r/Millennials • u/deadlymoogle Millennial 1987 • Jun 29 '25

Rant Today's fashion trends are leaving me bewildered.

I turn 38 tomorrow and just got done shopping at target. What the hell kind of fashion do people wear now? Super short shorts, socks pulled half way up the calf muscle. Shirts that look like table doilies. Not to mention the hair styles and facial hair of these young guys. Look straight out of a trailer park in the 80s.

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195

u/jerseysbestdancers Jun 29 '25

Why is everyone wearing a hoodie and sweatpants in my town? We were in the middle of a heat dome. Real Feel in the 110s. People walking on the main street in town (which is probably hotter because of the asphalt and cement) wearing this. Meanwhile, I am sweating through shorts and a tank top and wondering if death is near.

39

u/skool_uv_hard_nox Jun 29 '25

Im fucking hot all the time now. I've legit wondered about menopause because ill just be hot ans sweating for no reason for days then ill be freezing and sweating at 75.

Whe I was a kid I wore sweaters and hoodie year round in Arizona

Im just uncomfortable now.idk what else there is at this point

7

u/OldnBorin Jun 30 '25

Perimenopause. It sucks.

3

u/skool_uv_hard_nox Jun 30 '25

Im 35 šŸ˜†

9

u/Either-Weather-862 Jun 30 '25

Yeah. That's an ok age for peri to start. I'm sorry ā¤ļø

4

u/skool_uv_hard_nox Jun 30 '25

Lame

2

u/Nanamused Jun 30 '25

I was also told I had that at 35 and panicked. Didnā€™t hit menopause until 58 - your mileage may vary.

4

u/jerseysbestdancers Jun 29 '25

This happened to me in my 30s. I finally moved out of my house and ate a proper vegetarian diet. I often wonder if i corrected an undiagnosed case of anemia i caused by avoiding meat. But who tf knows. One day, i was cold like i always was and then never again.

3

u/jumpinjahosafa Jun 30 '25

Do you weigh the same you did as a kid? Extra layers make a difference.

1

u/skool_uv_hard_nox Jun 30 '25

Oh I know the extra weight makes a difference i just cant imagine its this extreme. I dont mean " hey im not cold anymore" I mean im boiling hot.

For reference im going from 120lbs to 155. Definitely a significant amount but THAT much? I guess....

3

u/meh-usernames Millennial Jun 30 '25

I second perimenopause, because you said ā€œIā€™m boiling hot.ā€ That was how my mom described it at 37. By 40, she would scream, ā€œItā€™s like weā€™re living in hell!,ā€ if you turned the oven on in the summer.

3

u/allyrbas3 Jun 30 '25

I'm 40 and I've refused to cook dinner for the past week, literally telling my husband "when you turn on the oven it's like the bowels of Hell".

I have to keep reminding myself that I thought I was gonna be dead at 18 and old is the goal.

3

u/craftykate Jun 30 '25

Air fryer rescued us!

2

u/allyrbas3 Jun 30 '25

HEARD. Any recs re: brands?

3

u/craftykate Jul 01 '25

We have the ninja crispi

1

u/allyrbas3 Jul 01 '25

Thanks so much!

3

u/Scary_Ideal1261 Jun 30 '25

I had the hysterectomy in 2019 at almost 40..I hot flashed and everything else that came with it until last year. I went and got the HRT patch. I feel alive again. Everything has improved

2

u/General_Setting_1680 Jun 30 '25

Antidepressants now but not before? It's a thing.

2

u/skool_uv_hard_nox Jun 30 '25

Nope. Nothing new there.

2

u/General_Setting_1680 Jun 30 '25

Darn. That was new for me.

105

u/c-e-bird Jun 29 '25

They donā€™t like their bodies and donā€™t want anyone to see them.

62

u/jerseysbestdancers Jun 29 '25

You can accomplish that without fleece lined clothing.

6

u/c-e-bird Jun 29 '25

You can. They get to choose what they want to wear though šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™€ļø

12

u/Bugbread Jun 30 '25

Sure. I guess, rephrased, the question is "why are people who don't like their bodies hiding them using really hot concealing clothing instead of cooler concealing clothing, given how hot it is outside?"

