What Is a Stupid Fashion Trend

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The Look Again

Fashion fads come up and go. Information technology'south only that sometimes when they go, it feels similar a weight has been lifted — unless they just won't become, as in the case of Ugg boots. The marshmallowy shoes are making a swift return, despite their cartoony appearance, thanks to Gen Z'due south embrace of early-aughts fashion. No matter how old yous are, looking back through photos from the fourth dimension in your life when you were trying to exist absurd tin can be funny — or painful. Here's a look at some of the most cringe-worthy fashion trends in recent history.

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Corset from 1918 — Victorian Traditions/shutterstock

1900s: Corsets

At the turn of the 20th century, the Victorian era was cartoon to a close — and so, too, thankfully, was the era of the corset. For centuries, women used corsets to crush their bodies into the and so-arcadian hourglass effigy. It was mutual for piddling girls to squeeze into them and continue wearing them their entire lives, even through pregnancy. They were known to misalign the spine, deform ribs, and smoosh internal organs out of their natural position.

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1915 Dickey from Germanic National Museum, Nuremberg past Anagoria (CC BY)

1910s: Dickies

Though these began beingness touted once more as high fashion effectually 2015, that just brings usa dorsum around to how these faux, fractional shirt fronts were used past the nouveau-riche in the 1910s: To cutting down on the laundry pecker while seeming to wear a tuxedo shirt. In the years between, mock turtleneck vest versions have become visual shorthand for tacky, clueless, and low-class, and it's not clear that Michael Kors fans will escape the dickies' historical taint.

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Burgundy smoking jacket from the 1944 film Gaslight by pop civilisation geek (CC By)

1920s: Smoking Jackets

Although they have roots dating to the 1600s, and never went out of style for Hugh Hefner, smoking jackets peaked in popularity the 1920s as the ultimate symbol of elegant leisure for gentlemen. In reality, they're glorified bathrobes with weird pockets designed to concord primitive watches on bondage. They're almost always made of hideous maroon velvety cloth and were, presumably, saturated with cigar/piping/unfiltered cigarette smoke.

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1930s: Shoulder Pads

The gangster era gave the earth some of the greatest style always conceived, just there was besides plenty of stuff that didn't brand it into the James Cagney movies — and for good reason. Although shoulder pads are oftentimes considered a manner disaster of the 1980s, designer Elsa Schiaparelli introduced them in the 1930s. Cheers, Elsa, there's goose egg cuter than correct angles from neck to elbow.

1940s: Zoot Suits

Fully loaded with racial stereotyping against the the black and Latino youths who wore them in Harlem and Los Angeles in the 1940s, zoot suits might be the only fashion tendency ever to have race riots named after them. Mountains of baggy cloth. Wide lapels. Porkpie hats. Padded shoulders. The zoot suit is gone forever, and that'southward fine.

Cat Eye Sunglasses — Elena Ray/shutterstock

1950s: Cat Heart Glasses

Although Audrey Hepburn's graphic symbol in "Breakfast at Tiffany'south" launched them into the fashion stratosphere in 1961, cat middle sunglasses came onto the scene in the 1950s — and they've never gone away. That'southward more than a one-half-century of perturbed-librarian-meets-homo-feline awfulness.

1960s: John Lennon Glasses

Although they didn't expect terrible on Ben Franklin 200 years before, tiny glass circles on thin wire frames did for men in the 1960s what cat optics did for women the decade before: made their faces look ridiculous. This modern style mistake can be traced to John Lennon. The Beatle sported "granny glasses" for the first time in 1966, adopting them from the character he played in a movie.

1960s: White Gloves

If you're not a butler or a Disney toon, and if y'all're not performing a medical procedure or going to the opera, in that location is essentially no excuse for white gloves. Nevertheless in the 1960s, there they were. Everywhere. With every outfit. For no apparent reason.

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1960s and Today: Patterned Tights

During the free-spirited 1960s it was groovy to comprehend the leg with day-glo colors and op-fine art patterns — and now they're back, minus the terminology, as exercise wearable that become repurposed into everyday garb that's more than "fun" than the ubiquitous black leggings. That they're at present on male legs as well may say good things about our culture, but information technology doesn't say anything good nigh our fashion sense.

1960s: Human Billboards

In the movie "Part Infinite" they called it flair. Nosotros're talking almost buttons and pins with wacky slogans safety-pinned to wear, backpacks, and other accessories, and Jennifer Aniston'south character freaked out and quit her task considering she didn't want to wear it — and we don't blame her. The revived tendency traces its roots to the 1960s and the anti-state of war movement, when pins instructed you to exercise such things every bit make dear, not war.

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1970s: Jumpsuits for Men

There was a tragic merely thankfully brief time information technology was adequate for grown men to leave the firm wearing full-length tuxedo onesies. That fourth dimension was the 1970s, and the onesies were called jumpsuits. They came with frills. They could be purple, but they might besides be dark-brown and tan. This happened, and information technology wasn't okay.

1970s: Wide-Collared Shirts

Something weird happened in the 1970s: Everyone's necks grew paper aeroplane wings. Wide-collared shirts, sometimes called disco shirts, began busting out from under sport coats around the time Abba ruled civilization. The style looked good on one person, and 1 person but: Burt Reynolds.

1970s: Platform Shoes

Ummm. Linda? Donna? Cherise? Y'all know I know that none of you are actually 6-foot-6, correct? Also, nosotros're supposed to go dancing, you know, at the discotheque … and maybe behemothic bricks attached to sandals aren't the most prudent choice of footwear.

