Millennials are those born from 1980-1995, reaching adulthood in the early 21st century. Generation Z or ‘Gen Z,’ is those born from 1996-2010, which includes most, if not all, of the writers for this magazine. Millennials and Gen Zs are often viewed as being at odds because of the ways in which they differ. Millennials are typically viewed as more optimistic, collaborative, and multicultural, while Gen Z’s are seen as tech-oriented, realistic, and collectively conscious. However, the focus of this article will be on how the fashion of these two generations differs or are similar.
Some apparent differences in style between Millennials and Gen Z’s are the part of one’s hair and the style of jeans. In a sense, Gen Z’s have pushed back against skinny jeans and side-parts in a way Millennials may not have caught up to yet. Gen Z’s lead towards comfy, oversized clothes, which fit into the most popular trends on Tik Tok and Instagram. While Millennials are often drawn to staple brands like American Eagle or Gap, picking clothes that are realistic and often modest. For these two generations, the largest gap in fashion is understanding how each other views clothes. As Millennials have begun to have children and settle down it is more practical for them to buy affordable, long-term use clothing. However, this has still not drawn Millennials to thrift shopping in the same way Gen Z’s have been.
Another distinction between these two generations is how they view clothes in general. Gen Z’s are more into fashion than Millennials, which to some extent has to do with the technology gap between these generations. It is typical of Gen Z’s to enjoy expressing themselves using clothes, accessories, and make-up, while Millennials typically lean towards what is most practical and functional. These distinctions highlight the personality differences between Millennials and Gen Z’s.
In the end, it may be surprising to some to find that 18-36-year-olds, which encapsulates both Millennials and Gen Z’s, share the same most popular brands (which are, as one could have guessed, Nike, Jordan, and Victoria’s Secret PINK). This is because, while there is a generational gap between the two, the expansiveness of technology allows for all people to share their aesthetic and clothing style which creates a more diverse platform for fashion.