When you get dressed in the morning, do you ever wonder why you wear certain things? There are the obvious reasons, of course. The things you choose to wear are probably flattering on you. You probably like the clothes in your wardrobe (excluding the days when you stand in front of your closet petulantly declaring, “I have nothing to wear”), even if they’re not necessarily the hottest new trends. But trends do sneak their way into your life, whether you notice them or not, and sometimes it’s unclear as to how they actually got there.
Celebrities play a big role in establishing trends and, for better or worse, that blush-colored dress you love so much might be an unconscious nod to Kim Kardashian. Your pile of skinny jeans? They might be attributable to her husband Kanye’s early adoption of the trend. While you may be all about Zara’s range of matching sets, you perhaps haven't considered that Taylor Swift single-handedly revived the two-piece as a wardrobe must. And if you were born after 1999, you might not even know that Kylie Jenner didn’t start the Von Dutch hat…
Ahead, find 10 trends you've probably been wearing, and the celebrities who really made them mainstream.
Cropped Pants
If your pants aren’t cropped at the ankle right now, you’re probably doing pants wrong (sorry!). But cropped pants — from jeans to slacks — aren’t new. Audrey Hepburn was rocking capri pants through the '50s, and the chic style still creates a Hepburnian grace when worn correctly (even if a young Hepburn isn’t consciously your style icon).
The look had its renaissance in spring 2015, when it appeared on the runways of Chanel, Thom Browne, The Row, and Miu Miu — and over a year later, it isn't showing any signs of disappearing. It is, after all, timeless. And though it’s been adopted by a range of celebrities — from the always boundary-pushing Solange to L.A.-glam Jessica Alba — it's impossible to put a finger on one celebrity in particular who's currently championing the look, considering it’s so ubiquitous.
Matching Sets
There’s something infinitely feminine about a twin set, especially in the summer, where cropped tops meet matching circle skirts. You can thank Taylor Swift for modernizing this '70s trend, since she spent the majority of 2014 wearing a fitted baby-tee and matching short skater-skirt nonstop. The look caught on fast, and not just with dedicated Swifties.
A year later, the fashion world was all about matching sets, with Beyoncé even jumping onboard. But as Taylor Swift and Bey have set their sartorial sights elsewhere, this is one outfit that's holding on for dear life — and being kept alive by some inelegant high-street styles and the Kardashian’s Dash store, where it's morphed into a highly-sexualized, skin-tight version of itself.
Trucker Hats
The trucker hat was originally brought to life by Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie in the early aughts, when glamour was Simple Life -themed. The trend only lasted about three years, first rearing its ugly head in 2001 when Pharrell Williams, hat lord, wore a Von Dutch topper in public. Thankfully, the obsession petered out by 2004 (when it had reached peak-tackiness, often paired with Juicy Couture matching sweatshirts and pants), but little did we know that the hats were actually just in hibernation.
After many winters lying dormant, trucker hats are back in an unfortunately high-profile way for 2016. Kylie Jenner, who seems intent on not letting the 2000s die, has posted several photos of herself wearing a Von Dutch hat on Instagram. Apparently she didn’t get the memo that you can’t un-jump the shark.
Monochromatic Outfits
Monochromatic looks became a big deal in 2015, and we have Kim Kardashian to thank for that. While pregnant with Saint West, Kim frequented fashion weeks in an array of all-black outfits, and she’s continued the trend loyally; her one-color ensembles also include all-nude, all-red, and all-white iterations — basically any muted tone you can think of, worn head-to-toe. Note: It’s especially chic when she wears a pencil skirt, turtleneck, and oversized man-coat all in closely matched shades of the same color.
Surprisingly, Kim hasn’t managed to sour the look just yet, and it’s kaught on with the other Kardashians, too (duh). Also, it should come as no surprise that Olivier Rousteing (BFF to the Kardashian-Jenner clan) is bringing the look to Balmain. It’s only a matter of time before all our wardrobes become a palette of soft, matching tones.
