Decades Series: 2010s - Topic of the day 4/12/24
What do you think of 2010s fashion? Do you hang onto anything trendy from a decade ago, or has the trend cycle made 2010s styling feel unwearable? What were the decade-defining trends that you loved and hated? Are the 2010s coming back yet? This is an ongoing TOTD series going through the decades.
226 Replies
Mostly hate. Tbf I mostly hate the boring MFA uniform of the 2010s, I think streetwear had a big come up with some interesting fits during this time.
Dislike: overly slim clothing, moto pants, most SLP fits, drop crotch, scoop neck, common projects, Almond AE strands with everything, vests.
Like: flannel, raw denim, boots, chore coat, Barbour, field and barn coats, all other white minimalist sneakers, flat front chino shorts, plain t shirts, chambray.
:cdb:
as someone who was obese for most of the 2010s fashion sucked tbh
I still like a lot of heritage workwear urban lumberjack stuff but in an updated fit way with the addition of new trendier things like double knees, different sneakers, gorp stuff,
My first exposure to fashion as a fresh ass high schooler in 2015 was ultraboosts, supreme, bape and adidas sweatpants
Traumatizing
at the time i liked the idea of scandi minimalism (norse projects, apc, common projects) but i kinda like more interesting clothes nowadays
Relevant to another recent topic of the day that I forgot to comment on: but I got Alden Indy boots and the way I described them once was that they're a great piece from the previous fashion generation lol
Old Aaron Levine pic
I associate the 2010s with gaudy things like KAWS and all the copy and paste allover print shirts like pray for paris
Overall not good
I stopped following some fashion stuff from 2016 to 2020 so I have no idea what you’re taking about haha
Something I'm curious about:
Things like flannels are still in today but the both fashionable and on trend way of wearing them is with rugged derbies rather than work boots
Which footwear choice do you think is objectively better?
Objectively better
Yeah objectively was a dumb choice of words, just curious to hear what people think actually looks cooler regardless of trend
whichever is on trend
you can't divorce "looks better" from trends thats not how fashion works lmao
Flannels don't look good at all benj I'm sorry
also that
You can. Just depends on who you are dressing for
no you can't
there is no objective answer
it is informed by the current landscape in fashion which is shaped by trends
I agree there is no objective answer but I can have my own answer that is not completely informed by trends and it can also look good to other people who may or may not be on trend
Yeah I'd say Indy boots are on trend for MFA but not on trend for fashion posters on tiktok
thats just cause MFA is off trend
lmao
This is just major :copium: trends always inform your descsion even if you think they aren't
being contrarian is a choice informed by trends
A lot of the work boot fits on MFA are incredibly fresh tho
Like @upsett1_spaghett1 🥀 for example
A fit can be good without being trendy
Not that correlated I think
Evaluating a fit could be influenced by your understanding of trends but they exist on their own merit regardless
i feel like thats contradictory
how can they exist on their own merit if evaluation is always influenced by trends
there is no objective merit in fashion
You are acting like you have an objective merit of what is on trend
im not
im saying trends just always influence how someone evaluates their fit because its informed by the fashion landscape around them
the same fit will be viewed differently in 2004, 2014, and 2024
by people at large
objectivity is a lie
fashion is much closer to art than science
I agree entirely with that but this is off track from what I was trying to ask. Do you personally think Indy boots or rugged derbies are cooler shoes for work wear influenced fits?
choose a different thread benji
how is that relevant to this totd
Indy boots were big in the 2010s right?
Curious on what fashion pieces from that era people still like
i like rugged derbies because I associate the boots with the 2010s lmao
hence my fucking point
yeah most of my friends in the 2010s wore flannels with vans authentics lol
I agree that it’s an art but to me it’s a personal art. I’ve seen a lot of things come and go in trends. Some I still like and wear, some I don’t like, some I never liked. Some on trend things I like and some I dont. I don’t chose to wear things because to be contrarian for contrarians sake. I wear them because I like them
I fw the 2010s
One thing that sticks out to me when remembering the 2010's was this weird obsession with "authenticity". It was especially rampant in raw denim/workwear/heritage trends and in focus on "quality". Im sure there was alot of carry over from the hipster incentives of the time but im not smart enough to go deeper. At least the way I was seeing it at the time, 2010's seemed pretty careful in terms of fit, types of acceptable garments, and the "philosophy" behind it (even if contrived)
I've said my piece if you wanna :copium: that people around you don't influence your personal views go off
2010s streetwear went brazy, and as much as I think Hedi is a hack SLP hit at the perfect time
Yes and your question is relevant. Personally I like flannels with boots, derbies, and sneakers and all convey a slightly different aesthetic. Depends on my mood
I was thinking in terms of people having different understanding of what counts as being trendy
I think it would be very hard for me to look at a fit and think what era it slots into but I could appreciate a good fit even if it was technically not the current trend
im saying this is a lie
in that
holy fuck im just repeating myself
I'm def glad that those aspects fell off
never mind
I think your arguing with a straw man but whatever.
