It can happen slowly or even seemingly overnight. You’re standing in front of the closet one morning and thinking to yourself, “I have nothing to wear.” You’re browsing through TikTik or Instagram or Pinterest and realizing that the outfits that you’re adoring are ones you wouldn’t have been caught dead in even a year ago (I’m looking at you mom jeans and flared yoga pants). You look at photos of yourself back in high school and wonder what on earth you were thinking and then realize that you’ll look back at college and be even more confused. As we slowly approach warmer weather and a spirit of hopefulness about the pandemic, and Generation Z makes their mark embracing Y2K styles and distancing themselves from skinny jeans and middle parts, new styles and trends emerge to reflect the times. Here are five trends for Spring 2021 to look out for on social media and at your local thrift, vintage, or consignment shop.
- Sleeves
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Cosmopolitan calls this trend “exaggerated shoulders”, and they’re not kidding. Big puffy sleeves or “voluminous sleeves” as Vogue refers to them are in-style in full force.
- Pastels
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Harper’s Bazaar calls pastels part of the “mood of the season.” Dreamy shades of yellow, pink, green, and purple are fitting after the harshness of the past year. Who What Wear also notes that shades of soft yellow are particularly popular this spring.
- Baggy Jeans
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Perhaps my age is showing, but any pair of jeans that are not skin-tight feels oversized. Being allowed to buy my first pair of skinny jeans at age 12 felt liberating after wearing straight-legged or boot cut jeans in elementary school. Skinny jeans may be a classic, but other styles of jeans have slept crept back into the fashion consciousness. Harper’s Bazaar argues that oversized jeans embrace the comfiness of sweatpants that we have all come to depend on during the pandemic, and Refinery29 agrees, stating that skinny jeans have slowly been on the way out as baggier, “mom jeans” have been dominating the fashion runways.
- Co-Ords
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From sleep sets to matching lounge wear, co-ordinated outfits or co-ords have become a pandemic staple. Who What Wear predicts they’ll follow us into the Spring 2021 as skirt sets, calling this style “brings a lot of look with minimal effort”. If that doesn’t describe my fashion goals, I don’t know what does.
- Bold Looks
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Bold, bold, bold. If one word could describe Spring 2021 fashion this might be it. Harper’s Bazaar calls for bold, sleeve looks and bold floral prints. Who What Wear predicts bold graphic prints and bold colors like pink and green. Vogue discusses bold silhouettes, and Cosmopolitan connects this trend to bold collars.