How do fashion trends influence your personality?

The term “fashion” embodies the freedom of expression.

Fashion knows no specific definition or restriction. There is no denying the fact that fashion has established a significant and influential presence in our lives.

Everyone has his or her sense of style. We set our trends by wearing what we look good and feel comfortable in. Some like to keep it simple, whereas others love attention.

Regardless of your inclination, your fashion sense creates an undeniable impact on you by depicting your real personality.

Fashion helps mold culture. Different cultures hail from different parts of the world. Each region has a particular dress code and style that reflect the area’s culture, religion, and customs. From your age group to your demographic needs to your cultural influence, every factor plays a role in the advent of a new fashion trend.

While some vouch for the pro impact of fashion, others strictly contest against it, highlighting only its adverse outcomes. In reality, there are two sides to everything.

–              Positive Impact

Your dressing sense is a reflection of your personality and taste. Whether you wear a high-end luxury item or a hidden gem that you discovered ruffling through a thrift store rack, your dressing shapes your image. As new trends make their way into our lives, it can be quite overwhelming to find your style identity.

1.            Daring Approach

New fashion trends allow you to step out of your comfort zone. As human beings, we must always challenge ourselves to try new things. While familiarity is comfortable, the thrill of stepping into the unknown is unparalleled.

Conservative fashion reigned supreme back in the day. Designers felt compelled to abide by limitations. Today, style is finally embracing everyone, including the normal, the eccentric, and the outrageous. This daring approach to break the walls around you inflicted by society is liberating.

Therefore, if you wish to wear a top hat with a custom leather jacket over a wedding dress or wear five neon colors in one outfit, no one can tell you otherwise. You do you, regardless of how much your style defies the rules of fashion. 

2.            Boost in Creativity

Not all trends cater to your customized needs, but they give you room to play around and personalize. For instance, some love neon colors, whereas others would much instead stick to subtle neutrals. New trends give you the creative freedom to create unique looks using all that you have at hand to create something unique. Perhaps next time, add a neon pop of color to your ensemble to add a new refreshing dimension to your look. It could be a bright-colored belt, a funky handbag, or a statement pair of shoes. Sport your new look with confidence.

3.            Confidence Boost

Looking good and feeling comfortable in your attire invokes natural confidence. When you experiment with a look, and it turns out the way you imagined it, you are bound to feel confident and happy. If your bag compliments along the way, then that is even better. This aspect of fashion mainly helps those who struggle with self-esteem issues.

If you look back in time, the fashion world was limited to cater to a specific set of people. Plus-size fashion was a foreign concept unheard of. Today fashion embraces people of all shapes and colors. Not only are trends helping those with self-esteem, but they are also promoting body positivity and eradicating colorism. One size does not fit all anymore.

• Negative Impact

The negative impact of fashion has been subject to considerable debate for years now. Despite the positive impact of fashion trends, fashion continues to influence our lives deleteriously. From social issues to an increased financial burden, staying on trend is not an easy-breezy as it may seem on social media.

1. Financial Investment

Fashion trends change in a heartbeat. One night you scroll down your Instagram feed and see a hot new item is in. The next morning, the trend dies, and another new hot and happening item hits the racks. Owing to this fluctuation, it is not unlikely to find yourself feeling pressured to keep up.

We, as consumers, tend to spend a considerable amount of money on trendy items primarily because we do not want to feel left out. Fashion comes at a price; however, not everyone can afford to pay for it. This increased financial burden is challenging to pay for, especially for parents who support their children.

Statistics claim that the most impressionable is age is that between 10 and 24. Social media is primarily targeted towards the younger demographic, which enables them to propagate business. With new trends popping up every other day, teens and young adults demand commodities that parents may not be able to pay for. While some might consider it to be an investment, there seems to be no point investing in something so arbitrary.

2.  Increased Societal Pressure

Keeping up with trends also harbors adverse outcomes concerning mental health. Mental illness is currently the leading cause of disability in the United States. This outcome is the result of multiple factors. One such factor is societal pressure.

Societal pressure has driven many to take drastic measures in an effort to be accepted. In the age of body positivity and acceptance, diet pill sales continue to soar, and plastic surgeons are the highest in demand.

Despite efforts to eradicate the issues that stem from body shaming and self-esteem issues, the age of Instagram and Snapchat continues to haunt the lives of many pushing them to take extreme measures to look a certain way. This need to feel accepted sprouts some very deep-seated mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

Those who are financially strained are an additional disadvantage because they battle more than one issue. The resulting stress often results in many succumbing to societal pressure by hurting themselves or those around them.

3. Increased Competition

The competition to keep up with society is not a healthy one. The younger demographic falls victim to this issue. People find themselves feeling unnecessarily pressurized to compete with their friends and family. They often find themselves being judged and made fun of, which serve as the catalysts that sprout mental health issues. 

There seems to be an unspoken rule in social circles where if you are not donning the latest designs, you will be reprimanded out of the discussion. In reality, however, there is no such obligation that one should feel compelled to follow.

• Parting Thoughts

Various factors come into play when determining the impact of fashion trends. While many may deny the direct influence of ever-changing fashion trends on our personality, trends play an integral role in shaping mindsets in people of all age groups. Everyone likes to look good, and when you look good, you feel good. What matters is that you choose not to be influenced by the negatives. Fashion comes from