Top six best and worst fashion trends of 2022

Fashion is something students here at the high school can’t avoid. Students don’t have the luxury of wearing a uniform to stay, well, uniform. 

Of course, fashion is always changing. Trends are starting. Trends are ending. That $120 pair of shoes which were just trending a few months ago is out of style. But what are the best and worst fashion trends of 2022 and the start of 2023? 

The Best Trends

• Y2K 

Almost everyone, if not everyone, knows about the Y2K styles. For the ones who don’t know, it’s basically fashion coming back from the late 1990s and early 2000s. This has to be the top trend of 2022 for sure. Y2K brought out a lot of things like baby tees, leg warmers and bright colors. One thing about Y2K is it’s all about making a silhouette. I personally don’t dress in Y2K, but it’s one of the best styles out there, and it gives people so much creative freedom to express themselves. 

• Sheer Moments

Sheer clothing was kind of one of those trends that was everywhere but not very talked about. There were many sheer moments on red carpets and what-not, but I never really saw people talking about it. Honestly, I adore the sheer moments we get because every time someone wears it, they absolutely kill it and look beyond stunning. 

• Platform Shoes

I love platform shoes and think a lot more deserve to be recognized for their beauty. Granted, there are some awful platform shoes [cough, platform crocs], but there’s usually some pretty good shoes. There’s something about platform shoes that just elevate an outfit from four stars to five stars. I don’t think this trend should ever go away. A plus to platform shoes being more common in today’s fashion is for short people who want extra height.

• Cut-Outs

If I’m being completely honest, I forgot cut-out clothing existed for the longest time. Every time I hear cut out, I think of prom dresses with the keyholes, which, quite frankly, aren’t the cutest, but this year and last really took the name and made it so much more than keyholes or open shoulders. There’s so many cute options for people to get, ranging from pants to shirts and what-not. One thing I hate about cut-out fashion is the shirts where there’s only a sliver of fabric taken out above the bust but otherwise looks like a normal shirt. Designers really upped their game with cut-out pieces and formed it into something that used to be so God-awful ugly.

• Corsets / Bustiers 

Okay, okay corsets kind of dropped out from 2022 fast, but I am so obsessed with them. I always live for a good corset moment anywhere. Corsets bring a whole different level of fashion that typically follows a night luxury aesthetic. I’ve always been infatuated with that specific type of fashion, so corsets and bustiers have always been a favorite. Also, these tops bring a different level to outfits that could otherwise be seen as casual or even formal. There’s so many ways to style these tops like with a blazer and dress pants, or someone can dress it down with baggy cargo pants or even sweats. 

• Over-sized Clothing / Baggy Clothing

While on the topic of baggy cargos and sweatpants, those are one of the biggest things we have in fashion today. Baggy/over-sized clothing is such a good way to dress today because it looks so good but easy to style. With baggy and over-sized clothing, people can layer and make an outfit that much more complex but together. Not only is the clothing itself cute, but it’s extremely comfortable. I don’t see baggy clothing going away soon, or at least until summer, and I’m glad. 

The Worst Trends

• Resin Jewelry

Resin Jewelry isn’t necessarily a shirt, pants or shoes. I’m including it because it’s something to accessorize with. I hate resin jewelry with a burning passion. It’s all the same kind of product. Most accessories are just clear with something floral in it. Or, at least that’s what they only ever advertise. Not only does resin jewelry look cheap and so basic, it’s extremely bad for the planet. According to Conserve Energy Future, most synthetic resin products are not environmentally friendly. It is not easy for the Earth to decompose synthetic resin, and there’s some articles claiming that they can even cause cancer. Overall resin is a big no-no, and it looks tacky anyway. 

• Pattern Leggings

Leggings are one of my favorite things to wear. Ever. They’re so comfortable and so easy to style. What isn’t easy to style and looks just about as tacky as resin jewelry: patterned leggings. Patterned leggings are so, blah. It’s hard to really look at these leggings on a good day and most, if not every, outfit with these looks bad. There’s not one cute pair of patterned leggings, and most of them aren’t even comfortable. Patterned leggings should stay with the toddlers and Justice. 

• Mini Skirts and Tube Tops

Baggy pants with a tube top isn’t the worst fashion choice in the world, but there are far better choices. Along with tube tops are mini skirts. Mini skirts are a whole different breed of weird. Sure, there’s some cute outfits with mini skirts, but they’re usually only models or influencers wearing either, and I’ve never seen a person in Altoona actually wearing either. Also, mini skirts just seem so immodest, and I personally just cannot find any time where it’s appropriate or cute to wear it anywhere. 

• Crocs

I hate Crocs. They’re easy to slip on and go wherever. There’s so many options. But they’re ugly. I couldn’t care less who is wearing them or how it’s styled, but they are genuinely one of the worst shoes ever. I would rather see someone walking around in socks and sandals. I know plenty of people who wear Crocs, and I don’t think they look right on anyone. I can get behind the purpose and how easy it is to get them on and off, but how they’re styled most of the time is atrocious. 

• Denim-on-Denim

Denim-on-denim should be considered a hazard. When I think of a denim-on-denim moment, I think of when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were dating and wore that complete denim outfit. I can’t say that is the worst outfit consisting of all denim, in fact I think it’s kind of iconic, but when someone wears jeans with a jean jacket, I die a little bit inside. Take a quick look at Google and search, “denim on denim outfit” and some of the most gut-wrenching outfits are there on the screen. I hate all denim outfits, and we should give that moment back to Britney and Justin. 

• Cropped leather jackets

Sometimes an outfit needs a jacket. We should stop making a cropped leather jacket the go-to. Normal leather jackets are cute and do belong on outfits when needed. It’s when we start throwing cropped ones on an outfit like jeans and a white blouse where it starts looking like a middle-aged mother going through it trying to act like she’s in high school again. Not all of the cropped leather jacket outfits are bad, but until there’s a true established rubric, I don’t think we should be making it a staple of all outfits.