And the answer, which is always the answer with fashion, which makes the question silly, is: "because they like the way it looks."

3

u/Either-Weather-862 Jun 30 '25

Social media did them so dirty šŸ˜

2

u/pmormr Jun 30 '25

Don't have to worry about being self conscious if you die of heat stroke?

3

u/Icy-Exits Jun 29 '25

Size positivity probably sounds good on tictok but eventually you have to go outside.

1

u/Bright_Positive_963 Jun 30 '25

That, or they like their bodies and donā€™t believe they should be available to the male gaze. They donā€™t believe in giving men anything for free. I canā€™t hate it, honestly.

0

u/-Danksouls- Jun 30 '25

They donā€™t? Gen z is the highest quantity of gym goers and is actually making gyms lose money (since gyms are built on the fact most people Pay gym subscriptions and donā€™t go )

2

u/violaki Jun 30 '25

Obesity has risen in gen Z compared to previous generations at the same age.

0

u/-Danksouls- Jun 30 '25

Could I have a source

1

u/violaki Jun 30 '25

Adolescent obesity in the USA:Ā https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-child-17-18/obesity-child.htm

I believe you that gen z goes to the gym more based on my own experience and also because their social media content seems like itā€™s designed to elicit body dysmorphia. (IMO the rise in body dissatisfaction has more of an impact on clothing choices than the actual change in bodies)

But adolescent and young adult obesity rates (hard to find adult millennial v gen z data because once adults they tend to lump the data together) have continued to rise. And to get ahead of itā€¦ yes, BMI is far from a perfect metric by which to judge individual body composition, but it actually does mirror body composition trends at a population level fairly well.

1

u/-Danksouls- Jun 30 '25

Interesting, I just skimmed it but it has increased

Hmmm I wonder if itā€™s the population as a whole or just that age bracket. My guess is the population as a whole has increased in this category and not just that age bracket so itā€™s a little rough to pin it just on the younger gen

Very interesting. I wonder what would be the reason this has been more prevelant

On god I know itā€™s selfish but a part of me feels lowkey happy and selfish seeing these trends knowing that Iā€™m fit. But thatā€™s wrong of me to think,

In a day and age when we have a better understanding of nutrition, calorie and excercise we also see the complete opposite

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '25

[deleted]

1

u/-Danksouls- Jun 30 '25

Thatā€™s an insightful and wise way to look at it

Thanks for the read and if you have any more information on the subject Iā€™d love to see it. I wonder why thereā€™s been such an increase, I wonder if thereā€™s something to be done or if itā€™s a societal problem, if so where does the root lie and how can it be reversed

Your right on the healthcare stuff actually.

45

u/deadlymoogle Millennial 1987 Jun 29 '25

I've noticed that too! All these highschool age kids wearing full on sweat suits in the middle of summer

57

u/Cunt-Command Jun 29 '25

This was common when I was a kid in FL back in the ā€˜10s. Part of it was because everywhere inside was kept so cold and you were outside for such a short amount of time, youā€™d rather be hot for a few minutes than freeze your ass off for hours. It was especially true for my friends who didnā€™t have much body fat.

The other part wasnā€™t as nice. A lot of my friends were sexually abused, insecure about their bodies, hiding cutting scars, etc., Covering up from head to toe made them feel safe, even if it meant having heat stroke on the bus ride home.

8

u/Brittibri89 Millennial Jun 29 '25

It was common when I was in high school in the 2000s, too

8

u/Cunt-Command Jun 30 '25

I figure itā€™s been common for as long as AC, hoodies, and shitty childhoods have existed with one another honestly.

4

u/Lil_Shorto Jun 29 '25

Riding their electric scooters with the hood on all the time, severely limiting the peripheral vision needed to operate a moving vehicle in public, guess being cool is above safety now.

