When else to experiment with your style, if not in your youth?! Teenagers and young people devote a lot of time to clothes, because for them it is the main tool of self-expression. At a certain age, a person is overcome by two opposing thoughts: “how to be unique?” and “how to be in trend, to be like everyone else?”. The search for answers leads to the fact that there are more and more new varieties of youth style of clothing that would reflect the mood, hobbies, musical tastes, worldview. Let's talk about what "youth style" is, how it happens and how to wear it.
The concept of "youth style"
As the name of this direction already implies, it is associated with people aged 13 to 23 years. This is the most controversial, diverse, challenging and interesting style. Like the age itself, full of incompatible desires, searches, non-standard andconformism. The youth style of clothing cannot be described or sorted out, because it is a whole galaxy of trends associated with different subcultures, with musical trends, with situations, with different hobbies. Dressing style is a way to express your attitude.
From the 50s of the 20th century, young people began to take on new positions in society. She wanted to influence politics, the world order, defended her freedom to express herself. This is how the hippie movement appeared, which protested against the bourgeois world, and even clothes took the form of protest. Following the fashion of "flower children", youth subcultures began to grow like mushrooms after rain. Rockers, punks, goths, emo - that was just the beginning. Each direction had its own ideas about how to dress. At the beginning of the 21st century, the number of youth trends in clothing is already difficult to calculate. But still, they have some common features.
Main signs
Any style of clothing is united by some common idea. For young people, this is freedom. At a young age, people do not want to obey established rules, they are looking for their own way. Therefore, the youth clothing style for girls and boys is a way to assert their right to be free to be themselves. The second feature of the direction is the desire for individuality. Young people want to show the whole world what they are, to demonstrate their uniqueness and to do this with the help of clothes in the easiest way. Surprisingly, modern young people are also united by a craving for comfort. They grew up in very comfortable conditions,well-equipped life, and they are not ready to give it up even for the sake of fashion. Another feature of this style is the desire for originality. Young people are trying to destroy all existing canons. Of course, she is not ready for revolutions, but she wants to show her opposition to previous generations, at least in the manner of dressing.
Types of youth style
Understanding the variety of trends in the world of youth fashion is not easy. Since the process of style formation is still actively ongoing, it is still difficult to talk about some clear system of sub-styles and directions. However, it is possible to compile an approximate list of modern youth clothing styles that are seriously declaring themselves in modern fashion. These include:
- grunge;
- hip-hop;
- military;
- sportstyle;
- boho-chic;
- streetstyle.
At the same time, the uniqueness of the current situation lies in the fact that the older styles (punk, hippies, goths) have not disappeared anywhere, and they have their fans. And besides, among young people there are always those who find their expression in the usual "big" styles: romantic, country, sports, even classic.
Youth style trends
The clothes of the younger generation have their own trends that apply to all areas of style. The most relevant modern trends include the following:
- unisex. There is an erasure of a clear line between women's and men's clothing. Everyone wears roughly the same things: jeans, shirts, t-shirts, in the same colors and styles;
- layering. Young people like to wear several things at the same time, this allows you to quickly modify the image in accordance with the situation. This feature of the costume of young people has taken root in the youth style since the days of the hippies and does not lose its relevance;
- sports elements. The influence of sports and sports brands on young people is very high, so there are a lot of clothes in the style for young people that resemble physical education uniforms: sneakers, T-shirts, pants. Young people choose these things because of their high comfort. Today you will not surprise anyone by wearing sneakers to a chiffon dress or a business suit. And the legislators of this fashion are young people who constantly destroy stereotypes;
- oversized. Teenagers like to wrap themselves from head to toe in huge sweaters, scarves, coats. This fashion has not gone away for several seasons and even penetrates into other styles. The attractiveness of dimensionless clothing is again in convenience, in unisex, in the possibility of creating unusual sets. Young people subconsciously seek protection in these clothes, which wrap a person like a cocoon;
- contrast. Young people love experiments and challenges. Therefore, they build their images on color and dimensional contrasts. The youth style of clothing is characterized by a mixture of different styles of things. Sweatpants can be completed with a lace blouse, a classic cut jacket with rough army boots. The main thing is to be different from moms and dads, to stand out from the crowd.
