The Revival of Self-Esteem and 70s-80s Fashion 1

The Revival of Self Esteem and 70-80s Fashion

Nolan Tobin

Bloomfield College

Writing 109-E1 Writing and Synthesis

Dr. Rouse

October 27, 2020

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The Development of Revived Fashion and Self-Esteem Through the Years

We through time go through many different changes and stages in our lives. With our

own sense of self-developing, we also tend to change our style and choice of fashion. Fashion

itself goes through many stages, styles, and trends. Recently this past year we have seen vast

changes in our lifestyle due to the pandemic and fashion itself was affected by this. Recently we

have been a return to the 70s, 80s, and early 2000s styles and trends returning to fashion

currently. Fashion tends to constantly change and adapt to the time period while also holding on

to older trends. These time periods exhibited fun flashy and expressive styles which helped

people gain a sense of confidence in themselves. Your clothes can be a reflection of who you are

and can help you view yourself differently, and we see a large number of people sharing their

styles on the media.

The revival of these old styles brought along bright colors and patterns, baggier clothing,

and some fun styles with different statement pieces. Social media is where we see the biggest

influence on trends and also just what others are wearing. Fashion seems to run in cycles and we

see a return of those styles. Some styles were reintroduced as stated in, All the styles you once

loved are suddenly cool again- here’s why, by Emma Stessman, we can see that there are many

trends not only reintroduced but reinvented into a more modern way of styling. In the article

Heather Newberger, a fashion stylist and book author, said “ ‘What we’re seeing on runways

today falls right into that cycle…While we reimagined the ‘60s and ‘70s into the ‘90s and ‘00s.

Today we’re seeing Gen Z reconceptualize those looks.’” The younger generation now takes

these looks into their own self-expressing way of styling these items. You now see Bell bottom

jeans, baggy loose jeans, crochet clothing, bright vibrant patterns, sweater vests, clogs, cargo,

and parachute pants, claw clips and so many other pieces. The young regeneration has taken on
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the creativity to style these items in ways, we haven’t done before with different fabrics and

layering clothing. Designers are able to express themselves through what they wear and create

and this expression isn’t solely seen only in fashion designers but in everyday people around

you.

The clothes you wear can directly change how you view and how others view you. There

tends to be a standard for certain occasions and what you wear in society. At home, you can be

comfy and wear sweatpants but when going to an interview you will wear something more

presentable and professional. Wearing these outfits actually changes how you are feeling about

yourself too. There is actual Psychology to back up that the colors, style, and smells of your

clothes can affect your mood. “Fortunately, you can change your mood by changing your clothes.

A theory known as “dopamine dressing” suggests that wearing certain kinds of clothes can help

you feel happier even on days when you’re not at your best,” said in, Fashion Psychology: How

Clothes Affect Your Confidence, by Casamayor R.. Wearing clothes you feel comfortable and

confident will make you feel better about yourself. If you wore something you didn’t want, you

would feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. Being able to put something on and like how it

looks on you can boost your confidence. Bright colors give off happier energy rather than black

or dark colors. The ‘70s-2000s style brought lots of bright and fun looks which people were

drawn towards especially after the lockdown.

Covid left people isolated either by themselves or with family but mostly isolated from

society and other human interactions. This led to a lot of time for people to start exploring how

they view themselves and also how they express themselves. Social media started to blow up

with people having less interaction and this led to a collective need for creativity to have

entertainment. DIY clothing and accessories became huge and people started to make their own
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styles and express their feelings through the artwork they were making. In the article, Fashion

trends during and post covid-19 scenario, By Jaglan A., we can see how covid 19 directly

affected the fashion industry. We see in general all fashion retailers took a hit with less demand

for clothing and more so necessities. This is also from the more creative energy coming from this

isolating time period and people ended up making more of their own clothes. This also inherently

created a whole not-new but the now bigger area of young designers and creators. Now we can

see coming out of that period people want to have reasons to get out of their houses and dress up

and have fun. In many cities we see so many different people wearing these crazy and creative

styles all around. We also see due to the lockdown some more relaxed styles and baggier clothing

because people want to be comfier after coming from being inside all day.

People will always be dressing up and wearing clothes they feel make them comfortable

in how they are presenting themselves. Older fashion periods, especially the 70s to the 2000s

have has always been viewed as a high-energy and expressive fun period in time. Now with

seeing these fashion styles making a comeback today we can see with it comes confidence and

the expressive feel people get from it. With different events in our lives happening people change

and can view themselves differently and clothing can help them express that. With our own

selves going through changes we also see that everything has its own cycle and fashion tends to

not only repeat but recreate itself.

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Annotated Bibliography

Casamayor, R. (2022, March 23). Fashion psychology: How clothes affect your confidence.

White House Black Market Blog. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from

https://blog.whitehouseblackmarket.com/fashion-psychology-5-ways-your-clothes-affect-

your-confidence/

Confidence is a key part of how we act and how we can be successful in what we do. The

clothes you wear affect more than just your “style” but actually can influence many other

factors in your life. Clothes can be like your super suit and really change who you are and

how others will perceive it as well. If you need to feel powerful, start fresh, present

yourself a certain way, and or just feel good clothes can really change it all. Being able to

wake up and put on a nice outfit you feel confident in will change the energy you give

off. People around you pick up on your energy and will feed you what you give them.

Having different styles for different situations can help give you the extra boost you need

for how you want to feel going into that situation.

Jaglan, A. (2021, October). Jaglan, A.(2021, October). Fashion trends during and post covid-19

scenario. Fibre2Fashion. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from

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https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/9241/fashion-trends-during-and-post-covi

d-19-scenario

During covid the fashion and overall business industries took a major financial hit with

many stores closing. The rise in demand for certain products raised sales in some

categories and in others, the demand fell drastically. Although coming out of that time

period now many old trends have been revived through the need for expression after

being locked up. Many flashy and old-fashioned items are coming back into style like

headscarves, shoulder pads, long blazers, and bright colors. This article shows how even

during hard times for both the fashion industry and people all over fashion will always

come back strong. The revival of these old trends now can be seen throughout many new

trends and continue to be remodeled and designed to modern trends.

Stressman, E. (2022, March 11). 20 Fashion Trends from the ‘70s to the ‘00s that are trending

again. Latest News, Videos& Guest Interviews from the Today Show on NBC.

Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.today.com/today/amp/

Many feel they have stepped through a time machine when seeing today’s trending styles.

This more relaxed fashion style from the ‘70s to the ‘00s has come back for another spin.

It is giving many a sense of happiness to see the bright colors and patterns they enjoyed

as a kid come back into style. Jeans are becoming looser, close more vibrant, and

eye-catching, and people are just getting comfier! Fashion seems to go through cycles

every 30 years bringing back old trends. Many creators and fashion designers find

inspired by older styles to curate their own. Now we see these older styles brought back

to life in many new and fun ways.