1980s: Neon Headbands and Wristbands

Since neon colors were required for absolutely all merchandise in the 1980s, and sweat-soaked elastic fabric wrapped effectually the head and wrists was totally a affair, why not combine the ii?

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Preppy Sweater Style — Paul Hakimata Photography/shutterstock

1980s: Sweaters Around Necks

Among the near atrocious trends in fashion history was '80s prep, and its most heinous law-breaking was men — seemingly all named Blaire or Blaine — tying sweaters around their necks in prep schools, yacht clubs, and Brat Pack movies.

Aerobics Legwarmers — Hank Shiffman/shutterstock

1980s: Leg Warmers

Whether you were Sweating to the Oldies or trying to proceed upwardly with Jane Fonda, if yous were doing aerobics in the 1980s — and you were — chances are practiced you wore leg warmers. There was, obviously, a securely held belief that exercise would make your ankles and calves chilly.

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1980s: The Rat Tail

Although information technology'south more style than fashion, the rat tail is worth a mention because it holds the stardom of being the merely fad in history that made the mullet worse. Sometimes braided, sometimes feathered, the long, skinny, deformed male person ponytail known equally the rat tail had its place in history. So did the reign of Genghis Khan.

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1990s: Hammer Pants

In 1990, M.C. Hammer released "U Can't Bear on This" and his namesake brand of parachute pants, called Hammer pants, on an unsuspecting globe. Presently kids of all races and genders looked like aboriginal Chinese emperors from the waist down.

Layered T-Shirt past Robert Sheie (CC By-SA)

1990s: T-Shirts Over Long-Sleeve Shirts

Jennifer Aniston did it on "Friends." Eddie Vedder did information technology on stage. Only they were Jennifer Aniston and Eddie Vedder. Anyone else who wore a long-sleeve shirt under a T-shirt in the '90s still owes us all an explanation.

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1990s: Jnco Jeans and Gaucho Trousers

The surrealistically thick-legged silhouette of gaucho trousers, which attain mid-calf and suggest a skirt without existence one, made the bound in the 1990s from women to popular men's fashion with expensive JNCO jeans — the letters stand up for "Guess None Choose I" but were frequently referred to equally "Jeans No One Can Own" — and became flagrantly impractical fast. Leg openings could be more than 50 inches in diameter, peradventure helping burn buyers out on the fad, and sales began suffering at the terminate of the 1990s. Just the visitor limped on until 2018.

Roommate Reunion #6 by Cheryll Del Rosario (CC BY-NC-ND)

1990s: Overalls With One Strap Down

When Will Smith undid one of the straps on his old-fashioned overalls, arguably the least hip piece of habiliment e'er sewn, high school kids across the country suddenly became non-symmetrical farmhands.

1990s: Kangol Hats

In yet some other instance of celebrities leading a nation astray, Samuel Fifty. Jackson deserves much blame for the rise of the Kangol hat. It turned out he'due south the but human who can pull information technology off, forwards or back. The best of united states of america should never endeavor, though nosotros did in the '90s.

2000s: Saggy Pants

When the new millennium arrived, weird things started happening: A whole lot more underwear entered the picture, and back pockets ended upwardly somewhere by the backs of the knees. Non only was the amorphous pants trend unsightly, merely it was impractical to anyone who wanted to run … or walk … or get a job. We all liked "The Wire," too, only merely stop information technology.

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2000s: Crocs

In 2002, shoes became those wooden clogs people wore to collect tulips in the Netherlands, only they were made of plastic — and filled with holes. They were Crocs, and with the exception of the Birkenstock sandal, they represented the lowest point in the history of footwear. Nonetheless, for those seeking slip-on comfort, they served their purpose — and in 2021, they're back and apparently libation than e'er, thanks to social media influencers. The make even announced it would be adding a wacky sock line and then devotees can take the dubious trend to another level.

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juicy sweatpants with Butt Writing — Ebay

2000s: Butt Writing

Pink. Juicy. Namaste. At some point in the 2000s, staring at a woman's butt went from rude, creepy, and sleazy to unavoidable, thanks to weird, often suggestive words printed on the back of sweatpants. They appeared on women of all ages, and girls — including immature girls. Let's delight not practise that again.

Cute Native American Woman — TomFullum/istockphoto

2000s: Depression-Rise Jeans

Unfortunately, like Crocs, depression-rise jeans are starting to enjoy a resurgence. Gen Z is rejecting skinny jeans and higher waists in favor of early-2000s tends like this one, which exposed belly buttons, hip basic, and even rear ends with unforgiving zeal. "Many women who already lived through the trend's first incarnation view its return with terror," notes The Wall Street Journal. Indeed. Long alive mom jeans.

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FiveFingers KSO Trek by Eyesighter (CC Past-SA)

2000s: Toe Shoes

Introduced by obscure rubber sole company Vibram in 2005, "FiveFinger" shoes were intended to exist a more than natural way to interact with the outdoors — as though wearers were running barefoot. But as copycats got into the action, less than a decade afterward Vibram was setting aside money to settle a health-claim lawsuit and the shoes were virtually prominent on tech types who weren't poster children for getting dorsum to nature.

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woman walks in ugg boots across a town´s market square — Ralf Geithe/istockphoto

2000s: Ugg Boots

These sheepskin wonders skyrocketed in popularity after they landed on Oprah's eponymous "Favorite Things" listing in 2000. Suddenly, everyone had to accept a pair, leading to waiting lists and insane markups on eBay. There were few places you couldn't spot someone sporting the marshmallowy footwear, often paired with leggings, even if the venue seemed to demand something, well, a little less comfortable. However, similar many '00 trends, this one is coming back, and Uggs have been spotted on plenty of stars lately, not to mention on the feet of TikTok influencers.