It’s no wonder that it has become increasingly difficult to pick an outfit in this day and age. The social media landscape, populated with highly paid influencers claiming to be fashion experts, is constantly forcing trends onto audiences. Just because a cute top is linked on someone’s Amazon storefront doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right for you — by the time you purchase said top, the trend is most likely dead and gone. This is the consequence of microtrends, a phenomenon in which the trend cycle moves so fast that consumers cannot keep up. 

Below, we have used our expert judgment as social media addicts to identify the worst of the worst microtrends of 2024 thus far. By the time this article is released, these trends may very well be irrelevant. For the sake of transparency, we must admit that we, too, have participated in these trends once before, but now see the error of our ways.

5. Ruching and ruffles

Though not often the worst offender, ruching overwhelms mini skirts, dresses and tops with unnecessary frills that take a simple garment from glamorous to gauche. Sure, clothes should have texture, but not that much texture. If your dress begins to resemble that of a pop-up book, it may be time to reflect on your style decisions. Some things are best kept classy, not trashy — and by trashy, we mean some of y’all literally look like a trash bag with all of the pleats decorating your dresses. 

4. Animal print jeans

You are not an animal, even if you got that dawg inside of you. You may have fallen victim to the aftermath of the mob wife aesthetic, where animal print remained in the limelight and thus entered the denim genre. Might we remind you of the cow print epidemic of 2020? Must we fall once more? Let us reject modernity and embrace tradition — a classic pair of blue jeans will never go out of style.

3. Boxers        

As much as we embrace wearing pajamas to our 8 a.m. classes, we fear the boxer trend has gone too far. Don’t try to convince us that boxers are a look when the look in question is best fit for bedtime, not the streets of New York City. Just because fall is upon us and plaid is on everyone’s mind doesn’t mean you have to serve “dad watching Thursday Night Football” realness. 

2. Edikted graphic tees

We all know most of y’all have never been to Brazil. Or Italy. Or Barcelona. However, thanks to the brand Edikted and their store in SoHo, you can cosplay as a world traveler and fool us all. Why not have no shame in repping your hometown? Whether that be the Bay Area or the middle of nowhere, it is far cooler to be honest than to be cheugy. Thrift stores are already overrun with cheaply made tourist tees, so let’s not add to the pile — those stores should be places to find unique gems.

1. Bows

A classic hair bow will never go out of style. However, somehow, bows have migrated to our shirts, shoes, water bottles, pants and every other item of clothing or accessory you can think of. If it exists, there’s a bow on it now. This invasion can only be compared to the horrific mustache craze of the 2010s. We mustache you a question — why must history repeat itself? Put down the ribbon and pick up your thinking cap. What happened to appreciating a simple white tee, with no accoutrements of any kind?