I’m pretty sure that there has never been a more exciting time for fashion. Even though 2020 and 2021 very quickly became the year of sweatpants, the way fashion is moving into the next decade is innovative but also retrospective, for I don’t think I have ever seen the essence of so many decades mashed together into such an interesting hybrid (that will later be defined as 2020s fashion). So often a particular movement is the antithesis of what came before it. In art, Impressionism was the movement that came about as a response to Realism before it. For modern fashion, I feel that the 2020s will be the decade defined by comfort, especially since we all started this decade at home and spent much of the 2010s in skinny jeans. In fact, I first saw this shift in fashion styles in our jeans! Thankfully, we are moving out of the skinny jeans era and into a more relaxed fit. I so missed the bootcut jeans of the 2000s and the straight leg pants of the 90s. Their return is a blessing to curvy girls everywhere, who no longer have to feel like sausages in everyday jeans. I couldn’t be happier that I do not have to shed my pants at the end of the day like a snake molting it’s old skin. I know that Gen Z is attacking skinny jeans right now, and I’m not even going to get into the Millennials vs. Gen Z thing. As a cusp between the two generations that personally identifies as more of a Millennial, I think the whole thing is ridiculous and also brushes past the fact that so much of the current fashion is really just bringing back stuff from the 90s (which is more of a Millennial thing anyways). So long as we never bring back low-rise jeans, I’m going to stay out of it.
While the simple yet grungy look of the 90s is definitely making a comeback, so are a lot of other decades. All over Instagram, I see teenagers dressed like an updated version of Regina George, but with feathered hair à la Farrah Fawcett from Charlie’s Angels and Jackie Burkhart from That 70s Show. Combining iconic elements of both 70s and 2000s fashion really mellows out the extremes from both decades. After all, I think we can all agree that the excessive rhinestones from the 2000s were a bit much in retrospect. Even the fall/winter 2019 season brought back the knee-high boot from the 60s, invoking a groovy vibe that feels more effortless than the over-the-knee boots of the 2010s. The knee-high boot is also the focus of this blog post!
My sweater, skirt, and boots combo simultaneously look modern but also like it could have come straight out of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I’m pretty sure Margot Robbie wore a very similar look in character as Sharon Tate! I picked up the skirt at Saks Off 5th during an after holidays sale to replace an old corduroy skirt I got rid of in a similar color. I loved the rusty shade for fall and winter and chose to pair it with my trusty black sweater from Banana Republic. I’m not kidding when I say I have this exact same sweater in three different colors. The finishing touch though is my knee-high suede boots that I gushed over in this old post I uploaded nearly a year ago. However, I’ve also noticed that chunky boots with thick soles are coming back. They feel very Spice Girls, but I kind of love them and think they’d go great with this look. I have a great pair from Zara that I wear all over the city!
If you watch my Instagram stories, you might have noticed that I just got back from New York! I went to check out some law schools I got into, and I honestly just had the best time. It is definitely where I see myself moving for the next chapter of my life. I am sad to leave LA because I have been a Southern California girl my entire life, but I can feel it in my bones that New York is just where I need to be right now. LA and New York are two of the US’s biggest cities, but they have fared the pandemic and all of the other 2020 craziness very differently. New York is much more alive and resilient. LA feels like it is just wallowing by comparison. They have a lot of work to do before they can fully recover. A friend of mine even said offhandedly that the city is not what it was even just a year ago, and I cannot help but agree. LA will always hold a special place in my heart, but I am just so ready for a change. Here’s to a new city for a new decade!
xx
Emily
