People often ridicule the 80s and 2000s as the most cringy decades of fashion. And sure, the big shoulders and acid wash of the 80s and the low-rise jeans and not to mention wearing jeans under dresses instead of tights or leggings of the 2000s was cringy AF. I’ll give you that. But nothing was worse than the trends of the early 2010s.
Like any fashion trend at a turn of a decade, style always want to reject the past. The 80s outdid the colorful flower child aesthetic of the 70s and the 90s rejected the neon colors of the 80s with a more dark color palette. So, the early years of the 2010s tried too hard to either reject or outdo the ridiculousness of 2000s trends by going even further with its ridiculousness. Also, with the 20-year rule of the trend cycle in the fashion industry and with 2010 being 20 years after the 1980s, it makes sense that 80s trends would come back in style. So the out-doing of 2000s trends combined with the bigger and bolder mentality of the 80s could only result in pure fashion chaos. Hence: the horrendous 2010s.
Now let’s take a walk down bad memory lane:
The Lita Shoe
The sky-high, thick block, platform, lace-up shoes by Jeffery Campbell were EVERYWHERE. If you had a Tumblr page around this time, you probably saw it every time you log on. While it definitely isn’t the worst out of all these trends, it’s certainly not the best either.
Jeggings
A response to the skinny jean trend of the 2000s, the 2010s just had to outdo it by creating denim-looking leggings. Some included belt looks and pockets for an even more authentic feel. I wore this for an embarrassingly long time after their hey-day (literally until I graduated high school). Surprisingly, Walmart had the best ones. People really thought mine were jeans, while many others didn’t fool anyone.
Extremely distressed jeans
While a tear here or there is perfectly ok for some edgy grunginess, we took this way too far. It was the point where some jeans were more holes than jeans.
Wedge sneakers
The whole point of sneakers is to be comfortable, so why did we ever feel the need to add an uncomfortable heel in the more of a wedge to this supposed comfy shoe is beyond me. Sure, they were supposed to elongate the leg, but did that ever fool anyone?
Heel-less shoe
Why did we all want to look like horses? While these may look structurally questionable, anyone who has walked in heels knows you are basically on your toes the whole time anyway. However, IMO, the only person who doesn’t look ridiculous in them is Lady Gaga.
The Gladiator sandal
These shoes, unlike the versatile Lita, only really went with one popular aesthetic at the time: the boho festival aesthetic. They were not only limiting, but uncomfortable, gave you weird tan lines, and gave you endless blisters.
High-low dress
The happy medium between the mini or maxi debate. However, this may be fun for a glamorous party, but it isn’t the most flattering silhouette on anyone, despite still being a favorite style until the decade’s end.
Flower crowns
We can blame Coachella or Lana Del Rey, but the fact that we’re all just casually wearing literal gardens on our heads is so crazy. I mean, unless you are into the fairycore or cottage core aesthetic or a whimsy bride, why wear flower crowns?
Thigh-high socks
Another alternative to tights, and one of the better trends that occurred from trying to outdo the 2000s. While not cringy, it did get out of hand when tights were made with thigh-high designs or when girls would try to wear shorts in the fall with thigh-high socks.
Skater skirts & dresses
Probably one of the most versatile trends of the decade being made in virtually every color and fabric imaginable. Inspired by the popular 80s sport figure skating by mirroring their costumes and was also a result of the trend cycle with 50s trends coming back in the 80s thanks to Back To The Future, skater skirts are one of the few trends that last the entire decade, even though they never quite reached the same popularity they had at the beginning of the decade.
Galaxy print, Mustaches & Emoji print
Why? Why? Why? And I repeat, why? Let’s keep the stars in the sky, mustaches on Charlie Chaplin, and emoji on our iPhones.
Harem pants
Another 80s trend coming back, except instead of leisurewear worn with sneakers and unitards, women literally wore them with heels as evening wear. Just when the 80s created one of the most cringy pants imaginable, we found a way to make them even more cringe-worthy in the 2010s.
Nerd glasses
Why were nerd glasses a full-fledged fashion trend? We can blame the hipster aesthetic for that one. Remember when we would push the lenses out of 3D glasses? Full runway shows were created based on the post-movie pastime.
Crackle nail polish
For once the look of chipped nails was actually trendy, but with a more time-consuming manicure. Moving on.
Colored jeans
The fact that we were so confident in the skinny jean staying on-trend that we convinced ourselves that colored denim was a good idea is beyond me. And now there’s the TikTok jeans debate. Karma is a bitch, isn’t it?
Pom-poms
We were either all wanting to look like a preschooler designed our wardrobe or like we were on vacation. Why?
Cold shoulder tops
Did all of our shoulders collectively get overheated in the 2010s? Well, the trend lasted the entire decade, so i guess our shoulders still haven’t warmed up.
Slogan tees
Anything from “But First Coffee” to “The Future Is Female” was popular. Being relatable and casual was in and nothing said that more than slogan tees, especially from Forever 21. In some cases, it wasn’t that cringy, but in others, it most definitely was.
Bustiers
Body positivity was on the rise, so underwear as outerwear was as well. Another example of the 80s coming back with this Madonna-inspired look. Personally, I don’t hate this one.
Crop tops & high waist pants
Instead of showing over our hip bones and elongating our torsos in the 2000s we became more proportional in the 2010s with high waisted lines and crop tops. Personally, I love high-waisted bottoms and am okay with crop tops. This is a rare example of an improvement during the 2010s.
Chevron
A popular trend in both clothing and interior design, especially in the southern preppy aesthetic paired with monogram accessories and bubble necklaces. With chevron having roots in Native American culture, this is a prime example of cultural appropriation.
Tribal print
Another example of cultural appropriation. This gave way to people wearing headdresses on the runway and to festivals. Luckily this fell out of fashion by the decade’s end or at least came with the added accessory of online scrutiny.
Animal prints
No, I don’t mean the skins of animals like leopards and zebras, I mean like actual patterns involving animals. Foxes, monkeys, owls and pugs were very popular. Thank you Bethany Mota for starting this.
Skulls & Crowns
With emo trends giving way to Tumblr goths, skulls and crowns were the biggest mainstream fashion examples of the aesthetic.
American Apparel
The It-store that closed down after its prime. Like the Zara or Urban Outfitters of 2012. Known for pleated tennis skirts and overly expensive unisex clothing. Watch it open back up again in 2030 just in time for the 2010s 20-year trend rule.