Microtrends: The Epidemic of Fast Fashion, and Finding Your True Style

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.

A conversation on fashion and beauty trends on social media

Coastal cowgirl, slick back bun, old money aesthetic, Y2K, glazed donut skin, Hailey Bieber nails. Uptown girl, downtown girl, cool girl, coquette girl, It girl, clean girl– at the end of the day, what does it all even mean?

Microtrends. At some point in time, we’ve all unfortunately fallen victim to one or the other— myself included.

Formally defined as “a short-lived trend that’s specific to a niche or industry, but can be adopted by the mass market”, the rapid rise and fall of everything from today’s micro miniskirts, to last week’s Dior lip glow oil can be largely attributed to that of TikTok.

With every fashion influencer taking to social media to promote the next big thing every other day, it has become nearly impossible to keep up with all the latest trends. Instantly drawing me in with catchy phrases like “How to be that girl in your work out classes”, or “If you’re not wearing these shoes this summer, what are you doing?!”, I can’t help but feel as if I am in a perpetual state of lacking— one that can only be fulfilled by the purchase of yet another lacy, mesh going out top, or low rise pair of jeans.

Nowadays, from the very moment that I wake up and check my phone in the morning, to my nightly pre-bedtime scroll, I find myself assaulted with a near constant barrage of information detailing all of the newest fashion, makeup, hair, and all-around style must-haves. 

Heavily stemming from modern consumerism, and fast-fashion culture, it has become a little difficult to say the least to determine what type of clothing and accessories I truly feel the most confident in.

Would I personally wear my gem studded cowboy boots and chunky rings to chemistry lecture on a Tuesday afternoon? Probably not, however, the rhetoric that exists online has made me feel as if I have to partake in at least some semblance of said trends in order to be seen as stylish, and “in-the-know”.

Further, microtrends can also be extremely problematic and exclusionary, with one major example of this seen in the ‘clean girl aesthetic’. Not only setting unrealistic standards of beauty for women, this particular combination of slicked back hair paired with gold hoops and clear lip gloss also simultaneously neglects to mention the history of these key attributes in Black and Brown communities. 

With this being said, microtrends aren’t completely without their pros. In fact, many of the looks from microtrends have served as a basis of inspiration for me to gaze upon my closet with new eyes!

Fueling my desire to take a trip to my local thrift store in search of the perfect pair of jorts, I now take each new trend with a grain of salt. Suddenly, the coquette aesthetic has manifested itself in the delicate pink ribbons laced through my sneakers, and the coastal granddaughter look has inspired me to learn how to crochet. 

All of this to say that fashion, makeup, and style are all inherently dependent on the individual. At the end of the day, whether I choose to partake in mictorends or not, it is 100% up to me, and that is ultimately what makes personal style so uniquely special.