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What people wear can often be an indication of who they really are. “Most of the people I have met reflect their style,” says WHS junior Preet Bhagat. “If someone wears bold colors and tries new fashion pieces, they are usually someone who is very outgoing and isn’t scared of new opportunities. If another person wears more casual clothes, like baggy sweatpants with slides or clogs, they are oftentimes someone who does not particularly go out of their way to try new things and likes to keep things simple.”
Social media has a large influence on how people dress, especially when they are first getting into fashion. Preet says, “When I was first getting into fashion, I immediately turned to brands like Nike and Adidas even though they were much more expensive. I used to think that wearing well-known and pricey brands was necessary to be fashionable but over time I realized that it is more about creativity and individuality.” Thrifting, for example, is often promoted through social media as well. Many people naturally think that thrifting is “disgusting,” because it’s better to buy new clothes than wear some stranger’s old ones. However, with social media, thrifting has been normalized, and people have strayed away from always buying new and expensive clothes at retail price. According to Capital One Shopping Research, the second hand apparel market grew by an approximate 42%, increasing from $35 billion to a projected $50 billion in 2024.
However, social media can have a negative impact on consumer markets as well. Many people tend to copy what they see online and brand it as their own style because it is trending among their peers. They are afraid of not fitting in, so they wear things they don’t even like themselves. Junior Samarth Prakash says, “Someone I knew had bought these New Balance sneakers solely because they were trending and even said that they do not know what the hype is about, but bought them anyway because everyone else was wearing them.”
Despite this, social media provides a stylistic foundation, with most people obtaining their sense of style from what they see online. Through this, many people end up discovering their own style. Most people initially follow trends, but as they incorporate it more into their own life, combining different pieces they see on social media, they’re able to develop their own personal sense of style that gives them confidence and individuality. WHS Junior Samarth Prakash says, “I feel like social media has helped me develop my own sense of style with all the different trends. I wouldn’t say I was simply trend hopping because trends constantly change with time, but instead the many different trends over the last year have helped me develop my own personal style by combining vintage, workwear, baggy jeans, and [more.]”
Lately people have begun to stray away from mainstream brands, leaning towards vintage clothing, workwear, and dress shoes. According to the Wall Street Journal, both Adidas and Nike sales have been declining over the past year. Nike and Adidas are still very popular, but younger people prefer the older, vintage pieces they produced in the past.
Blue collar workwear has begun to trend as well. There was one video of an older man wearing a Carhartt jacket, and the guy filming asked him if he could buy it off him. That video set off a chain reaction where people began posting videos of them with workwear jackets, resulting in a new trend. Additionally, a few months ago, people would have made fun of anyone wearing loafers or dress shoes, but because of social media, people have begun wearing them casually.
Social media trends can lead to consumers paying higher prices, though. Preet Bhagat says, “Many smaller brands see current trends, like workwear, and create their own pieces replicating the style but adding more ‘flavors.’ In doing so they know the public will buy their goods to keep up with the trends and end up pricing goods at a crazy amount.” Whether in a negative or positive way, it is evident how much of an influence social media has on the way people dress.
Muhammad Afzal is a current junior at Washington High School. He was born in Pakistan and moved to Fremont at the age of 7, and has lived here ever since. This is his first year at the Hatchet where he hopes to learn how to effectively conduct interviews and explore different writing styles. He is also a part of WHS DECA and Debate. Outside of school oriented things, the things he enjoys doing the most are spending time with family and friends, going out, spending time with animals (mostly cats), exploring nature, and sleeping. He hopes to attend a Top 5 UC school but is not fully sure about what he wants to major in.