somewhat short lived, but it certainly made an impact.

American Apparel’s yoga pants, hot pant shorts, unitards, bodysuits, and knee high socks were champions of the 2010s. Such garments are now indisputably holy grails in Ballet Core and can be seen worn in all corners of the internet.

Bella Hadid spotted in New York City, 19 September 2022.

This paparazzi shot of Bella Hadid showcases the return of the white hot pant shorts and knee high socks. Since the debut of this photo, atheleisure and basics have made a hardcore comeback with girls far and wide reaching for a pair of briefs to casually wear out and about.

Doesn’t it just scream ‘ballerina off duty’?

Hadid’s model friend Devon Lee Carlson can also be seen to adopt athleisure wear as her new fashion statement.

The soft pink of Carlson’s yoga pants and halterneck, paired with the bow detailing of the legs, embodies Ballet Core as the trend of elevated basics in conversation with soft feminine features.

Frills, Lace, and the Bow motif.

Frills, Lace and the Bow motif have taken SS23 fashion shows by storm, especially seen in these stills from Acne SS23 and Stefan Porter’s first womenswear line.

Alongside elevated basics, Ballet Core also features the return of Bow motif- reminiscent of the reoccurring symbol of the early 2010s. Traditional Ballet-wear is comprised of Lace, Tulle, and Bows - as Nathalie Michie reports in Fashion magazine, so its no surprised they are making a feature on runways too.

This neatly transitions into the second part of our Trend Trinity, where Bows also feature in 2008-12’s Twee manifestation of today’s ‘Quirky Girl’.

2. Calling all ‘Quirky Girls’.

The Twee Girl’s era was 2008-12, where clashing patterns, heavy accessorizing, and a mismatch of silhouettes were considered fun and cutesy.

The Times Literary Supplement (London) defines Twee as ‘affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint’. In this way, I think it is easy to see how Ballet Core and elements of 2008-12’s Twee come together. The feminine accents of Ballet Core are exaggerated in Twee styles, with heavy use of the bow motif and experimentation with contrasting textures and opposing silhouettes.

The ‘Quirky Girl’ aesthetic is today’s answer for Twee, where the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (the archetype of a appealingly quirky and flighty girl) is resurrected into the world of fashion as the antithesis to BBL trends and the Clean Girl aesthetic. It acts as a manifestation of ‘Twee’, with the ‘Quirky Girl’ straying from @/oldloserinbrooklyn ‘s notion of its indie sleaze origin, to experiment with a whole host of girlish styles instead.

In all irony, the trend of the ‘Quirky Girl’ is used to question all trends and the notion of having to follow particular rules in fashion at all.

The Original Twee Girl Blueprint

Zooey Deschanel, 2008-14.

Deschanel was arguably the original Manic Pixie Dream Girl for her roles in 500 Days of Summer and as Jess in New Girl.

Her style personally and fictionally embodied the Twee aesthetic as she consistently styled mid-length dresses, an abundance of layers, lace and ribbon accents, and tights and socks with flat shoes.

credit: @/peacecrusade, @/clara.lubrano, @/murphzzzzz insta.

Today’s ‘Quirky Girl’ extends the Twee aesthetic, playing at more modest items and elements of preppy styles. It celebrates the quirkier ‘ugly’ outfit trend where the exploration and experimentation of fashion is prioritised again in a fun way.

Indeed, the ‘Quirky Girl’ is coming directly on the tail end of BBL trends where bodycon silohuettes and muted colour palettes were adoring the highstreet. Similarly, it can be seen to oppose the safety of Clean Girl-ism, where Quirky Girls opt for maximalism over minimalism.

The ‘Quirky Girl’ uniform is seen in plaid patterns, midi skirts, knee high socks and is a general play at the proportions in outfits and opting for the unexpected. Certain accents of Ballet Core are observed in this style, but always excessively with an added theatricality.

The New Girl on the Block.

(instagram: @/irislaw)

Iris Law is today’s testament to the ‘Quirky Girl’ look. Her constant experimentation with proportions and contrasting patterns has been championed as celebrating what may be considered ‘ugly’. She emmulates a unique sense of style, thus onlookers ascribe a quirkiness to her personality. She doesn’t stick to one particular way of dressing and so it seems that she rebels against the idea of a set trend or style in general.

