Homogeneous: of the same kind; alike...
...a word that many would use to describe the young adults of today's society. We have become robots to the tiny yet powerful devices we carry in our pockets, bags, and now even upon our wrists. Social media has taken away our time, money, and now our sense of originality.
Stop and take a real, observant glance at the world around you for a moment. Be it your Instagram feed, TikTok FYP page or maybe, just maybe, your local town or village. £100 goes to anyone who isn't met with a surge of girls wearing wide leg trousers (they wouldn't be seen dead in skinny jeans) chunky white trainers and the front two pieces of their hair dyed whichever colour is trendy this week.
Am I about to criticise the young women who look as if Urban Outfitters have quite frankly thrown up on them? Absolutely not...as I am exactly the same. All it took was a few scrolls on TikTok, a number of pins on my Pinterest board, and I began to follow suit with my obsession with skin-tight trousers fading into a world of boyfriend jeans and branded hoodies. At nearly 22 I finally felt fashionable...but so did the rest of the world.
The truth is, the problem doesn't exactly lie within the bagginess of your trousers or the print of your scrunchie, it's what this lack of individuality represents.
Everyone looks the same.
It is important we acknowledge the fact that social media has an extremely large (if not completely) role to play in this. I mean, all it takes is a certain number of Instagram followers and you're being paid to help mould this sheep-like society.
If you were born pre-2005 and can cast your mind back to the days of primary school non-uniform days, you may remember the variety of outfits and clothing choices we were exposed to. Of course, the majority of us weren't decked out in your Levis and Balenciaga's (see: flame print shirts, groovy chick socks etc) but every single person had their own unique style which expressed their personality more then any prank on a teacher ever could. Of course, magazines and television adverts have always gave somewhat of a forceful nudge towards popular mannerisms and fashion trends, but nothing has been rammed down our throats more than the contemporary use of social media advertising.
I suppose the point I'm trying to make here is that we need to remember to reinforce the importance of being ourselves, and not morphing into the trends and ideas of those around us:
fashion fades, style is eternal.
Do not be afraid to acknowledge what works best for your body and style, and don't lose your sense of originality to another Instagram Influencer who has just uploaded yet another ZARA haul. There is such beauty to exploring your own unique style and preferences, and choosing to express your persona through your items of clothing rather than posting a 3am twitter rant.
There is no one else like you: let's learn to utilise, express and romanticise this.
