NYT and WaPo running identical Gen Z v. Millenial sock trend strories?

[Anonymous]

^ typos-- my middle aged millennial fingers still have trouble with smart phone tech

[Anonymous]

I keep coming back to this thread wanting it to be about "stocks" not "socks"...and get disappointed each time. Who the f cares about socks.

- Millennial

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a millennial 40+ mom who hates the tyranny of no show socks (incredibly hard to find ones that don't slip down) so I'll happily return to crew socks.

If Gen Zers are actually making fun of millennials for this (I don't know, I'm old and will not TikTok on principle) then what they need to understand is that millennial women have a generation have just been sold trend after uncomfortable trend on the premise that the very worst thing we can do is be comfortable or happy in our own skin. There was the tyranny of not only low rise jeans but at the same time the insistance in thong underwear (a movement with its own song! Underwear that literally requires you get waxed! Wt actual f!). There were backless going out tops, underwire bras from Victoria's Secret, spray tans, some kind of ban on one piece bathing suits. No show socks were the least of it. Being a millennial woman in your 20s and 30s meant discomfort and never feeling like you were "allowed" to just be yourself. And millennials did not start these trends-- they were sold to us via a monoculture that no longer exists. Television (not streaming platforms) with advertising, block user movies you saw in actual theaters, and a music industry that relief on radio and music videos. We consumed more media than any prior generation but unlike Gen Z we consumed what we were given-- we didn't have the choices that exists now via streaming and user-created content.

You can make fun of us if you want but you could also try to understand us. Also, since the oldest Gen Zers are now 25 or so, guess who is actually making the trends you're currently wearing? You guessed it-- millennials. I bet you anything there is some millennial merchandising exec at Hanes who was like "you know, no show socks are hell annoying, what would be great is if we could bring my back crew socks."

You're welcome.

I am a similar age millennial and totally disagree. I didn't do all these things and was never that trendy even though I loved clothes, dressing up, going out. I didn't do or wear stuff that felt uncomfortable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The constant millennial vs gen z discourse is very bizarre. I cant remember millennials particularly caring what Xers were up to, and certainly not fixating or constantly trashing them the way Gen Z does to millennials. Why are millennials still the center of style discourse when theyre in their 30s? It's all so odd.

Exactly. When we (millennials) were young we wanted to be cute and go out with our friends and our peers were our focus. I certainly did not focus on what some 40yo mom was wearing.

Gen Z has too much time on their hand and too many platforms for various nonsense. Also their fashion is terrible, don't care what they think of my socks.

I believe the stats back this up. Gen Z is not going to parties, not having sex, not drinking, which may sound good on the surface, but many of those things are important milestones of young adulthood and indicators of a healthy social life. Many of them are perpetually online without many real life friendships or other areas to focus on, so now they spend a lot of their day fixating on what 30 and 40 somethings are doing. And they're oddly competitive about it. Very perplexing.

Haha I'm the PP above and yeah I was way to consumed with that stuff in my 20s to think about suburban moms with poor fashion choices

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a millennial 40+ mom who hates the tyranny of no show socks (incredibly hard to find ones that don't slip down) so I'll happily return to crew socks.

If Gen Zers are actually making fun of millennials for this (I don't know, I'm old and will not TikTok on principle) then what they need to understand is that millennial women have a generation have just been sold trend after uncomfortable trend on the premise that the very worst thing we can do is be comfortable or happy in our own skin. There was the tyranny of not only low rise jeans but at the same time the insistance in thong underwear (a movement with its own song! Underwear that literally requires you get waxed! Wt actual f!). There were backless going out tops, underwire bras from Victoria's Secret, spray tans, some kind of ban on one piece bathing suits. No show socks were the least of it. Being a millennial woman in your 20s and 30s meant discomfort and never feeling like you were "allowed" to just be yourself. And millennials did not start these trends-- they were sold to us via a monoculture that no longer exists. Television (not streaming platforms) with advertising, block user movies you saw in actual theaters, and a music industry that relief on radio and music videos. We consumed more media than any prior generation but unlike Gen Z we consumed what we were given-- we didn't have the choices that exists now via streaming and user-created content.

You can make fun of us if you want but you could also try to understand us. Also, since the oldest Gen Zers are now 25 or so, guess who is actually making the trends you're currently wearing? You guessed it-- millennials. I bet you anything there is some millennial merchandising exec at Hanes who was like "you know, no show socks are hell annoying, what would be great is if we could bring my back crew socks."

You're welcome.

This is so true! That was a huge part of travel for me when I was younger - it was always so awesome to see how differently fashionable people were dressed around the world, and always so fun to pick up fashion magazines to bring home and share with everyone.

Also lol-ing at the number of wardrobe malfunctions my clueless young self suffered, though I was just wearing trendy outfits off the rack from Bloomie’s or Saks etc fitted by the store associates - nothing crazy.

Fashion tape, safety pins everywhere, weirdly shaped bras, the horrid dental floss of thongs, impossible stilettos or flip-flops and ballet flats with zero arch support…so much facepalm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a millennial 40+ mom who hates the tyranny of no show socks (incredibly hard to find ones that don't slip down) so I'll happily return to crew socks.