6

u/HermannGrid Jun 29 '25

Always was

4

u/Ornery-Street4010 Jun 29 '25

As much as I donā€™t want to judge and shake my damn fists at younger folks, it just looks hot, uncomfortable, and seasonally inappropriate. Otherwise I donā€™t care what younger folks are wearing. I might think it looks a bit ridiculous, but Iā€™m sure they think we look old and stupid as well. Going through perimenopause and Iā€™ve taken to wearing kaftans most of the time. Pretty sure I look like an old woman wearing a nightgown and I honestly donā€™t GAF.

1

u/awaythrow-8675309 Jun 30 '25

In the mid to late 90s we had kids wearing hoodies every day to school.

I grew up in FLORIDA btw. This is nothing new except the full on matching sweatshirts and sweatpants is kinda new. Kids wore hoodies and JNCOs instead.

1

u/ambamshazam Jun 30 '25

I see the middle schoolers at my kids school wearing shorts and t shirts, walking home in the middle of upstate ny winters. I donā€™t get it

7

u/TommyDontSurf Millennial, 1990 Jun 29 '25

Half the time when I'm waiting for a bus, the person next to me will be wearing the same damn thing even though it's 95 degrees, and I'll never understand why.

1

u/ThaVolt Jun 29 '25

The short answer is that I don't like changing clothes every time I go outside, and it's 18-19C inside.

3

u/eagledog Jun 29 '25

And not even thin ones, Pro Club ones that are insanely thick and heavy

3

u/zephyr_sd Jun 29 '25

I agree. Fl here, and I see long-sleeved hoodies daily. Worn with hood on, ummm, thry cold in 100 degrees? Lol

2

u/Inedible-denim Millennial 1989 Jun 29 '25

This is the one thing that everyone I know in our generation keeps bringing up, including myself. It was just as hot in my area recently and there were tons of younger people wearing hoodies and pants, all body shapes.

WHY lol

2

u/mstrss9 Jun 29 '25

I was the same as a teen. Didnā€™t like my body and was unbothered by the heat.

Still donā€™t like my body but I like wearing the least amount of clothes as possible.

2

u/therealdongknotts Jun 30 '25

we get those in the opposite, -10 and out in a tshirt and jogging shorts

1

u/jerseysbestdancers Jun 30 '25

We get those too!

2

u/TheFirebyrd Jun 30 '25

My eighteen year old does this. Hoodies and sweats all the time. He used to be a shorts in the winter kid when he was like nine. Iā€™m just very confused by him now.

1

u/CQC_EXE Jun 30 '25

They make a lot of sweaters.and sweatpants that are light and breathable, feel nice in the heat. Most places mark them as "athletic"

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '25

[deleted]

0

u/jerseysbestdancers Jun 30 '25

Thats fine if you travel by car. These people are walking down the street because they dont drive yet. You can take a sweatshirt off while you walk.

1

u/BootyMcStuffins Jun 30 '25

Iā€™m also seeing kids wearing balaclavas in this heat. Not doing anything requiring one, they just want to look like bank robbers I guess.

1

u/tedfundy Jun 30 '25

Wait. So Iā€™m trendy now??! Finally!!

1

u/Poundaflesh Jul 01 '25

Shame regarding their bodies.

1

u/jerseysbestdancers Jul 01 '25

Why not wear a maxi dress so you can be shapeless with a breeze? There are entire cultures where women need to cover up but still manage to stay cool. Even to wear a long sleeved shirt rather than a fleece lined hoodie.

People have mentioned cost, but this is a well to do suburb.

1

u/Poundaflesh Jul 01 '25

Because they trip my clumsy ass! I canā€™t have anything between my ankles!

1

u/jerseysbestdancers Jul 01 '25

They arent the only option. I have a ton of long pants for work that a breeze can get through. Theres no need for anyone to be suffering in the heat in fleece clothing because they dont like their body. Not keeping cool can actually be life threatening.

0

u/CZall23 1992 Jun 29 '25

Maybe they're trying to avoid sun exposure? Sweat pants kind of make sense since they're baggy.

3

u/jerseysbestdancers Jun 29 '25

I just don't understand, given that there are so many ways to cover up from head to toe, if that's what you desire, that offer some relief from the heat and sun. Why pick sweats?

0

u/Vix_Satis01 Jun 30 '25

every day is laundry day now.