The return of the nerd in fashion
Picture the late-90’ nerd. I’m sure everyone has someone in mind. For me, what first comes to mind is a gangly teenager in khaki flood pants playing Dungeons & Dragons. Imagine, instead, a girl in cropped plaid flares and a matching blazer, sobbing at the optometrist’s office. That would be me, a skinny kid teased at school. Wearing a fuzzy mink bomber instead of a North Face, for carrying a plastic binder of Trading cards – miserably holding a new pair of wire-rim frames.
Nerd and geek chic do not mean at all that you look tacky or outdated
After all, the return of the nerd in fashion reflects the times we live in. The nerd has infiltrated our lives, from pop culture to work culture. It must be said that fashion’s nerd is not modern (no programmer hoodies here), but rather a more nostalgic creature, the nerd of our childhood, now appreciated through older, wiser eyes.
What do you care what I wear?
Today, children can embrace their inner weirdness, to be quirky and stand out, like wearing sixties kneesocks and saddle shoes. Of course, that advice comes from dorky adults like me who wish they could go back and do the same. One of the best things about fashion is that it lets us recapture the past, in some small way, to dress as the bold, confident kids we should have been, to dig out our flood pants and Sailor Moon jackets and play around, flipping the nineties geek stereotype entirely on its head.
Whether it looks good for the crowds doesn’t matter – today’s nerd style is about dressing for yourself. Personally, I’ve never been more excited for fall. Today, unhip is the new hip – something which (aside from being the reason we can now legitimately use the word “hip”) is having a dramatic effect on how you dress. The anti-fashion movement is a middle finger to previously dominant ideas of what’s stylish. Nerdy staples like baggy fleece jackets, corduroy trousers, and touristy trainers are suddenly the toast of menswear.
What does the hell go wrong with this fashion trend?
I think a lot of these geeky elements are a response to all the sleek sportswear and branded product that has been exhausted by Instagram likes. The conversation about dad’s sneakers has gone mass to the point that it’s almost over. Meanwhile, things like bag-making have taken a slower turn.
I’m excited to see what happens next in this story.