if yall wanna misunderstand me go off
I know what you mean
I appreciate that but I’m also definitely off-trend
2010s was all about commodification of authenticity, I've talked about this a lot
I'm curious how Indy boots would work with cropped workwear jackets. I think ima find a rugged derbie and try both and see what I enjoy more
Benji mention Indy boots again I'm gonna explode
Totally. I do still fw 2010s fashion though
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116794518415622154
if you have any particular comments you remember/can link I'll read your thoughts!
Funny enough they might be on Reddit, lemme look
Would you say that's related to how things like shein/tiktok makes it really easy to commodity even micro trends
There's an essay I'm thinking about but idt I could find it
I just associate the idea of commodifying aesthetics as a 2020s thing
Commodifying authenticity was definitely a 2010s thing in the form of new brands trying to sell the idea of timeless rugged materials and constructions but the brand was only a few years old
Something like Gustin comes to mind
No not really, but with hyperglobalization everything influences everything
2010s also felt kinda "dressing for other people without looking like you were dressing for other people"
I imagine the influence of gq and complex in print, plus the sartorialist, tumblr etc online impacted things
Could you expand on that as I'm curious?
How To Talk to Girls At Parties
I feel like Iron Heart is probably the best example of this
I was definitely dressing in imitation of people I thought were popular in high school lmO
Sprezz was a very popular sensibility in menswear at the time
Not me leaving one strap on my double monks unbuckled and getting made fun of at work for my “little pilgrim shoes”
Still is but disaffected coolness was the vibe as opposed to a current acceptance of effort and earnestness
I struggle with calling it a "2010s thing" - fashion has never not been about commodifying aesthetics, or authenticity, that's the whole point imo. When ralph came up with polo, what was that but selling an idea of what it was like to grow up vacationing on nantucket? I'll bite on the specific kind of authenticity being a 2010s thing and a major marketing innovation of basically doing the clothes version of selling trucks to middle managers who'd otherwise just drive their civic into the ground, but the commodification of aesthetics predates that for sure
Ok I was thinking of the idea of "trying too hard" which I think is still a thing. Like a friend once told me he dislikes people who wear scarves when it's not cold even though he definitely spends enough time on fashion to be p fashionable and on trend
But I think that's different than what's being described and is a separate thing people who are more tangentially engaged in fashion say
i think the 2010s were an instance where men were finally confronted with the prospect of Caring About Clothes so the efforts to be intentional were either timid (sneakers with suits, non-standard blazers) or else wrapped up in "authenticity" or "pragmatism" (buying redwings because it was on r/buyitforlife vs acknowledging the aesthetics)
Clothing as aspirational doesn't sound like a bad totd
if caring about clothing was the 5 stages of grief, the 2010s would be denial and clearly the 2020s are anger and bargaining hence the discourse of slim fit
I guess so but I think I view them differently since they were started in 2002.
This was supposed to be about iron heart
oh i have thoughts about the semiotics of aspirational clothing (read: am currently reading status and culture)
Semiotics?
