There’s been a culture war brewing of late, between Gen Z and Millennials. Gen Z has made some brutal observations about millennial basicness, and well, they were pretty spot-on with millennials feeling attacked. According to Gen Z, all things we Millennials love are canceled, uncool, or cheugy (described as “basic millennial girlboss energy”). Some things I agree with - glorifying rosé, and using the terms ‘doggo’ (who says that?) and ‘girlboss’ is certified cringe. And some I must defend - our love of coffee (we’re like, really productive), liking Disney as an adult (nostalgia is powerful, just you wait and see), and the laughing face emoji (it gets the point across).
And then the intergenerational war has also touched fashion. And while Gen Z’s attack on millennial fashion also has me divided - I can almost see things through their cynical, hyperliberal lens - I’d like them to try and get them to see things through ours. Here is a list of 10 style items close to millennials’ hearts, and why.
1. A real top
Whatever the occasion or climate, Gen Z always seems to be in a crop top. While we envy their confidence, Gen Z must underdstand that we weren’t lucky enough to grow up among much body positivity. It sucks, but we came of age in the era of Kate Moss, when the only people who wore crop tops were Kate Moss, and people of similar waist-to-hip ratio. As such, we generally tend to favor things like crisp white shirts, which you’ll probably attribute to our cheugy girl-boss energy.
2. Skinny jeans
Gen Z’s attack on skinny jeans famously hit us the hardest. Skinny jeans have been a stalwart of every Millennial closet. Call me a geriatric millennial, but I still think they’re the most flattering and versatile jean silhouette. And they’ll come back, just wait and see.
3. Cross-body bags
Those born in the late 90s onwards tend to like an alternative bag of some kind - ridiculously mini, hilariously oversized, or a utilitarian belt bag with 11 different little compartments. Millennials, on the other hand, grew up among your classic It bags - your Chanel 2.55, Saint Laurent Kate Bag, Givenchy Antigona, and the Celine Trapeze. We will always love a power bag of normal proportions over anything else. And again, a gold chain strap for that Millennial girl-boss energy.
4. A pair of pumps
They’re not the most interesting shoes, I admit, but every Millennial staunchly believes that a pair of classic dark-hued pumps are an absolute staple. Blame all the Grace Kelly/Audrey Hepburn style books we read when one would read such books.
5. A simple manicure
The decals and add-ons or whatever they stick on those super-long Gen Z nails are like the accoutrements of a gingerbread house. Millennials like a simple Essie red mani in a tasteful tomato-red, like cult-fave Clambake. (Sidenote, is Clambake back in stock somewhere? Where?)
6. NY Yankees baseball caps
Tell me an outfit that a Yankees hat won’t make cooler. There is no such outfit. Gen Z, who favor tye-dye bucket hats, might not really, truly, get the appeal, which blossomed during hip hop’s golden age, thanks to all the talent that came out of the East Coast. (image: mtv.com)
7. Chunky gold jewelry
It was a brave old world when SJP on SATC described her day-to-day jewelry as “ghetto gold”, probably a term Gen Z doesn’t approve of. While my quoting SATC in 2021 speaks for itself, we can’t get away from the fact that for better or for worse, this show defined our generation. (Even if we were watching it at 18, and it subsequently instilled an unhealthy fear of being single that has haunted us for decades.)
8. Wayfarers
There’s no Millennial who hasn’t lived and loved in Raybans at one point or another, the wayfarer in particular. Even if I don’t wear them currently, just taking my old wayfarers out of my style-keepsakes box, and holding them, conjures up summers of yore and tugs at my old, nostalgic heartstrings. (image: stylebistro.com)
9. Nikes
Gen Z, who only seems to like big ugly sneakers and Balenciaga sock styles, and was never without ecommerce, will never know the exquisite pain of getting your dad to drive you to an outlet mall on the other side of town to find a particular pair of Nikes. A pair of Nikes that defined your teenage erotic capital, your very identity.
10. A pretty dress
Ugly-fashion is very Gen Z and current and all that, so it’s unlikely you will see them in anything traditionally pretty. Millennials, backwards though some may deem us, will never lose our awareness of the power of a really great dress. Giovanna knows. (image: gettyimages.com)
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In the world of post-pandemic dressing, one word has taken social media by storm: cheugy (pronounced: chew-gee). In the worlds of fashion and lifestyle, cheugy describes a look, a thing or a person that’s considered out of date.