Dead fashion trends resurface, no thanks to favorite celebrities

Hailey Beiber is seen leaving her apartment in her signature dad sneakers and cargo pants 

Photo taken from Hailey Beiber’s Instagram

Hailey Beiber is seen leaving her apartment in her signature dad sneakers and cargo pants Photo taken from Hailey Beiber’s Instagram

Let’s be honest with ourselves: celebrities and social media have a huge influence on our lives. They popularize food recipes, workout routines, and in this case, our wardrobe. When scrolling through Tik Tok, you might be surprised to see certain trends back in style, and we can thank celebrities for that. However, I believe that not everything a celebrity wears deserves to be back in style or be posted for fans to recreate and match their look. 

Over the last year, we have seen celebrities like Bella Hadid and Hailey Beiber repping cargo pants, a staple of the early 2000’s. However, before they were all over Pinterest and Instagram feeds, you wouldn’t have caught me or any other fashion-obsessed person sporting such an atrocious article of clothing, and if you did, you might just associate them with Kim Possible (or maybe that was just me).

Why let a celebrity decide what you wear when you can establish a style that speaks to you? Make your own style choices and find clothes that make you feel unique and cool.

— Katherine Phelps ’25

According to an article by Vogue, “Up until recently, the pant was associated with wacky tourist dressing or the polarizing aesthetic of the noughties.” 

Though cargo pants are deemed now as fashionable and comfortable, teenagers would not be wearing them without some celebrity influence, considering nobody was wearing them a year ago. Cargo pants filtered their way out of fashion in the early 2000s when celebrities stopped wearing them. However, the second they start wearing them again, they’re suddenly fashionable.

Staples Student Cammie Rubino ’24 matching a very similar style to some of her favorite celebrities
Katherine Phelps ’25

With the meaning of “cool clothes” changing in the blink of an eye, it can be a struggle especially for teenagers and young adults to find clothes that they truly like, and clothes that actually represent you and your real style, not just Hailey Beiber’s fashion taste. 

But clothes aren’t the only thing that celebrities have us wrapped around their fingers over. What is an outfit without sneakers? Specifically, the brand New Balance. What was once a pair of standard dad-sneakers, like the New Balance 550,  could be purchased at FootLocker for $80; now you need to track them down on sites like StockX and buy them for triple the price, even though they’re the exact same shoe. There still isn’t anything special to them today than there was six months ago, other than that they’re trending on Pinterest. Many shoe websites, including Goat, are retailing these shoes for $350, because celebrities are putting them in high demand. They describe the shoes as “a low profile silhouette. But how can sneakers that expensive for a basic pair of tennis shoes be considered low profile? 

Though everybody has their own style preferences, many people can agree that a celebrity or social media has persuaded them into purchasing something, even if they don’t love the item. Why let a celebrity decide what you wear when you can establish a style that speaks to you? Make your own style choices and find clothes that make you feel unique and cool.