“To be honest, these are actually my dad’s trousers”, Tarek said with a grin when I asked what he was wearing and why.
He continued. “they looked comfortable, and I wanted to wear something comfortable. There are days when I want to wear something different, and I just go through my dad’s closet and find the most appealing piece. As a fashion student, I realised that the older generation has a lot of timeless pieces, and I love wearing them.”
Fashion can be described as an art, a way of life for some, whereby people express themselves through what they wear, how they accessorise or even how they carry themselves. There have been numerous fashion trends over the years from people fashionably styling miniskirts, athleisure and crop tops, to people wearing cowboy boots, moon boots or even a pair of flip-flops.
For some fashion is about comfort and for others, it is about standing out. This year “dad fashion” has been a big trend. We found celebrities and everyday people wearing more loose-fitting garments like wide legs pants, and leather jackets. This is a big contrast with 2018 when people re-embraced tighter-fitting outfits.
I went around east London to see what people were wearing and on my way there I saw Tarek who embraced the dad fashion sense.
We further spoke of trends, and I asked Tarek if he was a trend follower. He said, “I try not to follow trends but sometimes it is inevitable as there are some pieces from trends that actually stand out, like when boys popularly wore pearls. I wore them too as I thought they were cool, but overall if it stands out to me, I might draw inspiration from it “.
Tarek believes the dad-fashion trend will be here for a long time: “people are starting to choose comfortable yet stylish pieces over uncomfortable clothes, although there might be new materials, designs or patterns. I think comfort triumphs and it will be incorporated into new fashion trends”.
I wondered what this meant for the cost of fashion. I asked Tarek how much he is willing to spend and what his expensive pieces are. He said “I try not to spend too much money on fashion. I look for pieces that are of good quality and have multiple ways of styling. So sometimes I do have to spend a lot more to get that like a really good shirt for about £30-40, bottoms between £70-90, and the most expensive fashion piece I own is my Louis Vuitton Keepal Bandoulier 50. I fell in love with it as soon as a saw it.”
I then met Audrey, a 21-year-old student at UEL who is not really into fashion, but she was also a bit dad-fashiony.
She said “I have no idea what dad fashion is. I just like big clothes: it makes me comfortable. The bigger the clothing item the better for me, but I like wearing baseball hats and I think that can count as a dad fashion piece.”
She said “I have no idea what dad fashion is. I just like big clothes: it makes me comfortable. The bigger the clothing item the better for me, but I like wearing baseball hats and I think that can count as a dad fashion piece.”
Audrey told me “I don’t think I follow trends, but I like a lot of dark clothes, and I also look up to Billie Eilish, I really like the way she dresses, and I see myself wearing similar outfits”
Billie Eilish also embraces certain elements of dad fashion, like loose-fitting garments but that is because she had a negative body image.
Dressing in loose clothing is one of the fundamentals of dad fashion and it’s something Audrey has embraced knowingly – but she says this is her style rather than her following a trend. She said “it seems like dressing this way has always been my thing, when I was younger, I didn’t like tight clothes or flashy colours girls my age liked. I think I have always been a dad fashion connoisseur.”
Audrey told me she wasn’t really into fashion. But she does have an expensive designer item: “well, my most expensive item was actually a gift from my best friend it is a Prada jacket.”
So – it seems – “Dad fashion” is a thing.
It can even be subconscious. Perhaps it is only some items that are incorporated into a style.
I decided to speak to my dad for his take.
He told me: “these days I see people wearing really confusing pieces or colours and I think to myself fashion has changed a lot. When I was younger we wore baggy shirts and bottoms and had fancy haircuts, accessories were also a big thing but now I just want to be comfortable. If I am not dressed up for business i.e. a suit and a tie, or my traditional wear, I am wearing a plain shirt and shorts”
Even I myself – on reflection – am following the dad fashion trend – because of comfort.
But I am not a trend follower, I don’t buy trendy pieces I just buy and wear what I like.
Maybe “I wear just what I like” is the ultimate point of the dad-fashion ethos – especially when “what you like” is to be comfortable.