The ‘Quirky Girl’ is the natural progression in a trend-crazed culture, and the irony there is fully noted. Its rising popularity showcases the opposition to structured guidelines and templates for how to follow trends. However, with this, it is becoming a trend in itself to not adhere to any particular trend.

On from this, it is an interesting pipeline to what I token ‘Secretary Chic’. Here, 2008-12s Geek Chic is being adopted by our generation as we approach a professional world. Secretary Chic is a way of bending rules within a professional realm, questioning what can be worn to work and beyond. In this way, Quirky Girl-ism pioneers for this experimentation with style.

3. Secretary Chic.

Do you remember the early 2010s craze of Geek Chic?

My older sister and I used to re-purpose old cinema 3D glasses into accessories by popping out their lenses… you cant tell me we were the only ones!

In 2008-12, dressing ‘twee’ also meant to dress ‘geekily’ with peter pan collars, school shoes, and elbow pads on jumpers. In fact, Twee and Geek styles appeared to blend into the other with long skirts, layering, cardigans and blouses alike.

This was until Marc Jacobs AW12 saw the debut of the notorious ‘Geek Glasses’ on the runway, marking a cultural reset for what was to become the next trend of Geek Chic.

As the name suggests, Geek Chic was the celebration of ‘clothes usually regarded as boring or not fashionable’ (Cambridge Dictionary, 2022), making it cool to be the outcast, the underdog, and the fashionably challenged. While Twee was characertirsed similarly, Geek Chic was set on making it sexy rather than cutesy and quirky.

The return of the underdog can be observed in what I am calling today’s ‘Secretary Chic’. Secretary chic sees the rewearing of glasses, office appropriate hair, modest skirt lengths, blouses, and blazers. Developed from Geek Chic, this style is a little slicker and more sophisticated with slimmer silhouettes and a muted colour palette.

Bella Hadid’s streetwear in Milan, February 2022 demonstrates the core looks of secretary chic in slim framed glasses and outfits of a more modest nature.

I believe the rise of 'Secretary Chic is due to the aging demographic of fashion conscious people. Gen Z-ers are becomming increasingly concerned with how to incorporate their personal style into the working world, and how to incorporate the look of work and sophistication into their personal wardrobe in an attempt embody their older age.

Similarly to the rise of 90s and early 00s fashion, Gen Z-ers consider what represented sophistication, style, and professionalism to them when younger. This was indeed ‘Geek Chic’. As such, the modern day equivalent of Secretary Chic is the expected outcome.

Matilda Djerf as seen on her instagam.

Djerf’s play at elevated basics and soft femininity calls back to certain aspects of Ballet Core, mixed with the peppiness and modesty that makes Secretary Chic.

The three trends that comprise my Holy Trinity (Ballet Core, Quirky Girl, and Secretary Chic) can be seen in conversation with one another. They each fuel the popularity of eachother’’s and supplement their differing styles.

Ballet Core and Quirky Girl-ism exists within Secretary Chic: the first’s soft femininity and elevated basics, and the latter’s experimentation with the boundaries of style and the dare to wear what may be considered ‘modest’, ‘boring’ or ‘unfashionable’.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at NiiHai’s Drop 2 campaign.

niihai drop 2 AW22.

Here the three major trends are seen in union, with Secretary Chic acting as the blend of both Ballet Core and Quirky Girl-ism.

The models are sporting Hadid’s slimmer framed equivalent of Marc Jacobs ‘geek glasses’, a modest pleated skirt, a white basic tee and black chiffon blouse, with a form of flat shoe. I mean, the middle image literally shoes a lady en pointe in pink ballet flats while holding an office machine of some sort!

Secretary Chic is the necessary trend for Gen Z-ers who are approaching the next, far more professional, and a little more experimental, phase of fashion and life.

And that concludes the Twee, the Dancer, and the Secretary Chic of today’s trends!

While I have waxed lyrical about the trends that can be observed in real time and their origin from 2008-12 fashion, I am unsure what is next in the cycle.

I have a premonition that the ‘uglier’ side of 2008-12 trends may rear its head. Did someone says coloured skinny jeans and heeled trainers?

But in the spirit of the Quirky Girl, why not have fun with experimenting with these garments and unexpected developments in trend and style!

Either way, I certainly am enjoying the current trends that are being experimented with today and will look forward to seeing how they evolve.