Fashion repeats itself. So much so that as we get older, we see the same trends come through two or three times in our lifetime. I was born in 1970, which makes me a child of the ‘70s, a teen of the ‘80s, and a young adult of the ‘90s. Five decades later, and I’ve seen ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s fashion repeat themselves more than once. 

The question is whether you’ll re-wear the trends you wore decades before. Some feel it’s best not to revisit them, but generally, my answer is YES. I’ll happily re-wear trends I wore before if I like them, they work with my current style goals, and make me feel as fab now as they did back then. In fact, I’ll make a point of doing it because it’s nostalgic, playful, fun, and makes me smile. On some level I get a big kick out of reliving my youth by wearing the same things I wore back then. Hopefully in a more grown-up, elegant and chic way the second or third time round.

Of course, there are trends I thoroughly enjoyed as a child, teen and young adult that I prefer not to repeat at age 53 because they’re too revealing, juvenile, unpolished, unstructured, or the vibe simply doesn’t appeal to me anymore. My style preferences have moved on, and these trends don’t create the same joy they used to.

Finally, there are trends that I wore decades ago that take time for me to warm to the second time around. For example, when skinny jeans came back in 2006, I resisted them for a season then fell in love all over again. I felt similar about higher rise pants and jeans, which after wearing low and mid-rises for decades felt very off. That said, once I found a perfect pair, I was hooked and haven’t looked back.

In some ways our styles are evolving, but in other ways they stay the same. And sometimes we come full circle. Over to you. Do you like to wear a trend on its second or third time around?