Fashionable Comfort

The latest trend in fashion is all about comfort. The stiff suits, shoulder pads, and tight clothing of the past have been relegated to the thrift store by and large. Street style and even couture have begun to focus on comfort, freedom, and movement. It’s hard to remember a time when denim was not considered fashionable. Thanks to leaders like Karl Lagerfeld and others, jeans became part of the conversation of fashion and made the cavernous leap from the street to the runway. As many long-time readers will know, I once worked in the fashion industry, and so from time to time, I still write about what I see in the world of fashion. We’ve come along way since the corset.

Woolens, Knits, and More!

Modern fashion focuses far more on comfortable fabrics and loose cuts than in the past. In the 1950s, many women wore foundation garments and clothing was carefully tailored. Today, women, even fit women, are wearing clothes that is more generous in cut and looser. Cotton fabrics and more easy cuts are also indicative of the nature of fast fashion where clothing is designed, produced and on the rack for sale as quickly as 6 weeks in some cases. The care that older clothing had isn’t suitable for the modern fast fashion market. Regardless of expense, comfort is in and no trend signifies this more than the athleisure trend. We live in a world where women are conquering the world in yoga pants and t-shirts. Modern women often feel no need to put on airs and are willing to exist in spaces in an honest manner without using clothing as an armor. This is not say that women don’t still dress up (they do) but for the woman who is working out, dropping off the kids and going to work, athleisure offers a chance to do some in fabrics that are easy to move in, comfortable, and easy to wash.

Men are not immune to this as well. The modern fashion of sweat fabrics, t-shirts, jeans, or just a simple button down shirt and jacket is showing that accessories like cufflinks, ties, and other staples of male fashion of years past are out and easy to wash comfort is in.

For both genders fabrics are simple and often don’t exhibit the patterns of the past. Many modern collections feature simple, flat colors. When looking back at fashion even 20 years ago, a bold pattern was far more common. The future of bland clothing that so many futuristic movies predicted has arrived. This only means that soon there will be a backlash and insane patterns will once again burst on the scene at some point in the future.

But Keep the Pajamas Out of the Airport

Doing everything in comfort has transformed our lives in a variety of ways. Comfortable clothing is everywhere. Most people don’t feel the need to dress a certain way just to be in a public space and nowhere is this seen more often than in air travel. It seems like many travelers have rolled out of bed and gotten to the airport. People are adorned with travel pillows around their necks, headphones on their heads and simple comfortable clothes. I think part of this is due to the cramped nature of modern air travel. Dressy clothing isn’t always comfortable and who wants to wear uncomfortable clothing while also being in the uncomfortable seats in economy or even economy plus?

The Economics of Fashion

Many of these changes have to do with the economy. When the economy changes so do clothes, especially for women. Modern people are working constantly and putting effort into a variety of areas of their lives. This requires clothes that can roll into any situation and hold up. Most people don’t have time for multiple outfit changes over a day. The line between working life and personal life is blurred thanks to technology. Thanks to the modern economy, fashion has finally become: unfashionable. People want simple, easy to wear garments that don’t require special care or are only single-use, especially with the modern fast fashion movement that encourages people to wear and dispose of clothes as fast as they download and get rid of apps. There is also a manner of money. Building a good wardrobe takes time to shop and money to buy the right pieces and have them tailored to fit. Many people just don’t have the money to spend on clothes like that anymore. Athleisure and other easy clothing options require far less time and less effort and for many people, fashion just isn’t worth the effort anymore.