Why be boring and bland when you can be whimsy-maxxing

As quickly as summer break came and went, so did the season’s microtrends. I did not think much of them, as usual. I mean, butter yellow was cute, blue and brown was very Y2K and I just did not care that polka dots were everywhere.

“Microtrends” are usually fashion choices or purchases endorsed by celebrities or influencers and take over the internet rapidly, only lasting for just a few weeks at a time, until the masses move onto something new. 

I found myself liking a new microtrend for the first time in a while: whimsy-maxxing. As a lover of all things sparkly, that is exactly what this trend brings. People are seen sticking rhinestones to their phone cases, lipgloss tubes and even themselves. To me, it is so much fun, and that is what fashion should be about.

What really caught my eye about whimsy-maxxing was that it seemed to be in direct opposition to the current trend cycles. It was bright, colorful and unapologetically unique, something I have not seen from the fashion world in a long time.

The weirdest part about this microtrend, though, is that it was popularized by Kylie Jenner. I say this because, a few months ago, she had the internet in a frenzy over the most basic white tank top that she was photographed wearing. 

Do I feel odd liking a microtrend made by a Jenner? Yes, but I have also accepted that it is simply the impact celebrities have. Regardless, I am glad to see whimsy-maxxing rise in popularity after months of neutrals being in the public favor. Going back to butter yellow for a moment, I was worried that would be the most fun we would get!

As much as I love the color black, I also love to see the world filled with color. The clean-girl aesthetic felt too manufactured; it was like a performance of what someone thought it meant to be ‘chic,’ instead of actually enjoying their lives and sense of personal style.

Whimsy-maxxing gave us messiness. It was loud and imperfect, which is exactly what most young adult lives are actually like. There is nothing wrong with wanting to seem put together,  but we can go into adulthood with some sparkle, too.

I could just be taking plastic gems and blowing it out of proportion because I felt fashion was getting boring, but I genuinely think whimsy-maxxing is cute and I hope the fun does not die down anytime soon. 

However, I cannot ignore some of the criticism that has appeared online. I genuinely liked whimsy-maxxing so much that I was a little sad to see it recieve backlash. The discussion between fast fashion and trend cycles’ shortened lifespan has been ongoing. This leads to a lot of environmental concerns. As fun as whimsy-maxxing is, people are worried about the waste that is produced from it.

The most prominent aspect of whimsy-maxxing comes from the rhinestones. Instead of keeping them for future projects, the gems are thrown out after a single use. For example, there have been photos of people putting rhinestones on plastic coffee cups. No one typically keeps them, no matter how cute you make it, so they end up in the trash and adding more plastic waste in the process.

There are already 20 million metric tons of plastic litter per year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. This waste does not even account for the possible clothing waste that is produced by consumers who want to follow the trend. No one is expecting you to use real gemstones instead of plastic ones, but be mindful of how you use and dispose of them. We should maintain our whimsical fashion, but not at the expense of our world.

Jenna Munswami is a senior communication studies major