Should our looks be categorised
We live in a generation where we are constantly being put into boxes; constantly sectioned off and categorised. This is something we do about 50 times a day without even realising it. Simply just from glancing at someone, we internally decide if they are nice, rude, gay, straight, cool, boring, rich or poor. We can't help ourselves and we can't turn it off. When we do something as simple as listening to music, we categorise and sub-categorise what to listen to, by: what decade it's from,what genre, what mood we are in and what artist we feel like listening to. There is rarely ever a time where we just hit shuffle and see where the night takes us.
This trend has now expanded and moved onto the next generation. With all our newly found forward thinking trends and ideas, we have started to be more exciting and daring with the type of clothes that we wear and experiment with. This has led to many different fashion trends which have subsequently become categorised to be:
Art hoe, Softboy, Skater boy, Eboy etc.
I know many other tiktok users and youtubers have talked extensively and in depth into this topic but I will give a quick recap and description about each fashion category.
Art hoe:
Being an Art hoe is more than just a title, it's a lifestyle. An art hoe, lives, breathes and thinks their aesthetic. A stereotypical art hoe is a girl that looks at the world in an optimistic light. They capture their thoughts and feelings in their perfectly designed bullet journals which they carry in their 'FJALLRAVEN KANKEN' backpacks. Their eyes see in only the palest pastel colours, and plants and flowers magically grow under their feet.
Softboy:
A soft boy is the perfect companion to the art hoe. He lays down in the bed of flowers while she takes the photographs on her Canon. He runs his hands through his mop of curly hair before properly adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. He's progressive and feminine in all the right ways, while still being captivatingly masculine. He wears his dad's old shirts and listens to Rex orange country; you can't help but to fall in love with him.
Skater boy:
A skater boy in a simple definition is a new age hipster with more of an edge. Their freedom is felt from the wind running through their hair while they cut through the pavement on their skateboards. Their style is a lot more layered; the classic short sleeve over long. They listen to indie music like the Arctic Monkeys or The Strokes as well as older classic rock bands like: The Fray, Oasis and Joy Division. Living in the moment is their only philosophy; their life goal is to be forever young.
Eboy:
The Eboy is the newest fashion trend to grace our generation. This style is a grungy combination of skater boy and street wear, then after being submerged in black paint. The E boy will spend half an hour staring at his perfectly styled locks of hair in the mirror trying to get the perfect 'messy bed look' before then immediately plopping a beanie on top. The classic mirror selfie is his go to Instagram post, with the progressively freshly painted black nail always in frame as he runs his hands through his hair just so. He's the type of cool you can't quite figure out; so you spend all your time trying to anyways.
Everything I've said about these trends are a poetic exaggeration of the people trying to emulate them. What we wear is supposed to be a form of creative expression to who we are as a person. Something as pure and substantial as this shouldn't be easily categorised into a catchy gimmick name, and that's it, that's who we will forever be: An art hoe, a skater boy, a soft boy or an E boy.
We are so much more than that.
We should be able to have space to grow and change as a person, with that our style will too.
Don't put yourself into a box, have the confidence to grow, change and experiment.