Fashion work
Since today the concept of "youth" is expanding, and the upper limit of this age category is being pushed back, the question becomes, what can you wear to work? Young people are not ready to put on a boring office suit and want to emphasize their free-thinking even in business attire. Of course, rigid office dress codes do not give up under the onslaught of youth style; if a person works in a bank or a state corporation, then he has to comply with corporate rules. But in many other cases, young people find an opportunity to show their individuality in the workplace as well. Today we can talk about the formation of a youth business style of clothing. It is characterized by a share of informality, which manifests itself in the introduction of elements from youth clothing into conservative business attire. For example, you can wear jeans, a printed T-shirt and sketchers or sneakers with a classic jacket. Modern youth is often engaged in creative professions or starts their own business, not everyone wants to fit into the system, and in such jobs they can easily afford to wear loose trousers, sweatshirts, T-shirts. And this trend is even gradually affecting the "adult" business style, which also shows signs of democratization.
Casual style
The ordinary life of a young person is most often not burdened with a large number of official meetings and visits to places with a strict dress code. Therefore, the basis of youth wardrobes is everyday wear. Informal style in clothes for every day is characterized by convenience and practicality. Young people will not iron the creases on trousers or the collars of shirts. Therefore, jeans and knitwear dominate in their wardrobe: T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, sweatshirts. It's a true staple and can be used to create a discreet look for a trip to university, for example, or a more daring look for a meeting with friends.
Grunge style
This style is a challenge, its icon is Kurt Cobain. The essence of style is manifested in a contemptuous attitude towards all conventions, in the denial of norms and rules. Grunge is carelessness taken to the absolute. Torn, wrinkled, dirty - all this is the grunge style. These are dull dark colors and layering, defiantly untidy look. Most often, grunge is seen as a youth clothing style for guys. This negligence and deliberate dislike of glamour are organic to them. Girls often still want to remain at least a little feminine, and grunge does not provide for this.
Youth military style
Military theme is in trend for several seasons. This is not due to the love of young people for military uniforms, but rather an expression of the pacifist sentiments of the hippie culture. In addition, the military style is convenient and practical. Therefore, young people could not pass by such a set of positive qualities. Signs of style are, first of all, camouflage colors, which can be found in youth clothes in the most unusual versions. Also, the military is manifested in the cut of clothing: shoulder straps, cropped jacketsand sweaters, high lace-up boots - all these are features of "militarism".
Hip-hop style
Music initially had a very strong influence on youth clothing style. It all started with rock and punk, and then began to take on more and more diverse forms. The emergence of hip-hop music, protest music, did not go unnoticed by mods. From this culture, loose pants with a low rise and a lot of pockets, baseball caps, elongated T-shirts and T-shirts, voluminous hoodies and sweatshirts came into clothing. Initially, these clothes entered only the wardrobe of guys. But the girls could not help but appreciate the unusual and incredible convenience of this style. But the hip-hop style in clothes for girls has become a little softer than the male version. Girls brought bright colors to it, miniskirts, tight tees and crop tops and a lot of glitter: silver and gold. Today in this outfit you can go to a party, and on a date, and for a walk.
Youth brands
Teenagers and young adults are one of the most buying audiences in the world. Therefore, the clothing industry could not miss the chance and create brands specifically targeted at young people.
The most famous youth brands include Stradivarius, Bershka, DC, Pepe Jeans, MISS SIXTY, MEXX, as well as the Russian brand "TVOE". In addition, sports brands (Adidas, Nike and others) are aimed at young people, which produce not only clothes for sports, but also for everyday wear.
