Is it me or is fashion really ugly lately?

My relationship to clothes is flatlining.

A slew of fall shopping emails have arrived in my inbox since mid-September, each taking advantage of seasonal human vulnerability to suggest: maybe life can be meaningfully improved by acquiring more items. Noticing my relative lack of temptation this fall vs. the autumns of years past, I posted a poll to my instagram story asking: “is right now the ugliest time in recent fashion memory?” and 88% of respondents answered yes.

Within the aforementioned emails, of course, lurk the inevitable marketing campaign images. There are a lot of snoods and balaclavas this year, which feels disappointing after many seasons spent seeing only half of the face? Other images that come to mind: thin stripes in muddy pastel colors and stretch-knit material reminiscent of my childhood Limited Too, sported by a model with a no-makeup-makeup look who appears itchy. Shapeless, ballon-like sweaters tucked into comically wide denim carpenter pants, worn with square-toed nineties ankle boots. Knee high boots are back, as is dressing like a twelve year old attending a prestigous day school. Cutouts and D-rings everywhere. I have seen the unironic wearing of leather newsboy hats, cowboy boots, and leather blazers running rampant in my home streets of New York.

Trends of the 2020s, so far, have consisted of a no-holds-barred throttle towards optimized, improved nostalgia. Specifically, one that conglomerates several years that were not experienced chronologically into a single make-believe period, a welding of the 90’s and early aughts into some unholy union of cultural reference. Targeted ads serve me stretch pants with thong straps built into them, flared jeans worn over Frye-type boots, and yoga pants that look like So Lows (did these rule your middle school like they did mine?). I have to imagine that with all the unharnessed power of their ill-gotten data, the servers of these ads must know that I am about to be 32 and wouldn’t be caught dead in any of it? Imagine any one of the items I’ve described above, and picture them worn with an outfit otherwise right out of My So-Called Life, and that’s kind of what TikTok is currently holding up as fashion.

A couple of years ago, my boyfriend and I were talking about how our styles might evolve as we aged into our 40’s and his prediction for me was that I would turn to sportier styles. Though I was offended by this at the time (pre-pandemic, wearing athleisure out of the home was something I did only when necessary and not without shame), in Q4 of 2021 I am forced to agree. If this is fashion right now, I am more than willing to opt towards the full heavyweight cotton sweatsuit side of the spectrum.

Like many adults today, I no longer leave the house for work, and therefore do not have to look ‘professional’, but even before this I worked at offices with very relaxed dress codes. My peers tossed the idea of professionalism in the proverbial trash can long ago. I have come to accept that I don’t always have the motivation to put on pants that button in the morning if no one is watching. I’ve met several people who were working from home well before 2020, and they stuck to their ‘getting dressed’ schedule throughout, as a means to feel more powerful and tied together.

Even though I definitely have a better day if I opt to wear real clothes, I am out of practice. I can’t believe how uncomfortable it is, for example, to sit in an ergonomic desk chair while wearing high-waisted pants, something I used to do five days a week. It’s like, what place does fashion even have in my life anymore? I bought a pair of boots two weeks ago and the sensation of my toes touching the stiff, not-yet-broken-in top of the shoe had me near-murderous. I got stuck in traffic in a pair of tight jeans the other day on my way to Whole Foods and briefly thought I might pass out. I considered putting on tights (after I dared to wear a skirt bare-legged to an outdoor bar in Bushwick, only to get eaten alive by mosquitoes . . . in October) and the thought alone had me ready to go lay down. Alternatively, if I have somewhere to go, I end up kind of overdressed because I am excited to have a reason to make an effort.

It’s like my position on the spectrum that is: my relationship to clothing: has moved out towards the extreme poles in both directions, leaving virtually no middle ground.

At first this felt like a trite topic NPR would have a segment about (“call in and let us know how the pandemic has changed getting dressed for you”), but it has in fact disrupted the very fabric of my daily life (lol).

What is your relationship to clothing right now?

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Other things:

Some people are saying Blue Banisters is Lana’s best album. While I cannot agree with that, it is very good. Something people should know is that when LDR names a song after a piece of clothing, it’s going to be one of her best songs. I do think Kacey Musgraves’ new album is her best.

I watched at least one horror movie every night in October?? These were my favorites this year, in case you like to watch horror all year round like I do:

• The Wailing (2016)

• Evil Dead II (1987)

Until next time!