During these troubling times of COVID-19, various trends from fashion to culinary treats have come in and out of the spotlight. At the beginning of March when quarantine first began, fashion trends were incredibly different, and a lot of people generally looked the same in their style. Ever since the fashion trends from the summer of 2019 that brought VSCO girls into view, many people have felt obliged to listen to that trend because that’s what everyone else was wearing. Looking down the halls, you could see many of the same outfit, and there wasn’t much variation. With quarantine, style has started to become everyone’s own personal choice to express themselves, and only for themselves.

The latest trends for the younger generation has consisted of “alt” or “indie” girls, and also many styles coming from celebrities and influencers. With time alone, you can generally find yourself looking for new things to do. Anything to distract from the looming threat of boredom and nothing to do. In quarantine, there isn’t a whole lot you can do. So to go from there, you can find out a lot about yourself within that. From my own personal experience of quarantine, finding myself has been a big part. Before spending days and months alone, “pre-COVID-19” so to speak, life was crazy and busy, and it was hard to just take a deep breath without something passing before your eyes. It allowed for time to continuously pass, and even with style, I couldn’t spend so long planning it out and finding out what I truly liked. So when these months hit, and the weeks turned into months, everyone was able to take time for themselves. 

Style was a big part to distract from these months that could’ve been full of boredom and loneliness. From Tiktok trends to famous singers, fashion inspiration could be found and set anywhere. And when you find something or someone who has a style you aspire to have, there’s a road to success. Time alone means that you can test out anything, and no one could even judge you for it. One of the biggest fashion ideals that many teenagers did was dyeing their hair. Before quarantine, most hair was mainly natural colors, but now there are so many variations in hairstyles that have become used by a lot of teenagers. And even if it didn’t turn out as well, it’s not like many people could see you, so it led many people to just do it and worry about the looks later.  Being inside could lead to new discoveries, and there’s no “set” trend to follow. People are able to lose to fear of being judged by the public eye, and are just able to live in what makes them happy. Even in my own experience, I wasn’t ever sure what my “style” was, but being in quarantine really allowed me to experiment and find something or some inspiration to be myself, and I wouldn’t be scared of what anyone thought of me, except for myself. A quarantine lesson I learned is that you need to be happy and comfortable with yourself before seeking any outer opinions. 

Throughout quarantine, many people have decided to take a hold on themselves and decide that they can have their own style and be who they want, and that their own opinion is the only one they need to listen to. It’s an absolutely beautiful thing to go outside as things slowly open up, and see that so many people are wearing their own style that they enjoy. And now, there isn’t a set style. There’s room to be yourself, and honestly, so much less judgment. Because after these several months of being inside, everyone has been able to take a step back and see that life is too short to be living up to others’ expectations of what they think “style” might be. Happiness is found in your own opinion, especially in fashion.