The Latest Micro Trend: Microaesthetics
Inspiration is everywhere. Online, in person – it makes it easy to latch onto a new aesthetic. Clothes are part of what defines you, so of course it’s easy to want a new look that fits your idea of “who you are.” You catch yourself wanting a $35 graphic t-shirt that says something sarcastic — in high school your parents would never let you wear it out of the house — and somehow you’re tempted to purchase it. Everywhere you look, trends are taking over, and you can’t help but constantly picture yourself in each aesthetic: mob wife, office siren – whatever’s trending that week.
But no matter what you pick up that day, it will go right back to your closet and look as uninteresting to you as the rest of the clothes already there. At the end of that week, you’ll feel like you have nothing to wear all over again. So during your next venture on social media, the mall, or some other trendy store, you may be inclined to purchase the latest microtrend – or fall head first into a new micro-aesthetic.
So What Are Microtrends and Micro-Aesthetics?
According to Trend Bible, microtrends are a niche consumer trend which mass markets quickly make available, yet have a short life span. They can be popularized by a small creator and brought to a larger audience, but don’t necessarily get mass produced by said creator.
From the trippy-checkerboard prints of 2020, to the recent “wet look”-style pieces famously popularized by Kim Kardashian, microtrends in fashion fuel consumerism. People are driven to buy pieces that’ll last them only a season or less – think kitten heels and fur coats.
Image Courtesy: Vouge
However, as rapid as these single items are, there has been a greater rise in more over-consumption with micro-aesthetics.
Micro-aesthetics are built-in brands that feature a number of “have to have” items that push a person to purchase and collect a number of pieces (clothes, jewelry, shoes, and other accessories) to build up one or multiple aesthetics. But instead of being decades-long, aesthetics are seasonal and quickly shift to the next one. And to fashion brands' delight, there are a number of pieces that make up a micro-aesthetic, so those wanting to attain the look of the aesthetic will purchase more than a singular trendy item.
Examples include the recent “office siren” aesthetic, which focuses on office looks that combine a sexy feminine edge, or the “mob wife” aesthetic that transforms 1970s and 1990s mob movies into a niche wardrobe filled with fur and cheetah print.
What Do Aesthetic Microtrends Mean for Culture?
Inspired by a video by Antonio Gary Jr., a creative strategist and TikToker by the user Jax!, aesthetics don’t rely on the community behind it. Although some aesthetics gain inspiration from certain looks of a certain genre of music, movies, or art, they don’t involve people coming together and making a subculture.
From Australia Vogue, micro-aesthetics are defined as things you buy without having any unique, genuine style or interest in fashion. This also forces people to stray away from the inspiration potentially given through these subcultures because the trends are quickly turning.
Subcultures as a whole are broad communities of fashion that umbrella multiple different styles of that subculture, like how “goth” goes back to the 1980s and created nicher subcultures like “emo” and “scene.” And according to the same Australia Vogue article, our interests, regrettably so, come after the style of the aesthetic.
Nina Miyashita, who wrote the article, argues that choosing a style before adopting its lifestyle is inauthentic. Antonio Gary Jr., in his aforementioned video, almost agrees with Miyashita, describing the new phenomenon of micro-aesthetics and those who adopt multiple as “vibe chameleons.” These people interlink fashion and lifestyle depending on what group of people they are interacting with. Rather than sticking with their own personal style, they change their appearance to appeal to certain aesthetics and the people associated with them.
Although micro-aesthetics could end up driving someone towards more fashion knowledge and developing their own style, they become dangerous when people overconsume an array of “aesthetics” and throw them away once a new one emerges. That’s concerning because there will always be an excess amount of waste and an excess amount of “stuff” to worry about, buy, or quickly leave behind. And with the fast array of trends that are more than just one item, we are influenced to consume more and more.
What Does This Mean For The Environment?
Short answer – it depends on where you shop. Thrift stores are generally better for the environment, considering they give clothes a second life. So even if the trend goes away in a few months or a year, you’re able to buy something cheaper and more sustainable for the environment in the future. This method, essentially, saves clothes from ending up in the trash.
On the other hand, if you shop at the mall or online fast-fashion sites such as TikTok Shop, Shein, and Romwe, there’s a near certainty that those clothes were made using synthetic, non-biodegradable material. In other words, it can sit in a landfill for as long as 200 years before fully decomposing.
Image Courtesy: Vouge
In her January 5th, 2024 Earth Org article, Rashmila Matin describes fast fashion as “cheaply produced and priced garments that copy the latest catwalk styles and get pumped quickly through stores in order to maximize on current trends.” Usually wielding unethical production methods, many companies produce an excess of poorly made clothes that won’t stay long in your closet. Now add that with the average American producing approximately an average of 82 pounds of textile waste each year.
What makes this more scary is when the fashion cycle speeds up to a quickness only fast-fashion industries can keep up with, leading consumers to purchase a new cart-full of cheap aesthetic clothes from one of their stores, as opposed to a more ethically produced piece. This cycle repeats for every micro-aesthetic, made when there are multiple per season and worse, per week.
What Can We Do?
Trend cycles don’t have to be a bad thing – not if you don’t let it. There’s nothing wrong with picking up a trend if you know it's something that can become a part of your personal style. Before you find yourself contributing to the problem, make sure you know it’s more than just a trend for you. Ask yourself how relevant this aesthetic is to your life, and if you want to participate in the aesthetics’ lifestyle.
And if that aesthetic is for you, even with its add-on lifestyle, there are always ethical ways to keep up and stay trendy. Try DIY-ing that cute new top or searching your local thrift store for those perfect flats for fall.
Remember, your style is what you make it. You can mix in whatever you like, trendy or not, and be comfortable in what you wear. There are tons of ways to fit trends into your day-to-day wardrobe and, more importantly, ways to do it ethically.
Strike Out,
Orlando
Writer: Riley Flynn
Editors: Nina Rueda & Krizia Figueroa
Riley Flynn is a staff writer for Strike Magazine Orlando. She's a fashion lover and is usually at a thrift store trying to find a dupe for the latest fashion trends. When she's not writing an article or sifting through clothes, you'll find her painting, writing poetry, or working on her next screenplay. You can reach her on gmail as rileysflynn04@gmail.com or via Instagram at @rileysage04