If Gen Zers are actually making fun of millennials for this (I don't know, I'm old and will not TikTok on principle) then what they need to understand is that millennial women have a generation have just been sold trend after uncomfortable trend on the premise that the very worst thing we can do is be comfortable or happy in our own skin. There was the tyranny of not only low rise jeans but at the same time the insistance in thong underwear (a movement with its own song! Underwear that literally requires you get waxed! Wt actual f!). There were backless going out tops, underwire bras from Victoria's Secret, spray tans, some kind of ban on one piece bathing suits. No show socks were the least of it. Being a millennial woman in your 20s and 30s meant discomfort and never feeling like you were "allowed" to just be yourself. And millennials did not start these trends-- they were sold to us via a monoculture that no longer exists. Television (not streaming platforms) with advertising, block user movies you saw in actual theaters, and a music industry that relief on radio and music videos. We consumed more media than any prior generation but unlike Gen Z we consumed what we were given-- we didn't have the choices that exists now via streaming and user-created content.

You can make fun of us if you want but you could also try to understand us. Also, since the oldest Gen Zers are now 25 or so, guess who is actually making the trends you're currently wearing? You guessed it-- millennials. I bet you anything there is some millennial merchandising exec at Hanes who was like "you know, no show socks are hell annoying, what would be great is if we could bring my back crew socks."

You're welcome.

I am a similar age millennial and totally disagree. I didn't do all these things and was never that trendy even though I loved clothes, dressing up, going out. I didn't do or wear stuff that felt uncomfortable.

Congrats you win. Here's your trophy:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/style/gen-z-crew-socks-ankle-millennials.html

WaPo:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/fashion/2024/06/21/millennials-crew-ankle-socks-tiktok/

Here's the gist of both: Millennials are stuck on no-show socks that seem old-fashion now. Gen-Z likes full length crew socks.

How strange that this extremely niche story idea happens simultaneously?

FWIW, I'm gen X and only recently realized that crew socks are cool again.

White millennials care about tan lines and think it's cool to look orange from too much sun, fake baking, and/or too much bronzer. While white gen Zs avoid the sun and value natural skin tone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a millennial 40+ mom who hates the tyranny of no show socks (incredibly hard to find ones that don't slip down) so I'll happily return to crew socks.

If Gen Zers are actually making fun of millennials for this (I don't know, I'm old and will not TikTok on principle) then what they need to understand is that millennial women have a generation have just been sold trend after uncomfortable trend on the premise that the very worst thing we can do is be comfortable or happy in our own skin. There was the tyranny of not only low rise jeans but at the same time the insistance in thong underwear (a movement with its own song! Underwear that literally requires you get waxed! Wt actual f!). There were backless going out tops, underwire bras from Victoria's Secret, spray tans, some kind of ban on one piece bathing suits. No show socks were the least of it. Being a millennial woman in your 20s and 30s meant discomfort and never feeling like you were "allowed" to just be yourself. And millennials did not start these trends-- they were sold to us via a monoculture that no longer exists. Television (not streaming platforms) with advertising, block user movies you saw in actual theaters, and a music industry that relief on radio and music videos. We consumed more media than any prior generation but unlike Gen Z we consumed what we were given-- we didn't have the choices that exists now via streaming and user-created content.

You can make fun of us if you want but you could also try to understand us. Also, since the oldest Gen Zers are now 25 or so, guess who is actually making the trends you're currently wearing? You guessed it-- millennials. I bet you anything there is some millennial merchandising exec at Hanes who was like "you know, no show socks are hell annoying, what would be great is if we could bring my back crew socks."

You're welcome.

thank you for putting into words what is so, so true. I love the new gen z fashion trends, as dorky and confusing as they are, because they are so darn comfortable. And they look good, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The constant millennial vs gen z discourse is very bizarre. I cant remember millennials particularly caring what Xers were up to, and certainly not fixating or constantly trashing them the way Gen Z does to millennials. Why are millennials still the center of style discourse when theyre in their 30s? It's all so odd.

Exactly. When we (millennials) were young we wanted to be cute and go out with our friends and our peers were our focus. I certainly did not focus on what some 40yo mom was wearing.

Gen Z has too much time on their hand and too many platforms for various nonsense. Also their fashion is terrible, don't care what they think of my socks.

+100
When we were young we expected moms to look like moms. Any moms that didn't were weird and embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a millennial 40+ mom who hates the tyranny of no show socks (incredibly hard to find ones that don't slip down) so I'll happily return to crew socks.

If Gen Zers are actually making fun of millennials for this (I don't know, I'm old and will not TikTok on principle) then what they need to understand is that millennial women have a generation have just been sold trend after uncomfortable trend on the premise that the very worst thing we can do is be comfortable or happy in our own skin. There was the tyranny of not only low rise jeans but at the same time the insistance in thong underwear (a movement with its own song! Underwear that literally requires you get waxed! Wt actual f!). There were backless going out tops, underwire bras from Victoria's Secret, spray tans, some kind of ban on one piece bathing suits. No show socks were the least of it. Being a millennial woman in your 20s and 30s meant discomfort and never feeling like you were "allowed" to just be yourself. And millennials did not start these trends-- they were sold to us via a monoculture that no longer exists. Television (not streaming platforms) with advertising, block user movies you saw in actual theaters, and a music industry that relief on radio and music videos. We consumed more media than any prior generation but unlike Gen Z we consumed what we were given-- we didn't have the choices that exists now via streaming and user-created content.

