Dress to Depress-ion: Why Fashion Trends Are Failing Us

Sylvia Berger

Recession: What is it, and why are we talking about it?

If you’ve been on any social media app in the past few weeks, you may have noticed videos titled, “Meal prepping in the recession” or “Fashion and the recession”. With widespread fears and concerns over newly installed tariffs, what will economic changes have to do with things like meal prepping, fashion, and incoming trends? Well, the first question you should be asking yourself is, are we even in a recession? To suggest a definition, CBS MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O’Grady voices, "There's no one agreed-upon definition of a recession, but the most commonly used metric is two back-to-back periods of negative economic growth,”. So, while we may not be in a declared state of recession right now, experts can predict based on employment rates and policy uncertainty today, that many Americans are bracing for the oncoming impacts of tariffs on their favorite imported products. With that in mind, we can assume that in this technologically driven era, that the “recession buzz” will and has been adopted into short, “how to” videos across many social media platforms. These videos are targeted to basically any consumer looking to spend less money in the upcoming months. I recently saw a video on my own feed with a recipe for “recession soup”, that requires only $8 worth of ingredients to prepare a hardy meal for an entire family. Following the pattern of a trend, these “recession indicator” planning videos have infiltrated all sides of TikTok and Instagram, specifically recommending that people start preparing their closets now for the inevitable shift in fashion that will occur alongside. By gaining so much popularity, these trends have informed, but consequently stirred up unnecessary fears about the fate of our economy; but maybe more importantly to consumers, the fate of our fashion. 

What’s popular in fashion right now, anyways?

While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s “in” or “out” these days, we can always call upon credited fashion experts like Cosmopolitan magazine to help us guess what’s to come. Cosmopolitan predicts that this summer we can expect sheer layers, luxury athleisure, shades of pink, utility chic, and bold florals. What is so interesting about the era of fashion we are living in now is that you can expect to see a wide variety of ensembles wherever you go, rather than a collective of people adhering to one specific look. With many brands like Shein selling shirts for less than $5, it raises reasonable questions about the ethical creation of these goods, and additionally the lifespan of these suspiciously cheap items. Currently, companies like Fashion Nova and H&M rely on the labor of workers in countries like Bangladesh and Taiwan, but also within the United States. With wages of $2.77 an hour, workers in these factories are in less regulated facilities, which are prone to tragic accidents. This is all without looking into the heartbreaking environmental impact of these trends. Even without the expectations of a  recession, we must be mindful as consumers about the companies we are supporting, and how ethically sourced their goods are. Being a mindful shopper and aware of what companies you're investing in makes a big difference these days, when so many around us are continuing to engage passively with their purchasing. With that being said, the expectation of the “recession indicator” trend is that the way we dress and what we buy will likely change due to the expected rise in price of material goods. 

Trend or Trash: Why trends can be misleading

In 2008, during the massive financial crash, a similar downfall of fashion occured due to the failure of major financial institutions. This global recession caused luxury brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Saint Laurent, to take a huge hit in their sales. Not only did the recession hit luxury brands, but impacted the entire retail industry, causing widespread discounts of up to 80% in stores, making precious handbags and expensive items no longer enticing to higher paying customers. Due to the lack of access to materials, items that are more cheaply made like skinny jeans and other tighter fitting clothing became a style marker of that era, because making clothes with less material was simply much cheaper. Now, people who lived through the skinny jeans era of the early 2000s are predicting their comeback in recognition of this historical phenomenon. Vogue Business gives excellent insight into the pattern of trends and their purpose by noting, “We used to be able to look back at fashion and recognise its patterns as either nothing more than a returning trend or as markers of broader cultural stories when the evidence presented them as such. It’s almost as if now we are unable — or uninterested — in taking in the big picture.”. This is an important message about the time we are living in, and how so many aspects of social media have become unproductive in reflecting what’s really going on. It is important that when you look into what’s trending, you consider your sources and the real context of what you’re being sold. 

Women’s Bodies Are Not a Trend, Seriously. 

Outside of fashion and economic principles, the subject of trends and changing fashion choices are mainly women. Through the ages of fashion, one type of body comes in and out of fashion, sometimes reflecting the wealth of an era. This idealist perspective has literally made women’s bodies something “trend-worthy”, a totally backwards and harmful way to idealize women, and make beauty a competitive fight that must be purchased, a battle with ourselves that capitalism ensures we will never win. Through the last 100 years, each decade has idealized a different standard of beauty, starting in the 1920’s “Flapper girl” era, where a streamlined, petite, and straight arrow figure became popular. From then on, each decade highlighted a new “proportionally perfect” woman, where the hourglass shape and a curvaceous look was so in that there were weight gaining drugs advertised on television to encourage women to fill out their curves. 

Alt-Text: An illustration of ideal women's bodies are show from the years 1910-2010

In 2025, where Ozempic is a huge topic of conversation, it is hard to imagine seeing anything advertised to women to promote them to look any bigger than necessary. With body trends changing by the decade, it is impossibly difficult not to be impacted by this, creating an endless cycle of body dysmorphia where women are expected to meet this laundry list of attributes. Within the recession trend and the oncoming fashion crisis we are creating, we are simultaneously creating a crisis of self-image. Where women’s clothing is apparently about to get much smaller, women’s bodies are expected to do the same. Even while researching the topic of unrealistic expectations, I was getting ads for the best weight loss programs that I should click on. The irony in this is sad but true, women are always under scrutiny that is out of our control. While prices of goods and fashion may be a “recession indicator”, the size of our bodies should not be. Even though resisting the online panic can be difficult, it is ultimately more crucial that we stay grounded in reality. By seeking out truthful information, we can empower each other to navigate uncertainty with clarity, and remind ourselves that we are not powerless in the face of social media. 

External Sources: 

1. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/fashion/style/a39310917/spring-summer-fashion-trends/

2. https://www.nssmag.com/en/fashion/39621/2008-crisis-fashion-luxury

3. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/recession-made-you-more-beautiful-flna1c9449116

4. https://greatist.com/grow/100-years-womens-body-image#9