no, you don’t need to buy into something to enjoy it 

'When brands get involved in everything, it takes the fun out of it'. Couldn't agree more. By the time the Barbie movie premiered, I couldn't even be bothered to go and watch it. And I'm an 80s kid, so playing with Barbie and her friends is a peak childhood memory for me. Not to mention, that pink is really, actually one of my favorite colors. But this insane and contrived feeling hype around it all was so off putting to me, it totally took the fun out of it. I did enjoy some creators really exploring the theme and creating incredible costumes for the premiere and such...but all the associated, mass produced merch is just hella annoying. It's like the opposite of 'buy something you know you will enjoy wearing over and over again'. It's just all so depressing to watch.

So all this IP merch is a real throw back to the 90s. I didn't even really register the Barbie merch, because that's what Barbie had been in the millenial childhood. So much so that the Barbie cultural moment was very midlife crisis coded to me.

I unashamedly already owned a pink velvet co-ord to wear to barbie. You either own & wear pink clothes or you don’t, don’t force it for the sake of a film and never wear it again.

Literally wtf is cowboy summer. When did seasons start getting themes. It sounds pretty chronically online and if people kinda just step away from those spaces for a while they'd start feeling like it doesnt matter too much

Dressing up for films has always been there and off the top of my head it was more commonplace in the realm of fantasy/horror and therefore felt like a sister to the cosplay community. A lot more diy and just small nods to the franchise you enjoyed. Concerts and festivals are a fantastic place to express yourself in ways you may not get to in your everyday or even the clubs you frequent so I understand the fun in that. I remember before last year this was very commonplace with the festival aesthetic. I think once upon a time it was about mixing a really standout piece with your most practical garments that you didn’t mind ruining and could dance about in and dare to take to a five day event. Before the pandemic it suddenly seemed that you had to have at least three multicoloured spandex outfits that you would use once. There were endless listings on depop for this sort of thing. However, outside of the old H&M x Coachella and what UO were doing, it didn’t feel like brands were that interested in festivals outside of the beauty industry (glitter, neon makeup, hair products) but post pandemic and the use of self expression with younger audiences sharing the cute idea they’ve had with friends has definitely allowed brands to capitalise on the fashion side of things. It feels like every other month a brand is collaborating with a piece of media (friends, barbie etc), art (keith haring), music (ariana grande, blackpink) or a fashion house. To the point that these drops don’t even feel exciting anymore. The accessibility feels void now it’s so commonplace and will rotate between however many fast fashion brands just to end up being resold months later!

This is just the basis of the ongoing microtrend discussion

I bought a sheer newsprint top from a thrift store about 2 months after Taylor Swift's concert in my city and I would bet money it was part of someone's Reputation era themed outfit. On one hand I was annoyed that they clearly just bought it and wore it once, but on the other...I was really happy to add it to my wardrobe

I’ve been having a great time as part of a low buy year using an aesthetics wheel online for a daily outfit challenge. Whether it’s pastel goth, cottagecore, or Twilight-inspired, I do my best to create a look that fits the brief using only things I own. Today I’m wearing an outfit I never would have thought of without it but I feel really cool!

Advertising and aesthetic fatigue drives me mad. I just want to wear what I find cute and pleasing on myself, not be put in a box that screams "buy this! It fits the vibe you're going for!" because it vaguely looks like the same thing I just put on. Everything is so corporate and soulless, and I find myself actively gravitating away from any type of branding or advertising or influencing. If anything catches my eye for any reason, I sit on it for awhile and see if I still want it. Could be a month or two, could be a year or two. This is an absolutely necessity when you're surrounded by endless targeting and undisclosed sponsorships. The "danger" with that, of course, is that the new trendy products disappear into the void, but limited editions and FOMO is one of those feelings I've just never fully understood. I like what I like, and I don't need anything beyond that, and while I don't deny myself the things I want, I'm always veeery critical and thorough before I take something off the shelf. And even then, sometimes it doesn't work out, but knowing I did as much as I could beforehand helps ease the sting. Time and research are very valuable and should be the bare minimum. I wish more people would take that into account before they haplessly spend on something they probably won't like. ESPECIALLY when the economy and environment is as horrendous as it is. We don't need more unnecessary waste.

me and my friends went to barbie. i genuinely wanted to look "barbiecore". however, i realized that, despite my love for pink, i have nothing pink to wear. so if naturally i didn't have anything like this in my closet, would I wear it after buying and going out once? very unlikely. I'm still wondering if I'm into pink clothing haha

I didn't watch barbie and am not a big Beyonce fan. Unfazed here 😆

Great video! If we do have a cowboy summer, imma keep an eye on depop come fall 'cause I love cowboy vibes. I already have 2 rancher hats, a denim jack, denim jeans, and several button downs, all stuff I've been buying for the past few years. I think it's insane to buy into an aesthetic just for a summer though. That's literally 3-4 months of your life when you're expected to live at minimum into your 60s and 70s (I don't know what the average life expectancy is now). How do people keep up constantly changing?

You are preaching, you're def ahead of the curve in terms of sustainable fashion analysis and discourse.

I’ve been binging your videos!! Really love your thoughts on where the fashion world stands atm. Would you be able to do a video on how to build a unique personal style that doesn’t rely on trends?

❤❤❤

I had pink already.I will skip cowboy..

Or just don't dress in theme to see a movie or go to a concert. 😒

I enjoyed the Barbie effect a lot, but that’s probably cause in Finland people very rarely dress up like that. Finnish people don’t really express themselves with pink or Barbie-esque style so it was very refreshing to be honest. People were so relaxed and everyone agreed on liking pink. 🥲 but i understand that this kind of smaller positive effect was very local and of course we have same fast fashion problems that everyone else has as well. But I guess it was done here big enough to notice, but small enough not to be saturated or you know. Gross.