Right, Salo is (correctly) saying that this viewpoint is an artifact of the 2010s. What is on-trend now is being earnest. The idea that you could "try to hard" is silly. That's why things like scandi minimalism and "spending tons of money to look super boring" is also off-trend. That was all peak 2010s in many spaces like MFA
signaling; it might have been redundant in this case but it's definitely an interesting conversation
You should listen Ethan's podcast with Henrik on that book. I think Henrik has a great take (TL;DR the book has a bad thesis)
it's also interesting because i can't pinpoint the aspirational person of the 2010s (vs say PRL, where it's clearly a rich white guy who can vacation in martha's vineyard)
Man I forgot what a stronghold Bieber had on fashion in the 2010s. Really the harry styles of that time period
FOG really shone through
The aspirational dressing of the 2010s imo was a different focus. The aspiration was things like "dress well in an interview to get a better job" or "dress well when going out to get laid". Aspirational dressing now is more like what Ralph Lauren has always done
Idk, the aspirational dress of the 2010s to some extent with "effortlessly cool indie boy"
In my mind
it also felt a little less aspirational imo
Streetwear had a different aspiration in the 2010s though
Right, that feels achievable to ~anyone tho
honestly the 2010s decade thread turning into kind of another argument about timeless style vs. trends makes a lot of sense
2010 had like 3 distinct styles: minimalist designer softboy, FOG drop crotch distressed Robert geller streetwear maniac, and mustache-loving heritage raw denim nerd
Forgetting logomania a bit imo
The exclusivity/flex guy
I feel like that was more prevalent in woman’s fashion but yeah
I still fuck with logomania lol
that kinda lumps in with drop crotch guy no
ice cold take probably but i do think the huge focus on heritage style was good in that it got people thinking about smaller independent brands and things like construction, fabric quality, etc
usually that comes with a giant supreme logo
even if the end point was people being like well scientifically this denim is better because it's thicker
I do to an extent
But it also paved the way for quality maxing and using fashion as an objective not subjective medium
i would like to retittle the retattle to your rebuttal, in that this was the seed that led to the need to make fashion algorithmic
I mean I don't think Walter is saying that's good he's just highlighting some of the benefits
Ya it introduced the concept of having a “right” way to dress
Not everything has to be hating
i think if you take the right lessons from it it can be good
definitely a lot of people did not
Ya true
while i do think there's legitimately value in seeing what the heaviest pair of jeans are or how well they wear, both in terms of utility and general interest in fabrication, i do think people started thinking 'okay this better because SCIENCE' and that's translated to things that are more subjective
Just sucks heritage brands never adapted and still make dated designs
Well their customer base never adapted either
look at how many people in waywt wear barbour and alden!
Hence why wire cutter has best clothing items articles which fundamentally don’t make sense
or to things with already established motifs (e.g. color theory now being based on color testing rather than it being analogous to other forms of art)
Fuck I wore Barbour today
It's so over
ETERNAL 2015
this is frank muytgen's world, we're all just living in it...
holy shit smiles is in his ivy turn we're all fucked
Smiles is already ivy no?
Did you miss my fitbattle R1 fit?
I think a distinct shift currently is that in the 2010s that gear-ification of clothing meant that newcomer brands like Gustin and N&F became super popular. Now old brands like PRL, Barbour, Alden, etc. are more popular. And that links back to the difference in aspirational dressing as well
have we talked about killshots yet
Issa influence forsure
with the heritage brands it was a lot of like, you need to own this one piece
cuz i had a barbour and i had aldens back then but it was the one you were "supposed" to have
it was a very good fit; i'm just saying one day it's a barbour, the next day you're using the pto suit filter
2010s was chock full of brand new DTC brands with ad-copy about "like your grandpa wore". Currently there are tons of style niches focused on the actual clothes your someone's grandfather wore
like how everyone had an EG bedford. but that's it
Gustin and N&F also still pander to the 2010s aesthetic while PRL and Barbour are more “timeless” (oops) because they’ve had longer history and adapted to customer demands
I think it's just trends coming in and out for the long term brands
yup, and it was never because of aesthetics it was because of the build quality
One thing I also hated about heritage people is that once they became focused on quality, they hated a lot of other facets of fashion such as streetwear
Prep was very frowned on in the 2010s imo for being classist (valid criticism) so PRL suffered
Now prep is hot again
Barbour is cool bc it’s vintage. PRL changes its product lines.
Prep was very much still a thing. How many of us wore salmon shorts
i had a j press flap pocket ocbd in 2015!
Well I did but I also grew up in a rich white town so....
