Top five worst spring trends

High-waisted bikinis, clay rings and micro-bangs are some of the most controversial trends this spring. Photo illustration by Brittany Tankersley

By Clara Snyder | Staff Writer

With Paris Fashion Week 2022 now halfway over and spring break quickly approaching, the trends of the season have been solidified. Since the rise in trendiness of Birkenstocks, my hope for humanity’s sense of style has been rapidly diminishing. To say I’m horrified would be an understatement — and don’t get me started on the combination of socks with Birkenstocks

Growing up with the role model of my aunt Holly Dunlap — an international fashion designer — I became a relentless fashion critic. Now at the age of 19, I have begun a career of my own in the fashion industry. I love fashion and I study it more intensely than any class I’ve ever taken. So, without further adieu, here are the worst fashion trends of spring 2022.

The first trend I would like to slander is high-waisted bikini bottoms. This trend is one that I largely blame Emma Chamberlain for starting. It’s OK, Emma — we all make mistakes. An article from Who What Wear said belts are now being added to the trend of high-waisted bikinis. If we’re adding belts to our swimsuits, where do we draw the line? The future of this trend scares me; I fear next year it will be trendy to swim in jean shorts.

Second, micro-bangs: I truly didn’t think we would ever need to have this conversation. The bangs we all gave ourselves with craft scissors as a child are now in style? Micro-bangs are such a dark road to walk down. Having 1-inch bangs encroaching on your forehead is a very bold statement and a major leap of faith. Cutting bangs that take up half of your forehead takes major commitment skills, as there is no going back from there. In some ways, the mental commitment of this trend is inspiring.

The third unfortunate trend is clay rings. I don’t intend to make any friends with this opinion because I know this trend has all my peers under some kind of trance, but it needs to be said. Clay rings look like elementary school art projects. What are the micro-bang and clay ring trends trying to tell us? Are we all missing the free form styles of our adolescence?

The fourth trend I despise is one that makes me think we all need to take a step back from fashion and reevaluate our choices: excessive layering. This trend does not make a lot of sense to me because it is so rarely well-executed. The ratio I see is that 10% of the time it works, and the other 90% of time it looks like the person got dressed in the dark. That may be a little harsh, but it had to be said.

Lastly, wrap tops: Although this trend can occasionally make individuals look like they got tangled in a piece of fabric, it doesn’t necessarily make me nauseous — it’s just overdone. If you go out on the weekend in a wrap top, it is virtually guaranteed that you will see a multitude of people in a wrap top as well. Despite the fact that hundreds of variations exist for these tops, they always look the same to me.

I am quite confident that all of these opinions will be unpopular ones. The important lesson to be learned here is that we are all human, we all make mistakes. I invite everyone to join me in prayer for the summer trends this year.