What Are People Actually Wearing IRL?

I headed outside to find out!

Our algorithm’s do a really good job at leading us to believe that everybody dresses the same, and that when you leave your house all the outfits you see will be a representation of whatever niche corner of the internet you’re on. However, when I do go out wearing something inspired by trends I’ve seen online, it’s often met with strange looks and snide remarks…not compliments. Recently, after seeing the sheer trend circulating for months and months, I built up the confidence to head to the pub one evening in a navy t-shirt, sheer cream slip skirt, biker boots and an oversized scrunchie. This is an outfit combination that wouldn’t be out of place on my Pinterest boards, but walking down the street I felt self conscious. Which was only made worse by the rude comments I received from a boy (cannot be classed as a man if he’s shit talking girls outfits on the street) and his girlfriend. It made me wonder about how much viral internet trends actually translate into the general public’s day to day style.

So I decided to grab my notebook and head into Brighton on a Saturday to take a look at what everyone was wearing, what current trends I could spot and if any new ones were emerging. It feels like Brighton is a good place to accumulate data on this topic, because it’s a city that promotes self expression and diversity and has such a huge mixture of locals and tourists from all over the country. I sat myself down outside two different cafe’s on opposite sides of town and kept worrying people walking by thought I was insane because I was looking at everybody and quickly scribbling down very disjointed sentences. SO…let consolidate my findings.

• I have never seen so many people wearing jeans before, I would say almost 80% of people were wearing jeans. Especially near the station, seeing groups of people walking down the hill into town was just a continuous sea of blue denim. Mostly loose leg, but also a few skinny pairs. Black tops with jeans was probably the most common outfit I saw throughout the day.

• On the topic of denim - quite a lot of double denim and also dungarees. However, not as many jorts as I expected!

• Oversized scrunchie counter - 12

• Majority of people were wearing plain trainers in black or white, with Adidas and Nike being the most common (as to be expected). But also, a lot of white unbranded trainers. A severe lack of colourful trainers, and any pairs I did notice were specifically this style…

• Plain block colour combinations were quite popular. I noticed a lady in a green dress with an orange cardigan, a few boys wearing green trousers and charcoal t-shirts and lots of people in cream trousers with baby blue tops.

• SO many striped t-shirts! Long sleeve, short sleeve, polo shirts…I’ve never noticed how popular stripes are.

• Leopard print was everywhere, mostly on trousers or dresses but across all age groups. I’m also a strong believer that leopard print is timeless and not trendy! I was raised by my mum and my nan who both wore and wear leopard print to this day, so I’ll never stop wearing it.

• Floral, animal print, striped or gingham midi sun dresses were almost as popular as jeans.

• I noticed a lot of tighter fitting button down cardigans, specifically with only one or a few buttons done up.

• Button down shirts - plain or patterned, worn in a variety of different ways.

• A pop of red is very much still trendy, I noticed it a lot in shoes. Specifically one pair of pointed kitten heel boots and also one lady rocking the most amazing cherry red tall Hunter wellies.

• Can also confirm that tall boots are not just an online trend, they were probably one of the most common shoes I spotted. There were cowboy boots, boots with lace ribbons tied to them, Vivienne Westwood pirate boots and multiple pairs of the new Dr Martens biker boots. I even spotted one girl wearing the throwback almost knee high UGG boots.

• Lucy & Yak dungaree counter - 3

• Lots and lots of all black outfits despite the very hot weather.

• All different kinds of graphic t-shirts were very common, mostly band merch, specifically The Vaccines, Dynamite Hardcore, KISS, Nirvana, Pearl Jam.

• BRAT green accessories (mostly bags)

• Knitwear was being used more as an accessory, tied around the waist or shoulders. Can’t decide if a deliberate fashion choice, or out of practicality for the temperamental weather.

• One trend that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon is bag charms, I spotted so many of them! Mostly on younger to middle aged women.

• Two iconic outfit combinations I really loved - 1) all black boxing boots, black midi skirt, long sleeve graphic tee and two plaits. 2) tall black rubber boots, wrap around pleated skirt with buckles, black vest top and brown woven mini bag.

• Lots of hiking gear, specifically outdoorsy looking trainers worn casually.

• Noticed quite a few leather jackets just in time for the indie sleaze revival.

• One thing I was absolutely loving was the variation in mens fashion and how styled the outfits were. It feels like even a few years ago men weren’t expressing themselves half as much as women out of fear of being judged by other men, but it seemed like that was a thing of the past. I saw lots of outfits potentially inspired by two style icons of my own, Role Model and Matty Matheson.

• Also spotted a lot on men - maroon loafers and the plasticana gardana clogs.

• Sunglasses were 90% tortoiseshell.

• Vintage caps x overhead headphone combo was everywhere.

• I only spotted a few pieces from very popular online brands such as Ganni or Damson Madder, and it was specifically their hero pieces like sweater vests and gilets.

• Pull over hoodies were WAY more common than zip-up’s, even though I do feel like the internet is favouring a zip up recently!

• Lots and lots of backpacks - maybe due to being such a tourist destination.

• Other trendy pieces I spotted a few times - adidas track jackets, striped pyjama pants, camo pants, Balenciaga le cagole bags, leg warmers and in print we trust t-shirts.

Overall, across all things I observed, the most common denominator is that people seem to be dressing mostly for comfort over anything else, which makes me very happy because comfort is key! This little school trip into the wild has weirdly given me more confidence to wear whatever I want, after people watching for a few hours I noticed that nobody is really looking at what anyone else is wearing (except me in that moment, to bring you this very important data!).