My personal take here is that this is putting the cart before the horse and folks got into heritage clothing just to feel superior. "Style vs Fashion" BS. Not the other way around
"trim fit" and i was still like this fits huge i need to get it darted
And now look at how you dress
Wide fit king
Let's be real streetwear was and is hated to some extent cause it's associated with minorities lmao
Folks didn't become racist once they started wearing raws, they got into raws and GYW bc they're racist
Same with logomania
DivisionRoad.mp4
Some brands adapted
lc king got more racist
Which ones
adapting to the post-j6 world
I guess it depends on how you define a heritage brand but 3Sixteen and Left Field have different items and cuts. Carhartt, Dickies, and Levi’s could also be considered Heritage brands that adapted
Raws are actually the jeans from that one episode of jimmy neutron but instead of making you do a dance or whatever they make you say slurs
Dickies had more of the carhartt effect of "if we don't care about fashion/politics and just make workwear for real workwear people, fashion people will wear it for a variety of reasons" imo
Cheap, "authentic", plentiful, inoffensive, easy to modify
I wouldn't consider Levi's Carhartt and Dickies as "heritage" brands from the 2010s
also that
3S and Left Field are decent examples tho
if you wore dickies 874s 10 years ago you'd get ripped to shreds on mfa
I don’t either but I was covering my bases depending on how he defined heritage
Just stick to your guns
cut off dickies were a thing but i think its more they were easy to thrift and cut into shorts
also they were streetwear
smiles and charli the lone warriors for 2010s fashion that didn't become a product line at Gustin
2010s streetwear was def my first interest in fashion id say
its more just MFA has 0 streetwear rep lmao
I had 2 pairs of Gustin jeans and their fake common projects lol
Not that it still does
Now the rep is 2
2.5, @Sinchad has abandoned us
Someone play taps
too scared to post fit so sad
I keep thinking gustin is that bad m2o brand everyone says takes forever to ship
Is that a different brand or
nope that's them
oh LOL
the crowd-fund model
IMO there were two types of heritage brands in the 2010s. 100+ year old brands that people “discovered” like Filson, Barbour, Thorogood, Whites, LC King etc. And new heritage inspired brands like Gustin, Taylor Stitch etc.
2010s was when i first became interested in fashion/style and i definitely lurked through a slim fit, ivy adjacent look but i never liked all of the heritage, workwear, raw denim looks. i lived in portland for a while and literally everyone wore flannels which made me go meh and i've never liked the look of workwear boots. although, they obviously have their functional place but just not for me.
definitely an interesting and transitional time for fashion in a larger cultural and economic sense tho
Most of the old brands were never that popular imo tho. A huge theme from that era in my mind is the new brands explicitly "subverting" or "disrupting" the space with crowd-fund or DTC business models.
Brands like Filson and White's never took off that much except in specific hobbyist spaces (GYW, r/rawdenim) because they were too expensive. Brands like Thorogood were supplanted by those new brands like Thursday
Also many of the old brands got abandoned during that time because they moved manufacturing and/or were bought out by PE. Thus the large crop of new DTC brands and their ad copy
Coincides with the rise of tech startups too and the idea of disrupting an industry
how much did those brands actually exist outside of like /r/fmf though?
Which is largely why a lot of heritage dressing people were yuppies in tech in my experience
Tbh I never hear of those irl
i did buy a pair of jeans from flint and tinder back in the day but that was kinda it
and i don't reeeeally remember that kind of stuff dominating mfa at least
Huh does sinbad still respond anymore on here?
Good points and I think I checked out around the time some of the older brands started falling out of favor
I'd say a good bit. I knew plenty of people in the various MFA uniforms with raws from Gustin or N&F or what have you
(I'm a yuppie in tech)
At least in 2014-15 I think stuff like Epalaut, Unis, Gitman, and Apolis we’re more popular upgrades. The basics were J Crew, Levi’s 511 and Dockers Alpha Khakis
Derek guy still recommends gustin 😭
oh yeah i owned a few of those. unis, gitman, and apolis aren't really like DTC though
Derek has plenty of bad opinions lol
Millennial yuppies need to learn to buy vintage 501 orange tabs 😤
honestly loved the unis chino fabric so much, if they came back and made some nice wide pleated pants they'd be goated
RIP Unis
I have two of their “wide leg” chinos and they’re like the slimmest pants I own lol
The fabric was/is so good though
wide < 7" leg opening
it was a bleak time
How does it differ from like typical j.crew chino fabric out of curiosity
i remember when they moved production to portugal and people got insanely mad
even though they were exactly the same
It’s slightly thicker and softer over time
really smooth, luxe feeling
i would say almost similar to like studio nicholson peached cotton?
they’re almost like slacks
I was full tumblr hipster in the early 2010’s (hs). cut off skinny jeans, band shirt from my favorite hardcore band, rode a fixie. These were good ass times
The Portugal thing is funny because the QC was arguably better. Both my pairs are Portugal production. I had one Italian pair that split at the seams after like a week of work (I also might just have been in denial about my size)
The fashion was fun at the time i think it just didnt age well, i remember seeing alot more experimentation happening even if it looks cringe in hindsight
yeah i remember when they moved from usa to portugal i asked one of the guys at lost and found about it and he said she moved because the usa factory was fucking up the orders a lot
but people on reddit were like UHH SOUNDS LIKE BULLSHIT SHE'S JUST CHEAPING OUT
I feel like yuppies in tech are more likely than others to min max fashion by researching on the internet on places like Reddit
I kinda want to get a fixie again lol
Same tbh
Just waiting for SE to bring back the PK Ripper fixed lol
One of only a couple photos i have from this time. 2012 coachella (goated lineup btw)
Baby Digs!
