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Plastic? That’s Not Hot: The Return of Y2K Fashion
Whenever there is a mention of the early 2000s, I think of Paris Hilton, flip phones, the colour pink and velour tracksuits. I don’t think of the beginning of fast fashion and plastic pollution in fashion. But from rhinestones to hair clips, plastic dominated the early 2000s. Let’s discuss why the return of Y2K trends is not as glamorous and fun as it seems. Why are we returning to the noughties? The fickleness of fashion means that trends are changing constantly. Nothing is ever completely out of style, it could come back the next year or after ten years! But on the flip side, this means that the quick change…
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Bratz Raising Fashion Brats
As a child, I was never really into Barbie or baby dolls, but there was something different about Bratz. The way they looked and what they represented. Four girls, three of which are ethnically diverse. Wearing the sort of fashion you would see celebrities like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in. Preaching messages of friendship and individuality. As a little mixed girl, I wanted to play with something I could see my older self and friends as, this was Yasmin, Sasha, Jade and Cloe. I wanted a doll to match the club fashion I saw on TV and the Bratz dolls embodied that more than anyone else. The blame game…
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Lockdown Shopping Causes Surge in Plastic Pollution!
We are all guilty of one too many online clothes orders during lockdown. Whether it being out of boredom or simply to lift our moods, online shopping has seen a surge during the global pandemic. This may be beneficial for our growing wardrobes, but not so good for the catastrophic amounts of plastic waste produced. Let’s take an example: we order our some jeans from ASOS, in multiple sizes of course; as we cant try before we buy anymore. Oh, and we cant resist a few items from the sale, too. Upon arrival a few days later, each item of clothing is individually wrapped in plastic along with the plastic…
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Them ‘Summer Festival Vibes’: The Problematic Mainstream Use of Bindis
Sitting at the wedding reception table under a gazebo with red, yellow, and orange sashes, I engage in conversation with the strangers next to me. There is a sea of white and brown faces alike dressed in the brightest traditional Indian clothes, a gorgeous medley, with myself in a dark green saree. It’s not the first time I’m participating in Indian cultural festivities – I am half Indian, after all. There is a white couple on the table, cheeks flushed and grinning ear to ear, who tell everyone they too are engaged. They are clearly having fun at this wedding as the man proceeds to gleefully suggest they could also…
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Five Summer Festival Fashion Trends 2021 You Could Find in the Vintage Shops
This time of the year has now arrived – sunny days, long nights, loud music, and a lot of summer festivals. Festival fashion is a big business as a lot of retailers release lines that are specially made for the occasion. Festival fashion is usually outlandish, as it includes a lot of colours, glitter, flares, and accessories. While everyone likes to look good and unique, this can be problematic, as most of the clothes and outfits are only intended for single use. It leads to a problem when about 7.5 million outfits each year are single-use ones purchased for the festivals. The result of that is that the fashion industry…
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Research and Respect: How to Dress for the Festival Season
British summertime is here. Warm nights, cold drinks, and thumping music can only mean one thing: festival season. Whatever your preference, whether that be large or small events, festivals are certainly on the summer to-do list. They are the perfect opportunity for you to experiment with fashion that you usually wouldn’t wear. Because when else do you get the chance to smear glitter all over your cheeks and look trendy? However, the excitement of festivals can easily lead to the dilemma of cultural appropriation, so let’s research the ways to embrace festival-loving fashion whilst respecting different cultures. What is ‘cultural appropriation’? Just in case some are still unsure on what…
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The Four Tenets of Festival Fashion
What are YOU wearing this summer? Festival season is just beyond the horizon, and after the disaster that was summer 2020, we know you want everything to be perfect. While you’ve been busy figuring out how to set up a four-man tent or filling up your micellar water with Smirnoff, we’ve put together four essential fashion tips so you can summer in style. Versatility If there’s one thing you can count on at a traditional British festival, it’s that you can’t count on anything. Be ready for scorching sun or torrential rain because you’ll probably get both in the span of two hours. The happy camper will always bring a…
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“Repeating an Outfit” – Myth or a Taboo?
Warm summer nights, loud blaring music, refreshing mimosas, dancing in fields amongst the flowers with your friends, excessive amounts of glitter, and a city of tents…it must be festival season (large events or small)! Festival fashion throws the fashion rule book out the window, as we switch up everyday attire for flares, neons, harnesses, mesh, feathers, sparkle and anything that allows us to transform ourselves! Festival fashion is a playground for creativity, experimentation and expression. The phenomenon of festival fashion is arguably symbolic of progressive youth culture, as festival goers are liberated to dress however they please and dance away any stress or worries of reality. But this expressive fashion…
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Music Festival or Fast-Fashion Commemoration? Festivals’ Impact on the Environment
Many of us may have heard about the impact that fast fashion has upon the environment and the exploitation of resources and workers’ rights. However, one cause that is often overlooked is the promotion of single-use outfits to festivals. We live in a digital society in which wearing different, unique, and trendy outfits is continuously encouraged. However, appearing to repeat one to a special occasion is an “embarrassment” – especially if they end up on a social media platform. And, when it comes to festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza, people go to extreme lengths to try to achieve that perfect, one-of-a-kind outfit. One that they will most likely never…
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There’s No Room for Toxic Celebrity Culture at Festivals
On a normal night out, most of us agonize about what to wear. Will my arms look too big in this dress? Is this jumpsuit too out there for a trip to the pub? But at a festival, you can just stick on a ridiculous shirt, some crazy patterns, and have the time of your life! Festivals free us of our inhibitions. No one should care about how they look in shorts, or that their wellies don’t match their outfit whilst they’re dancing to their favourite artists. However, the rise of the celebrity festival fashion has imposed style rules on what should be a fun weekend. Are festivals at risk…