You can make fun of us if you want but you could also try to understand us. Also, since the oldest Gen Zers are now 25 or so, guess who is actually making the trends you're currently wearing? You guessed it-- millennials. I bet you anything there is some millennial merchandising exec at Hanes who was like "you know, no show socks are hell annoying, what would be great is if we could bring my back crew socks."

You're welcome.

thank you for putting into words what is so, so true. I love the new gen z fashion trends, as dorky and confusing as they are, because they are so darn comfortable. And they look good, too.

What are the trends? So far I have crew socks and I notice they wear terrible glasses. I can knock this out of the park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/style/gen-z-crew-socks-ankle-millennials.html

WaPo:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/fashion/2024/06/21/millennials-crew-ankle-socks-tiktok/

Here's the gist of both: Millennials are stuck on no-show socks that seem old-fashion now. Gen-Z likes full length crew socks.

How strange that this extremely niche story idea happens simultaneously?

FWIW, I'm gen X and only recently realized that crew socks are cool again.

White millennials care about tan lines and think it's cool to look orange from too much sun, fake baking, and/or too much bronzer. While white gen Zs avoid the sun and value natural skin tone.

I have Gen z teens and don’t think this statement is true. Spray tans and SM filters are popular.

[Anonymous]

I'm UC and we've always worn ankle socks. Crew socks are for men and no-show socks are tacky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm UC and we've always worn ankle socks. Crew socks are for men and no-show socks are tacky.

Millennial here who agrees ankle socks have been the most popular/common for a long time. And are the most practical. They just weren't called a fashion trend until now bc it's dumb to focus so much on socks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gen X high five to all the Gen Zs out there!

Are they also wearing them with high top converse chuck taylors?

My kid often is, yes

Mine, too. She’s in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a millennial 40+ mom who hates the tyranny of no show socks (incredibly hard to find ones that don't slip down) so I'll happily return to crew socks.

If Gen Zers are actually making fun of millennials for this (I don't know, I'm old and will not TikTok on principle) then what they need to understand is that millennial women have a generation have just been sold trend after uncomfortable trend on the premise that the very worst thing we can do is be comfortable or happy in our own skin. There was the tyranny of not only low rise jeans but at the same time the insistance in thong underwear (a movement with its own song! Underwear that literally requires you get waxed! Wt actual f!). There were backless going out tops, underwire bras from Victoria's Secret, spray tans, some kind of ban on one piece bathing suits. No show socks were the least of it. Being a millennial woman in your 20s and 30s meant discomfort and never feeling like you were "allowed" to just be yourself. And millennials did not start these trends-- they were sold to us via a monoculture that no longer exists. Television (not streaming platforms) with advertising, block user movies you saw in actual theaters, and a music industry that relief on radio and music videos. We consumed more media than any prior generation but unlike Gen Z we consumed what we were given-- we didn't have the choices that exists now via streaming and user-created content.

You can make fun of us if you want but you could also try to understand us. Also, since the oldest Gen Zers are now 25 or so, guess who is actually making the trends you're currently wearing? You guessed it-- millennials. I bet you anything there is some millennial merchandising exec at Hanes who was like "you know, no show socks are hell annoying, what would be great is if we could bring my back crew socks."

You're welcome.

thank you for putting into words what is so, so true. I love the new gen z fashion trends, as dorky and confusing as they are, because they are so darn comfortable. And they look good, too.

What are the trends? So far I have crew socks and I notice they wear terrible glasses. I can knock this out of the park.

Higher rise and looser fitting pants (mom jeans and the 90s throwbacks like super wide leg loose jeans)

Also baggy tees and button downs and sweatshirts. Broad variety of what this gets paired with -- you can go Billie Eilish baggy on top and bottom (similar to what millenials will remember as a skater look in the 90s though now more embraced by women than it was back then) but also bike shorts or midi skirts. Or mom jeans. A lot of mom jeans.

Tops are also sometimes cropped and sometimes they layer cropped tops over longer ones but I think this is a trend best left to the young ones for the most part -- though you can do a boxier tee or sweater that hits at the top of your hip

Sneakers and "dad sandals" -- birkenstocks and sports sandals like Tevas. All of which can be worn with crew socks FYI.

Dresses are looser fitting sometimes with a drop waist. Again a resurgence here of 90s fashions -- slip dresses and baby doll dresses. Here you also see the baby tee (another 90s staple) layered under strappy slip dresses.

A list of things Gen Zers do not care about:
panty lines
cleavage
"creating a long line"
looking feminine enough

It is in fact refreshing and the takes on this can run the gamut from "off duty super model" to "college kid who does not gaf."