check-out the trends taking over the halls of GHS and social media

by Sophia Logsdon & Kaylie Duskey

#WhatwouldAlixdo? The hashtag with over six million videos on TikTok. TikTok’s “it” girl Alix Earle has a chokehold on girls all over the world. Fans worship her, buy from her Amazon Storefront, and frankly do whatever she says. Earle isn’t the only person/thing that people are talking about. From the Stanley Cup to the Drunk Elephant Bronzing Drops, trends are slowly taking over the lives (and wallets) of people all over the world.

Emma Antibus, junior at Green High School, is the owner of a Stanley Cup and Lululemon Everywhere Belt Bag. She never goes anywhere without her Stanley Cup.

“Trends are so popular because of how easy it is to know what’s trending at the moment,” she says, “and then be easily influenced by creators on social media platforms as well as people from school.”

Trends are known to come and go. In 2020, it was the VSCO girls, who were known for “saving the turtles”, and Hydroflasks. Now, it’s #GRWM (get ready with me) videos, belt bags, and slick back pony tails. To many, it seems like every girl has at least one of these items.

“Right now I am really into all the skin care and makeup trends going around,” Antibus says.

It’s not only skin care and water bottles that are trending. The “clean girl aesthetic” and baggy, neutral clothes are in. Stores across the country are feeding into the trends. Aerie, a women's clothing brand of American Eagle, is notorious for supplying girls all over the nation with the latest clothing trends. Aerie quickly gained fame after a video went viral of the crossover leggings. Slowly after, Aerie released the infamous flare leggings (which also came in a crossover style) and now it seems like every teenage girl has a pair. Not only flare leggings, but baggy jeans instead of the popular jegging style. Junior Caitlin Russell is loving the clothing and style trends right now.

“Baggy not tight jeans, flare pants, high top shoes, and claw clips” Russell says, “Oh and I love the slick back hairstyles.”

Russell isn’t the only one who is obsessed with the recent clothing trends. Senior Elyssa Paine shares her love of clothes through her personal style; she's always seen in the most trendy outfits.

“I love clothes,” Paine says, “so my favorite trends right now are any type of flare pants, puffer vests, ultra mini uggs, and platform converse.”

The instantaneous fame of creators like Alix Earle, Monet McMichael, and Lexi Hidalgo has inspired young girls to follow in their footsteps. Right now, “get ready with me’s” flood the “For You” pages of Tiktok, and for a good reason. People like to relate to famous people. So, when Earle is open about her cosmetic surgery it makes her followers appreciate her more because of her openness.

More recently, the idea of a career option of being an influencer has plagued the minds of young people. According to Forbes.com, one in four younger Americans want to be an influencer when they are older. Influencers seem to have it all: the fame, the money, the following, and the flexibility. Influencers have been using Amazon Storefront to increase their profit. Storefront allows creators to add products they use on the daily for purchase. This is just one example of the many ways influencers make money. Storefront gives the creators a small portion of the proceeds off of their products. Trends only help influencers. By capitalizing and creating trends, it allows influencers to control their fanbase. Trends will come and go, but right now trends seem to be influencing the lives of teens all over the world.