When else to experiment with your style, if not in youth ?! Teenagers and young people spend a lot of time on clothes, because for them it is the main instrument of self-expression. At a certain age a person is overcome by two opposite thoughts: “how to be unique?” And “how to be in a trend, to be like everyone else?”. The search for answers leads to the fact that there are more and more new varieties of youth clothing style that would reflect the mood, hobbies, musical predilections, worldview. Let's talk about what it is "youth style", what it is and how to wear it.
The concept of "youth style"
As already clear from the name of this direction, 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 and conformism. It is impossible to describe or sort out the youth style of clothing, because it is a whole galaxy of trends associated with different subcultures, with musical trends, with situations, with different hobbies. Clothing style is a way to express your attitude.
Since the 50s of the 20th century, young people began to enter new positions in society. She wanted to influence politics, the world order, defended her freedom of expression. So there is a hippie movement that protested against the bourgeois world, and even clothing took the form of protest. Following the fashion of “flower children,” youth subcultures began to grow like mushrooms after rain. Rockers, punks, goths, emo - this 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.
The main symptoms
Any style of clothing is united by some common idea. For youth, 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 style of clothing for girls and boys is a way to assert their right to freedom to be themselves. The second feature of the direction is the desire for individuality. Young people want to show the world what they are, to demonstrate their uniqueness and to do this with the help of clothes is the easiest. Surprisingly, modern young people are also united by a craving for comfort. They grew up in a very comfortable, comfortable life, and are not ready to refuse it, 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 diversity 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-cut system of styles and directions. However, you can make an approximate list of modern youth clothing styles seriously declaring themselves in modern fashion. These include:
- grunge
- hip-hop;
- military;
- sport style;
- boho chic;
- street style.
At the same time, the uniqueness of the current situation is that the older styles (punk, hippies, goths) have not disappeared anywhere, and they have their own 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 young generation have their own trends that apply to all areas of style. The most relevant current trends include the following:
- unisex. Erasing a clear line between women's and men's clothing. Everyone wears about 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 been rooted in youth style since the time of hippies and does not lose relevance;
- sports elements. The influence of sports and sports brands on young people is very large, so in the style for young people there are a lot of clothes resembling a form for physical education: sneakers, t-shirts, pants. Young people choose these things because of their high comfort. You won’t surprise anyone today by wearing sneakers for a chiffon dress or business suit. And the legislators of this fashion are young people who constantly destroy stereotypes;
- oversize. Teenagers like to wrap themselves from head to toe in huge sweaters, scarves, coats. This mod does not go away for several seasons and even penetrates other styles. The attractiveness of dimensionless clothes is again in convenience, in unisex, in the possibility of creating unusual sets. Young people subconsciously seek protection in this clothing, which wraps 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. Sweatpants can be equipped with a lace blouse, a classic-style jacket with rude army boots. The main thing is to be unlike moms and dads, stand out from the crowd.
Fashionable work
Since today the concept of "youth" is expanding, and the upper bar of this age category is being pushed aside, the question becomes urgent, but in what can one go to work? Young people are not ready to put on a boring office suit and want to emphasize their free thinking even in business clothes. Of course, hard 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 the opportunity to demonstrate their personality in a work environment. Today we can talk about the formation of a youth business style of clothing. He is characterized by a share of informality, which is manifested in the introduction of elements of youth clothing into conservative business clothes. For example, you can wear jeans, a print T-shirt, and sketches or sneakers for a classic jacket. Modern youth often engage in creative professions or start their own business, not everyone wants to integrate into the system, and in such works they can quite afford to wear loose trousers, sweatshirts, t-shirts. And this trend even slightly affects the “adult” business style, which also shows signs of democratization.
Casual style
The usual life of a young man is most often not burdened with a large number of official meetings and visits to places with a hard dress code. Therefore, the base of youth wardrobes is casual wear. An informal style of clothing for every day is characterized by convenience and practicality. Young people will not smooth out the arrows on their trousers or the collars of their shirts. Therefore, jeans and knitwear dominate in their wardrobe: T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, sweatshirts. This is real basic clothing, on its basis you can collect a restrained bow for a trip, for example, to a university, or a bolder way to meet friends.
Grunge style
This is a challenge style, his icon is Kurt Cobain. The essence of the style is manifested in a contemptuous attitude towards all conventions, in the denial of norms and rules. Grunge is negligence brought to the absolute. Torn, crumpled, dirty - all this is the grunge style. These are dull dark colors and layering, defiantly untidy appearance. Most often, grunge is seen as a youth style of clothing for guys. This negligence and deliberate hostility to glamor is organic to them. Girls often still want to remain at least a little feminine, and grunge does not provide for this.
Youth Military Style
A military theme for several seasons in a trend. This is not connected with the youth’s love for military uniforms, but rather is an expression of the pacifist sentiment 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. The military also manifests itself in the cut of clothes: epaulets, shortened jackets and sweaters, high boots with lacing - all these are the features of “militarism”.
Hip hop style
Music initially had a very strong influence on the youth style of clothing. It all started with rock and punk, and then began to take on more and more diverse forms. The emergence of hip-hop music, music of protest, was not left without attention by the mods. From this culture, spacious pants with a low rise and a large number of pockets, baseball caps, elongated T-shirts and t-shirts, voluminous hoodies and sweatshirts came to clothing. Initially, this clothing was only included in the guys ’wardrobe. But the girls could not 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, mini-skirts, tight-fitting T-shirts and crop tops and a lot of shine: silver and gold. Today in this outfit you can go to the party, and on a date, and for a walk.
Youth brands
Teens and young people are one of the most buying audiences in the world. Therefore, the clothing industry could not miss the chance and not create brands aimed specifically at young people.
The most famous youth brands include Stradivarius, Bershka, DC, Pepe Jeans, MISS SIXTY, MEXX, as well as the Russian brand YOURS. 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.