Fashion is meant to be fun! If ever-changing microtrends and rising prices have sucked the life out of getting dressed every morning, you’re not alone. These are a few of the little things we’re using to crack open our creativity and step up our style game in 2025, and you can use them, too.
Add an Accessory (or Two) to Every Outfit
In the wake of minimalist trends and clean girl aesthetics, it’s high time to bring back accessories. A small pair of hoops isn’t going to cut it in 2025. We’re talking hair clips, boot chains, anklets, scarves as belts, and ear cuffs galore.
Accessories often fall into the ‘styling’ stage of putting an outfit together. It’s why they can take a plain outfit from something boring into something extraordinary. Play around in your closet and see how different bags, belts, and jewelry work with your favorite pieces.
Rework Something You Already Have (& Kind of Hate)
For many of us, 2025 is the year of the no-buy or low-buy challenge. If you’re feeling crushed by the rising tides of consumer prices, it’s time to shop your existing wardrobe.
While having some sewing knowledge will be a big help, you don’t need to know how to wield a needle and thread to transform those pieces you hardly pull out of the closet into something you wear every week. Safety pins, velcro, snaps, trim, a pair of scissors, some fabric glue, and an idea are all you need to turn something old into something new.
Mix and Match More Patterns & Textures Together
In 2025, we’re cutting up and letting loose in the fashion department. The past few years have been an interesting combination of largely understated trends, and it’s time to go back to our roots.
Recession pop is back and so are the gaudiest millennial prints. Experiment with mixing unusual patterns and textures together. Pair floral pants with paisley tops or geometric dresses with tweed coats. The world might feel farther from 1999 than ever, but these outfits will make you feel like it's just a touch away.
Find a Signature Piece That Screams “You”
Our fashionable friends and style icons all have one thing in common — they have a signature “look.” Whether it’s a type of fabric, a pattern, or a go-to accessory, you can see something out in the wild and immediately know they’d love it.
Part of stepping up your style game is putting a personal stamp on your outfits. Take things to the next level by experimenting with stuff that could be your signature. Maybe it’s a funky pair of sunglasses or a bomber jacket.
Your signature is out there, you just have to find it first.
Embrace Visible Mending & Darning as Decoration
Clothes are just too darn expensive to toss in the trash every time you get a hole. Mending and darning is a bit of a dying art, but many people are reviving it in 2025. Invisible mending is a thing of the past! Show off those stitches with contrasting thread colors and funky embroidery motifs.
Extending your clothes’ lifespan can also be fashion in the making.
Look Through Your Yearbook for Inspiration
From Uggs to ultra-mini jean skirts, the revival of millennial style is a hotly debated fashion event in 2025. If your wardrobe’s feeling a little lackluster lately, crack open one of your old yearbooks for inspiration. We’ve speedrun from the 1970s-2000s in under two decades, so every ‘vintage’ trend is up for grabs.
Invest in a Yuppie-Approved Blazer
Of the many trends to try in 2025, one of the most versatile is Yuppie-approved blazers. Think Wall Street in the late 80s and 90s or Julia Roberts’s outfit at the 1990 Golden Globes. Think power shoulders, long sleeves, and below-the-waist lengths.
And if you’re working on a budget, you can easily find some at your local thrift!
Play With Oversized Silhouettes
In an age of butt-lifting leggings and super skinny jeans, fashion has shifted back to the baggy side of things. Billie Eilish is just one of the popular proponents of this oversized style. Never tried it? Start small with one baggy element such as a large button-down or a wide-legged cargo.
When you get more comfortable with undefined waists and slouchy seams, expand your horizons with majorly oversized styles ala the hip-hop greats of the early 2000s.
There's No Time Like 2025 to Discover New Fashion Favorites
We’re only a few months into 2025, so there’s still so much time left to discover new fashion favorites. Don't let fashion influencers fool you — you don’t need to overhaul your wardrobe every year. Sometimes, the littlest changes make the biggest difference.
