Why fashion has served as an expression of freedom throughout the years

Fashion is freedom. What do I mean by that? Simply, fashion is comfort, passion, style, innovation, discovery, and even a mystery.

Not all the fashion trends are for everyone. Every individual has their own fashion game — be it the 1970s, ‘80s, ‘90s, or even the early 2000s — every generation has its own trends when it comes to fashion. 

How can someone forget ‘70s hits like Boho looks, which provided a free-spirited and stylish vibe. The bold colours and makeup of the ‘80s made people feel confident in the best way possible. The ‘90s were effortlessly cool with their baggy jeans and cargo pants. People even began to wear denim on denim and slip dresses.

The 2000s were the most chaotic. It was an era that gave us the biggest fashion game to keep up with, including tube tops, layered tank tops, low-rise jeans, and velour tracksuits. 

Not to forget the era where we used to don galaxy-print leggings, which had us looking like walking screensavers, or neon moustaches, rings, necklaces, and finger tattoos. Quirky? Maybe? Maybe not!

In 2012, the Tumblr-meets-mall-fashion era was on the go. However, I don’t mind that era being a thing of the past since peplum tops, leggings from outer space, and Boho-inspired designs on clothing items with no meaning made no sense to me. People were really trying to convert meaningless things into fashion, which led to a lot of clashing and confusion. Even Pinterest seemed to have lost its appeal. 

I’d be charmed to have these fashion trends back in people’s wardrobes to relive the nostalgia it created. Both the ‘90s and the 2000s eras held their appeal for cool, comfortable, and fashionable streetwear, which felt fresh and effortlessly chic. 

Y2K gave us cargo pants, chunky sneakers, baby tees, and oversized sweaters theatrically wrapped around to make people look like characters from Mean Girls or Bratz dolls. 

Realistically, fashion is a lifestyle around which our lives revolve. We carry it with ourselves wherever we go, whether it’s through one’s presence on social media, social gatherings, jobs, or school. We are all aware that fashion chaos comes from fashion influencers on mainstream platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, and more. 

These platforms have become fashion runways where people tend to follow trends and participate in contests and giveaways. 

The way that different generations have exploited fashion in terms of beauty blunders and other disasters sounds trivial the more I speak about it. The early 2010s’ sock buns were crazy to me. And why were we using bandanas as tube tops? It was the greatest recipe for disaster. 

Experimental DIY fashion and beauty trends, like the infamous crackle nail polish and feather hair extensions, are also something to be remembered. 

The VSCO-girl phenomena took over everyone with shell chokers, oversized T-shirts, scrunchies, Hydro Flasks, and Birkenstocks. This was an all-rounder fashion trend, which had impacted teens across the world. This era was more about sustainability and natural beauty. 

Old clothes that we stopped wearing or couldn’t find often bring back nostalgia, which is a very tricky feeling. It carries lots of memories and makes us think that we were all fashion icons before the new trends became feasible. 

These days, even millennials and baby boomers all caught up with trends and new fashion ideas to get along with the generation around them. FOMO gets the most out of everyone, but not every trend is worth running after.

In a nutshell, fashion is freedom, and it is all about how you play with it. Not everyone has a good fashion game. I’d always choose clean over chaos when it comes to fashion.