We Don’t Care If You Wear Skinny Jeans (They’re gonna become trendy in three years anyways)
As a 14-year-old, I spend an unreasonable amount of time on social media. I mean, probably the same amount as any other teenager in the middle of a pandemic would, but enough that even though I don’t have Tumblr or Twitter, I can recognize memes from it (mainly because Instagram is just screenshots of tweets and Tumblr posts). While I was scrolling endlessly through Instagram, you can imagine my surprise when I saw an actress openly display her rage towards Gen Z for canceling skinny jeans and side parts. As a member of Gen Z (1997–2012), I immediately wondered what the hell she was going on about. I must have missed the generation-wide memo or something because this was the first I heard about it. I realized nearly every Millennial I follow on social media was posting about it, all of them angry at how Gen Z was ‘canceling’ skinny jeans, side parts, and even emojis.
In the next few weeks, the world would see even more Millennials fighting gen z, this time moving from baggy vs. skinny jeans to the rapper Eminem. One Millennial even made a now-viral TikTok about Gen Z trying to cancel Eminem by doing an Eminem style rap. If you don’t see how ridiculous some Millennials are reacting about this whole situation is a must-watch. I think many millennials would have found a Tik-Tok like this to be embarrassing.
The more research for this article I did, the more this feud struck me as plain stupid. Millennials were born from 1981 to 1996, meaning the youngest Millennial is turning 25 this year and the oldest 40.
That’s right. Forty.
As previously stated, individuals of Gen Z are born between the years 1997–2012. Meaning the oldest is twenty-three and the youngest is nine. Now that you can put a number to the word, it becomes even less clear why Millennials even care about the Gen Z trends. They are adults with jobs, lives, spouses- maybe even kids. I’m not saying that you have to be young to keep up with the trends, but if you are an adult, why do you care so much about what teenagers think? Also, when have teenagers even been praised for their fashion? I know for a fact that Millennial’s parents didn’t love the 2000s scene kid clothing and the excessive layers from Millennials’ teen years. Gen X was also looked down upon as teenagers for their low rise, baggy, and braless looks. Millennials having a distaste for Gen Z’s fashion would be an expected traditional sign of the times. It seems that the younger generation caught Millennials by surprise by expressing their distaste for the older generation’s clothing.
Clothing goes out of style (insert Taylor swift reference here) ever so often. However, there are only so many styles, so eventually, fashion will naturally become cyclical. In the past years, Gen Z has gone through the 80s and 90s trends and is quickly moving onto the 2000s. Then, we’ll probably circle back around and go back to the 60s fashion, or maybe if we’re lucky, the chevron print of the 2010s. Neither the fashionable teens on TikTok or the 23-year-old influencers control the trends. Sadly best-dressed does not dictate department stores and prominent fashion trends (though I wish she did). These trends are foreseen and encouraged by big fashion companies and brands because- get this- fashion is cyclical. They’ll know when scrunchies are coming, and they’ll know when to stock up on low-rise jeans and Juicy sweatpants for when the 2000s come back. Teenagers didn’t spur this change. If anything, we just went with it. Baggy jeans have been on the rise, while skinny jeans, though they were a staple in our middle school outfits, are moving out.
However, I don’t think any of that matters. During quarantine, people are finally able to wear the clothes they want free of judgment. They can find their “aesthetic” and style without the opinions of others getting in the way. This is why grunge, punk, and goth fashion made comebacks during quarantine (though under the “alt” description, but it’s the same thing), as well as corsets and cottage-core. I’ve even seen people who style their whole lives around a decade, like the 70s and 50s. People can wear what they want to wear, and if you want to wear skinny jeans and uggs, all the more power to you. You look super comfy, and I’m jealous. If you want to keep up with what’s trendy, that’s fine too, and you look so much cooler than I ever will. I think we, as a society, are progressing to a place where we can wear our clothing and express our individuality through it without tearing each other down for no reason. Millennials, nobody said you can’t wear skinny jeans, and Gen Z apologizes for maybe insulting you a little; as long as you promise to take down the songs you’ve written about us. That’s right, all of them (how did you make so many in like a week???).
There is more to the Millennials and Gen Z than a meaningless style article by a girl with absolutely no fashion expertise. Between these two generations is a strong allyship destined to create progress in our dysfunctional society. Both generations have had the most exposure to the internet and information from a young age. Though I think Gen Z is trying our hardest, Millenials might be the key to bridging the gap between generational issues, like mental health, violence against women, and systemic racism, as well as homophobia and transphobia. Quite honestly, we need someone in our corner while we explain “She/They pronouns” to our parents and grandparents, and I think our millennial cousins/aunts/uncles are up for the job. As long as we can all agree to wear what we want to the table (even if it clashes, or the jeans are ripped), Gen-Z and Millennials, Dr. Martens, to checkered vans, to knee-high boot wearers, can all actually come together and have proper conversations about whatever the hell is going on and how we can fix it (and maybe have some good-natured roasting of their emoji usage 😂😂😂).
Written by: Madi Terry
