I ‘aught’ to tell you: some people wear their hearts on their sleeves. I wear mine all over my body. It’s a canvas of things I love, from people I love, and a time I bittersweetly, have feelings for: the early 2000s.
I grew up in the early and late aughts, trying to figure out my personal style after being required for years, to wear a Catholic school uniform, plaid skirt and monogrammed jumper included. Perhaps on some subconscious level, that’s why I have shirked the idea of blending in with my clothing: uniform, is only two or three letters shy, of conform. But outside the private school bubble during my clothing confinement, maximalism was exploding in all directions. The midriffs were free, the music was loud, and the photos cataloguing those moments, were maybe too saturated.
As I pay tribute to post y2k, with this artsy cropped corset and low-rise corduroys, I think of wrapping up a different year: 2022. This year was an era of fashion micro-trends born on the runways and nurtured on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Some of those played out here on Keeping it Krischic, like my on-camera tribute to Barbiecore. Well, think of the “Chic List” section of my blog as a collection of personal microtrends, ones that ended up being some of your personal favorite articles. As my final haute hurrah of 2022, ahead are my top five micro-trend posts on the blog this year.
Preppycore:
A Snippet from the Post: “I nursed the honey oat milk cappuccino in my hand that I grabbed from the nearby coffee shop, La Mo, like precious cargo. Taking a sip, I peered through the window of “Lightly Used Books,” convincing myself not to go in because of the bags and bags of page-turners I’ve previously bought, faster than I’ve been able to read them. So, I just stared through my cat-eye tortoise shell sunglasses, feeling like a preppy version of Holly Golightly at Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Rather than fine jewelry, I was gaping at literary treasures. And instead of an iconic black dress, black opera gloves, and a tiara on my head, I was in the all-American uniform that never goes out of style but is currently making comeback: preppy sportswear.”
Chanelcore:
A Snippet from the Post: “I’ve been dreaming of vintage Chanel lately. Perhaps it’s my subconscious soaking in all those vintage Chanel ads that I scroll through on Pinterest, the same way some would mindlessly their “for you” page on TikTok. Maybe it’s my vintage Chanel gold chain necklace sitting at my throat, whispering to me the lures of couture like a horcrux in Harry Potter.”
Princess Dianacore:
A Snippet from the Post: “Wearing plaid is like having a comfort blanket draped over you. I wonder if that’s how Princess Diana felt, sporting the pattern in different colors, in the form of a dress, a blazer, or a skirt suit. That was the thing about Diana: she knew how to make her look completely fresh while feeling like home, so that when you looked at her, you saw the People’s Princess, but also a monarch of majesty.”
Guccicore:
A Snippet from the Post: “Perhaps it’s the fact that I am writing this post-binge of Bridgerton season two and HBO’s The Golden Age (if you aren’t watching basically the American version of Downton Abbey, what are you doing?), but I would equate wearing this [Gucci] skirt outside of the house for the first time to that of a debutante, making her seasonal debut. As a pristine and delicate flower, I did not want anything to happen to this skirt whatsoever. As such, I felt like a doting mother, wanting to keep her safe from ill-intentioned suitors, or in this case, an expensive skirt’s worst nightmare: scratches or stains. I cannot be alone in this: when something you possess is a rare novelty, you may become afraid to wear it. The alternative, leaving it in the closet to collect dust is a worser fate, indeed.”
Cowboycore:
A Snippet from the Post: “These boots were made for strutting across a runway, and that’s just what they did this past year. From Copenhagen Fashion Week on a boardwalk that became Ganni’s makeshift catwalk, to fall fashion month at the Ralph Lauren runway show. That’s where cowboy boots were showcased at the home of the California Cowboy: The West Coast, but Ralph Lauren has been showcasing the western shoe since the 1970’s (the Golden Age of Hollywood and Western Films). Plus, the world was hot on the shoe’s slanted heels long before then.”
*HONORABLE MENTION*
Pre-Raphaelite Core:
A snippet from the post: “You always remember falling in love—with a city, with its landscape, with its art. In the heart of my soul city, London England, lies the Tate Britain: Inside a Romanesque marble façade, all columns, and arched windows, rest traditional British paintings. You see, England is known for its literature, its tea, it’s royalty…but aspirational, traditional art is normally credited to the French and Italian masters. But with my first brush stroke of John William Waterhouse’s “Lady Shallot,” I fell hard and fast, for the work of the Pre-Raphaelites. The painting makes the tragedy of the Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Arthurian poem of the same name, tragically beautiful.”
Photos by Anaya Salcedo
Keeping it Krischic,
Kristin Vartan
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