Denim-On-Denim
The Canadian tuxedo has always been iconic in fashion — but not always with good reason. When paired with a mullet à la '80s dad wardrobe, denim-on-denim isn’t exactly the most stylish look. But something very special happened in 2001. You might remember a little couple made up of a girl called Britney Spears and a boy named Justin Timberlake. Beaming with their perfect white smiles, the pair walked hand-in-hand down the red carpet at the American Music Awards, dressed head-to-toe in matching denim outfits, rebirthing the notion of denim as apparel other than jeans. Since then, wearing denim-on-denim has become an unbearably cool act, with babes like Ciara and Gwen Stefani tucking their denim tops into their denim bottoms. It’s yet to be seen if the trend will ever return to its daggy, Canadian-tuxedo roots. Only dads know the answer to that.
Chokers
The '90s are back in kind of a big way, and high fashion is borrowing from the grunge trends of two decades ago. Back in the '90s, Drew Barrymore was the ultimate alterna girl, and with her red-brown lipstick, fresh flowers in her hair, and manic pixie dream smile, hers was the style that launched a thousand chokers.
When grunge died, and the '90s made way for the shiny midriffs of the early aughts, chokers were forgotten, destined to live on only in our memories of The Craft. Magically, all these years later, chokers are back, and it’s unlikely you’ll see Gigi Hadid photographed on a night out without one wrapped around her neck. If we had to guess, we’d say this is one trend Coachella is going to kill any day now…
Skinny Jeans
Before the modern era, skinny jeans were embraced by rock gods and rebels, but not necessarily the fashion world. In the late 2000s, skinny jeans came to be considered the “hipster” look, reserved for the kind of young creatives embracing retro fashion and too-cool-for-school lifestyles. Bringing them to the mainstream, however, is something that Kanye West takes full credit for. In a Twitter rant earlier this year (that appears since deleted), he claimed, “I made it so we could wear tight jeans.” Yeezus has spoken — and to be fair, he has worn a lot of skinny jeans.
Skinny jeans became ubiquitous in the late 2000s, and, truthfully, they aren’t going anywhere. By now, they’ve been established as one of the many styles of jeans available, and are less of a fashion statement and more an everyday option for denim bottoms.
Biker Jacket
Can you imagine your wardrobe without your moto jacket? Leather biker jackets, as the name suggests, were traditionally the kind of gear reserved for bikers, with practical safety utility. But then “cool guys” started wearing them, epitomized by men like Elvis Presley, James Dean, and Johnny Depp in Cry Baby. When women started wearing biker jackets, it was the same deal — a sign of rebellion; after all, Sandra Dee didn’t put on hers until her “bad girl” makeover.
Through the '80s and '90s, these toppers were worn in punk and rock genres, but didn’t become mainstream until they recently became the look du jour for off-duty models like Cara Delevingne. Unfortunately, celebs like Kim Kardashian seem hell bent on ruining the trend, with gaudily decorated jackets that are far more ostentatious than the classic style.
Over-The-Knee Boots
Back in 2013, Rihanna hit the town in daring boots that went all the way up to her mid-thigh. Did she know she was setting off what was to become a global fashion trend? In the past year, everyone from Beyoncé to Ariana Grande have worn the trend, and Rihanna continues to stay loyal, with what by now must be a king’s ransom of an over-the-knee boot collection. Unfortunately for us normals, this trend requires the perfect legs and a couture wardrobe to match, so the look hasn’t quite caught on in fast fashion, being more of a trend preferred by dedicated fashion-folk.
Menswear-Inspired Coats
It should come as little surprise that at least one thing in your wardrobe is inspired by the Olsen twins. Mary Kate and Ashley are style icons — and they’ve helped carry quite a few trends through their adult years thus far.
One such trend is the menswear-style, oversized coat, something the twins can claim bringing into chic contemporary fashion. The Olsens have always worn oversized pieces (or maybe they’re wearing regular size and they’re just so tiny it ends up looking oversized), and in 2014-5, they started parading an incredible collection of perfectly too-large, semi-structured coats around the streets of New York City. Worn with skinny jeans and heels, the two created a trend that’s only just starting to come into its own in the mainstream, while being adopted as casual chic amongst celebrities and normals alike.
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