Deja Vu

I'm in my mid-thirties. This is NOT the kind of declaration I make normally.

Normally, I prefer to play it coy and go along with whatever age I'm assigned by my peer(s), I'm a lady like that. So, why am I fessing up to my age now? For the first time I find myself facing fashion's mythical trend cycle. You know what I'm talking about, the idea that fashion trends make a 30 year pilgramage back to the front of the trend scene. Frankly, I have mixed feelings on the whole thing.

It started harmlessly enough, a few choker necklaces and some candy colored handbags a la Coach 2010's -- and then TikTok got involved. Suddenly #y2kstyle is trending, and I have reels on Insta talking about the novel idea of "layering tank tops" and the value of "accent belts". Don't get me started on the return of the high shine lacquered lips...

I, just like the generations of women before me, find comfort in the return of some trends. In fact, I welcome them with open arms, while others I refuse to acknowledge their return. And then of course, I am having my fair share of "you are doing that wrong" moments.

What I am loving:

1. The return of low-rise.

   Now, hear me out. I love a good cheater ab as much as the next woman. Mid-rise, high rise, low rise... they all have their moments. As a stylist, it's ALWAYS all about the sillouette for the look, for the individual. Which is why I love the return of the low rise pant. I love options, I love playing with proportioning and I love that you can now change your silouette when wearing an outfit anchored by jeans. Hello visual interest.

   
   

Joyce Mao

2. The return of "gloss".

I have a vial of MAC Lipglass that I am over the moon to start using again. The only downside of the high gloss shine is of course that your hair and your partner's lips can become casualties of the sticky sheen but a small price to pay all things considered. But lips arent the only thing glossy - I am loving the glossy hair, the glossy skin, everything being bathed in a dewy glimmer.

3. The return of the mini-skirt.

Probably the greatest sign of my generational loyalty. I love mini skirts. I love that they have risen several times throughout modern fashion, always coming back for another reinvention. To me a mini skirt has to be a stealthly 2 inches from only being enough material to be a belt. I love that the micro mini has returned, if nothing else than to encourage me to not skip leg day. The mini skirt is a rebellion, against aging, against being buttoned up, and against the tyranny of pants. Long live the mini skirt!

Hailey Bieber for Miu Miu

What I Am Pretending Hasn't Come Back:

1. Chunky highlights.

They didn't look good then, they don't look good now. They are visually disruptive to an overall aethetic. Chunky highlight lend themselves to clunky looks overall. I am wildly against

Jennifer Lopez going back to her naughties roots

using your hair has the key statment for your "look". Why? Because hair, much like shoes and accessories, is very much something that completes a "look". Fundamentally, a styled look and a finished outfit requires the hair to suit the overall aesthetic. When you have hair that lends itself to only one possible aesthetic-- you are held to only attire that your hair can pull off. Think Canadian tuxedos, Zara tube tops and rubber flip-flops. No thanks.

2. Capri Pants.

Peddle pushers, clam-diggers, three quarter legs, crop pants, flood pants, jams, toreador pants, or high waters I don't care what you call them their problem is proportioning. Capris simply don't hit at an optimal part of the leg... whether they hit just below the knee or mid-calf a proper capri hits at an unflattering part of the leg. If some of the most unanimously celebrated bodies can't seem to make them flattering, what hope do us mere mortals have?

3. Dresses Over Pants.

I return to the low-rise and the micro-mini, what is the point of these sillouette coups if we just hide them under layers of gauzy material. It creates an overall drowned silouette that even makes the most willowy creatures look lost in. Again, its all about proportioing and finding that harmonious balance that accents your form in a away that is flattering from every angle. I have yet to meet anyone to successfully pull off this look. If you are going to wear an empire wasted dress over long pants at least have the decency to make several Jane Austen references

while doing it.

Of course, the rest is just comforting nostalgia for me. Predominantly, I will be spending my energies re-tooling and re-styling the original trends to be a newer, funkier, more 30 something friendly versions of their original counter parts. And while I might be vacillating between feeling young again and depressingly old at least this is the first time trends have been truly familiar fashion territory for me; with or without the Juicy track pants.

x Olivia