I'm Ready to Be Trendy Again--and So Should You

Something that may surprise people is that I don't buy new clothes every season, and especially not every month or week even like all of the influencers I know and follow on TikTok or Instagram. I don't do clothing hauls because I'm too lazy to run to UPS and return it, and I also hate looking at my Chase banking app and seeing so much money spent on clothes I only wear on weekends since I work from home. For me, sweats and Target blouses from my in-office days are sufficient for my work Zooms. But I can't help but feel FOMO for not keeping up with influencers who do clothing hauls every week and buy every new trendy little thing. TBH I want to be cool again, and it may take some work.

I grew up going to the mall every Saturday, either buying a new shirt from American Eagle or Forever 21 with my hard-earned babysitting/receptionist job money or my mom would be gracious enough to take me and my sisters shopping. I was accustomed to new items constantly, and once I went to college that only slowed down slightly.

When I was more on my own financially, I was scared of spending money. It was frustrating because I wanted to be frugal but I also missed that rush of going into the store or going online to find a dazzling piece of clothing to wear out. But as my financial situation changed, and my job switched to one where I wore a uniform (receptionist at a massage chain--only allowed to wear black), I became someone who cared less about her looks, and stopped wearing makeup to work or really caring about my outfits. This isn't to say I was happy--I was miserable at this job and about to graduate college with no direction on where to find a new job. But what I was able to do with not being driven by how I looked was save money but consequently be way behind on trends.

Flash forward to 2021, and I now have a job that feels secure and it's in a field I'm excited to be in. It's WFH, but I now have more financial freedom and no guilt about spending a little bit more on nicer things. But...I still own skinny jeans, mostly wear t-shirts, and my eyeshadow pallet is from 2017. My closet is still filled with items from high school and I get weird and sentimental about clothes that are now pilled and from WalMart or Target. I know people who routinely buy every little thing that's cool right now and just cycle out their clothes by donating or selling them but I just can't. I tried to Marie Kondo my closet and even then I only threw out a max of ten items.

The thing that is driving me most about changing my look is the desire to feel confident about my clothes and in turn, myself again. There are days I have to go hang out with people or go into our office and I always feel like my clothes don't cut it. Life is returning back to normal and I want to feel chic and comfortable about my appearance. I used to scoff at people who would constantly buy clothes and though I still believe there is a limit on what you should spend and how often you should do it, I realized I don't have any staple pieces in my closet that could actually last for several years and still be iconic.

Another thing I have now is a motivator--my husband and I are planning on traveling a ton next year and sorry not sorry but I want to be dressed like Gigi Hadid while I'm visiting the Trevi Fountain in Rome, not like Miss Ungermeyer (no offense to this character--I'd love to be a sneaky little brown noser with a hidden agenda any day). Find a motivator that isn't damaging to your body or mind, and stick with it. Use that as a way to research the hottest style trends and find inspiration without sacrificing too much of your personal style, even if you feel like you've never had fashion taste (me).

So the time is now, for me to jump onto ASOS or H&M or if I'm feeling especially daring--Revolve--and become the trendy queen I once was circa 2016. I implore all of you elderly GenZers and Millennials to follow my lead and not only be a part of the latest fashion moments, but invest in yourself and feel good about what you're wearing once again.