Sorry millennials, Gen Z has decided that skin-tight black leggings are outdated. Photo / 123rf
Sorry millennials, Gen Z has decided that skin-tight black leggings are outdated. Photo / 123rf
First, Gen Z cancelled our skinny jeans.
Now, they’re coming after our leggings, too?
Peruse through the wardrobe of any millennial woman and we’re 99 per cent sure you will find a black pair of soft and stretchy, all-purpose pants, which doubled as the unofficial uniform of those born between 1981 and 1996.
Of course, the versatile item can be paired with anything, from a going out top and chunky jewellery for a night out on the town, or a hoodie and sneakers when popping out to the dairy, and of course Uggs - the noughties favourite.
Now, according to Gen Z, they have been cancelled.
New York Post reports that Gen Z fashion gurus have once again laid down the rules on what’s in and what’s out, decreeing that comfy skin-tight leggings are just another “cheugy” (aka outdated) trend that is being chucked in the bin.
Skinny jeans were cancelled last year. Now, Gen Z are coming for another beloved noughties staple. Photo / Getty Images
On the bright side, ageing fashionistas have set their eyes on another trend that runs in a similar ballpark - yoga pants.
TikTok user Hanna Brown, who dubs herself a “hot girl anthropologist”, has gone viral on multiple occasions sourcing style advice from the “hot girls of TikTok”, an unofficial array of girls who’ve helped make the app a go-to for Gen Zs.
Brown posted a clip last week of herself heading out to run errands in Air Force Jordan Lows, black leggings, a chunky sweater and a tote bag, with the caption: “What are we wearing to run errands?”
The top response she received in her comments from Gen Z users? “We’re not wearing leggings anymore.”
Instead, the stylish social media buffs called for everyone to make the change from leggings to yoga pants or flared leggings.
Gen Zers have been pairing the comfy bottoms with platform UGGs or Birkenstocks, a crew neck jumper, and delicate gold jewellery in what they call the “holy combo”.
However, similarly with the tight leggings, flared leggings can be dressed up or down to suit the occasion.
The biggest difference between noughties leggings and today’s flared yoga pants is that Gen Z prefer to wear them in solid colours with a thin waistband, as opposed to mllennials, who bought the pants in bright eccentric prints and colours with a thick waistband.
Millennials would wear leggings in colourful prints. Photo / 123rf
And yoga pants aren’t the only 2000s trend that Gen Zs are reimagining.
They have revived an array of what they call “Y2K trends”, some of which millennials are actually quite pleased about, such as slip dresses, popcorn shirts and flip phones. Other trends aren’t as well-welcomed, such as micro miniskirts, over-plucked brows and low-rise jeans.
