Sometimes I like to believe I’ve done it. I’ve cracked the secret to sustainable fashion—no longer am I lured in by micro-trends on TikTok or the next big thing in ASOS, much cooler than last season’s (sorry—I mean last week’s) stock. I tell myself I’m finally immune...but perhaps things aren’t as simple as I think.

In recent years I’ve tried to develop my own style. I’ve realised that ignoring trends and cultivating your own unique wardrobe is the only way to renounce fast fashion for good. Once you stop giving into brands’ promises that their polyester cut-out tops will make you look cool for Spring 2022, you realise that you’ve got the freedom to buy high-quality items that you actually like and you’ll continue to like even when they’re no longer seen on Zara’s awkwardly posed models.

“The lure of looking cool continues to haunt me”

But I’ve got to admit that it’s difficult to figure out what’s actually ‘you’ when you’re living in a world that’s constantly telling you what you should and shouldn’t wear. There are some things I’m certain of: delicate floral patterns, vintage knitwear, chunky shoes, long flowy skirts, corsets, and patterned tights. In being more selective in what I buy, I’ve discovered it’s sometimes easier to recognise the things that aren’t my style, no matter how much trends might insist that they’re (momentarily) cool. I don’t like warm tones or spots, balaclavas or cargo pants, clothes with writing on them, or animal print. Not that I think those things can’t look cool on other people. I just know they aren’t for me—however much the internet tries to tell me they should be. With more specific visions in mind, it’s easier to navigate the often over-priced world of Depop, Vinted, and eBay, to know exactly what to look out for when scouting through charity shops.

However, it’s naïve to believe that I’ve entirely divorced myself from trends, just because I’m no longer thirteen and buying whatever the H&M mannequin tells me looks cute (which the “Unicorns Are Real” top I ended up buying certainly did not). Even though I now roll my eyes at trend prediction videos and ignore fast fashion shops on the High Street, the lure of looking cool continues to haunt me.

Let’s face it, I don’t dress too differently from your average Sidgwick girlie. Despite the fact that I’ve developed an unwarranted individuality complex in recent years, that doesn’t mean I actually am unique. I may no longer give into mainstream micro-trends, but I still fall into trends in other ways: it’s “macro-trends” that really get to me. I’m talking about dark academia, cottage-core, fairy-core, royalty-core...lots of cores, but none that are apparently at my core-core.

“No longer can I dress like a 2014 Tumblr girl or a 2016 ‘plant mom’ without feeling a little bit outdated”

It’s easy to think that alternative styles are freer from the trend cycle, but even these have to die one day. No longer can I dress like a 2014 Tumblr girl or a 2016 ‘plant mom’ without feeling a little bit outdated. Although these more outlying trends aren’t always directly marketed to you, you’re still convinced to buy into their temporary hype through Pinterest boards and idyllic TikTok montages. Just as I no longer see skater skirts and knee-high socks on my Instagram feed, one day the romantic photos of people eating picnics in flouncy white gowns will disappear too. And when they are inevitably replaced with the next big thing, will I move on as I did with the trends of ages past, or can I finally claim cottage-core as my own?

Fashion YouTubers such as Karolina Żebrowska talk about reverting to vintage as a way to ignore current trends and instead develop not just a capsule wardrobe, but a time-capsule wardrobe that won’t change with the seasons. Maybe if I start unapologetically dressing like an Edwardian every day, I could finally escape the seductive lure of internet fads.

But are these trends always a bad thing? Nothing new would develop in the fashion world, no new ideas and inspiration would occur, without them. I would never have thought to buy some of my favourite items in my wardrobe if I hadn’t seen similar things sported by other people first. Maybe it’s less about ignoring trends altogether, and more about being selective. Out of the spiel of things you’re told are ‘in’ this season, maybe you should only invest in one or two that you feel truly belong in your wardrobe. If we’ve accepted that in a world of social media, where everything (implicitly or explicitly) has become a marketing endeavour, perhaps we should pick one or two trends to inspire our second-hand shopping, rather than buying anything and everything we think looks cool on other people. Carefully consider what feels uniquely you, and what clothes you can imagine yourself loving for years to come.