I think i’m wearing a devil wears prada shirt maybe? And cutoff skinny’s bought from hot topic lmao
I think that in a bit of time when 2010s fashion will be in again, the heritage stuff won’t be as represented as logomania and drop crotch streetwear
Lots of bombers
Devil Wears Prada is so fuckin good live
Return of the members only jacket lol
Oh god I distinctly remember wearing a thrifted members only jacket with American apparel skinnies riding a Kilo TT 😭
Do you think cropped Harrington jackets will age well?
I can't tell if they're just in because they're cropped but otherwise they're boring, or they're actually cool
Does it matter?
it's the 2010s again. of course it does
To me :xd:
if your harrington jacket can't be resoled by any respectable cobbler you might as well throw it in the trash
Instructions unclear, now I got a Vibram V bar stuck to my sleeve
i can barely afford to retire i'm not buying orange tabs
Sorry benji i only buy redlines :gigachad:
I feel like I ignored the first half of the 2010s, but like others: not going to miss skinny fits (never did them).
Mixed on minimalism, but usually like it.
Appreciated that beards came back in style, even if it was attached to urban lumberjacks. I liked flannels but I'm a 90s kid. Gimme my grunge.
I liked the idea of Americana. I feel like that's still maturing. Can't tell which direction it'll go
Huh I thought they were like $30 on eBay
Wait what are those??
I also feel like the 2010s were yesterday and I'll have a different opinion in a few years+
Selvedge levis
Worst thing the 2010s did was introduce joggers to the clothing world at mass
We will never be free of joggers
I see like the 30s-40s ones with bucklebacks on insta
Same but I was in highschool
Sometimes the metal looks rusty AF tho lol
80 year old metal being rusty
Who could imagine
Levis ran red lines until like the 1980’s i think. You can get later version ones for around the $200 range
Depending on condition
This was actually my worst fashion decision pre getting into fashion and yes it did originate from my 2010s high school years
Same lol
Hell yeah
We thought we were so cool
we were
I KNEW i was cool
Fish wanted me women feared me
The pit feared me (jk I was in a grind core band)
I was the biggest baddest dude in the pit (140lbs no muscle mass)
I miss those shows so much though
Stick To Your Guns in a 100 cap room
Sweaty walls
fr those the guys that scare me
140lbs of elbows, hormones and rage
Oh same
omg so true
Benji, you are literally the meme about law students trying not to talk about studying law except you are talking about your boots.
And finance 😛
I'm an English student but I'm ashamed of studying a degree that ain't going to help me get a job.
...
Same but it was the 90s
Anyways some of the things that I like about the 2010's was it was when I first started lurking MFA. I really liked the idea that there was a clear step by step method of dressing well. For a short while I distilled it to vans, skinny jeans, and plain white t-shirts. Largely because that was what I could afford.
What I struggled with is the idea of "being yourself." When I didn't particularly care for that at the time. I just wanted to fit in. I... Looking back, had constant brick fits. (Maybe we all look back and see constant bricks as we evolve and develop more of a sense of style). Because fashion is a social experience. You kind of have to figure out the context of your clothes so that you can either play it straight, or subvert it in a cohesive manner.
So the basic bastard guide, which in a lot of respects is an artifact of 2010's obsession with timelessness gave me a lot of confidence. "These are the basics. This is how you fucking nail them."
So, the 2010's gave me the confidence that if I am ever in doubt, blue jeans, (shoes of some description) and a white t-shirt works. There's a lot of confidence to be gained from feeling as if what you are doing isn't flashy, or even cool: but it is the basics done well and isn't a brick.
This sounds a little bit boring but the first thing I was really happy expirementing with was what shade of blue jeans I liked the most.
yall better put some respect on roshe runs
Y’all changed how you dressed since then?