By: Isabelle Baidoo & Greta Johnson

The corset is a tightly fastened bodysuit; designed to push up or flatten a woman’s breasts, or to hug her waist until her figure resembles an hourglass shape.

Corsets are dated all the way back to 1600 BCE, but did not gain prominence until the Middle Ages and Renaissance era. They were worn by European royalty and were a sign of wealth and power.

“At least 60% [of American women above the age of 15] are overweight or grievously lack symmetry in the vicinity of bosom, waist, or hips […] they must — assuming they are vain enough and rich enough to care — wear some sort of corset regardless of what the prevailing mode may be.”

-The Corset

Although these tight fitting garments were appealing to the eye, they had major side effects. Over time corsets cause core muscles to weaken which leads to back pain, poor posture, poor digestion, and overall physical weakness. When the waist is heavily compressed it reduces lung capacity and presses the intestines down.

In the Renaissance Era, women would often have broken ribs from how tightly strung their corsets were tied. The lack of oxygen to the lungs is what caused women in corsets to often faint due to low oxygen.

Corsets lost their popularity in the 50s when women began to be more athletic and welcomed into the workforce. The tight fitted corsets were slowly being dropped, and girdles, and more form fitting garments, were more popular.

“If women will continue this destructive habit, the race must inevitably deteriorate.”

-Benjamin Orange Flower, 1892

Even though the traditional corset went out of style a long time ago, variations of the piece have recently become popular in today’s fashion. With TV shows like ‘Bridgerton’ being well known, people started wearing corsets again; pairing them with jeans and short skirts for a more modern look.

Waist trainers are also a popular trend right now, with celebrities like Kim K promoting unrealistic body standards making women feel the need to wear a waist trainer to achieve the “hourglass” figure. The waist trainer has similar negative effects as the traditional corset did, restricting airflow and damaging the rib cage. It’s basically a modern day corset; meant for fashion and aesthetics but not function, health, and safety.

The corset has been a staple of fashion for centuries. Variations and different trends have gone in and out of style since the 1800s. modernizing for the 21st century, and coming back into style in different ways throughout the years.

For more information, please visit:

• https://historydaily.org/those-dreaded-corsets
• https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/bella-gigi-hadid-versace-aw22
• https://historydaily.org/those-dreaded-corsets

By: Yumna Abajebel

The New York Fashion week took place once again on February 10-15th with chic and ionic looks.

Fashion week isn’t just runway shows, there are charity events, gala dinners, and launch parties. Over 125,000 people attend New York Fashion Week.

Fashion week isn’t a place where you can just buy a ticket and go, you have to either be invited or be a designer, stylist, etc.

New York first started fashion week 1993, then started in London, Milan, and Paris. Its first ever week was held in one location, the Plaza Hotel. 53 designers showcased their fashion that year.

There were high production shows all over Brooklyn and Manhattan this year, from NYC Public Library to the Guggenheim Museum. Most of the time big couture designers like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel don’t participate in NYC fashion week. They only participate in Milan, London, and Paris fashion week.

This year, celebrity runway moments kicked off with Alexander Wang launching his menswear 90s street wear during fashion week. Alexander Wang is known for being the first to host a summer show.

One of this year’s runway shows had a unique theme of “Goth Fairy Beauty” after the hit Netflix show ‘Wednesday’. From big luxury brands of Tom Ford, Tory Burch, to Micheal Kors, fashion week gives people an opportunity to express their passion for fashion and modeling. Fashion week gives everyone a chance to see what designers have to offer and what they have been working on.

Stylists and makeup artists get an opportunity to style and get models ready for the runway, which for them in their career is a big deal. It also gives people a chance to create their own brands or ideas from inspiration after looking at other designs.

By: Lauren Kottke & Ella Sutherland

Each year there are new fashion, beauty and lifestyle trends. Last year some popular trends were low rise jeans, baggy clothes, platform shoes and many more. And every year the trends change. What are the top predicted trends for 2023? Let’s find out!

A trend that has been popular the past few years is 2000s and vintage clothing. This style trend is mostly fueled by Gen Z. We saw the low rise jeans, short vintage crop tops, 2000s sunglasses and much more. And this trend isn’t expected to stop, but expected to grow even more. It’s predicted that this year we’re gonna see mesh or sheer tops, leather skirts, leather jackets and funky print tops. The 2000s style can be cute, but sometimes can be tacky. So, we think you just have to do it the right way.

Another trend that is predicted in 2023 is ballet pumps. They have already made a comeback and have been a hit. You can wear them to the office or to run errands. They’re a great option if you want a more elegant pair of shoes but want to be comfortable.

An unexpected fashion trend that is predicted to come back is the skinny jean. The past couple of years, the trend that has taken over is baggy and oversized clothing. That included jeans. People stopped wearing skinny jeans and instead started wearing baggy jeans. But it looks like we’re gonna see a comeback with them. Some people have started to steer away from the excessively baggy jeans and gone back to a more fitted jean.

The fourth trend we’re going to see is denim maxi skirts. This is a trend personally, we’re not too fond of. Denim skirts used to be very popular but recently haven’t been as popular. We like short denim skirts but we don’t like long skirts as much.

Another denim trend that’s predicted is denim on denim. We’ve seen more and more matching denim sets.

Headbands are also expected to make a comeback. We’ve seen celebrities like Bella Hadid and Matilda Djerf wearing them. We’re not gonna be seeing the skinny plastic headbands that are uncomfortable, but the fabric ones. We’ll start to see thicker headbands. Personally, we like this trend. We think it’s a cute way to add accessories to your outfit. And it’s practical!

The next predicted trend for 2023 is ruffles. It’s predicted that we’re going to see shirts and dresses with ruffles or rosettes. It’s a great way to make the top or dress more exciting and interesting. We think they will be very popular this summer.

A trend that we think will make a comeback is tube tops. We’ve already seen this trend before, but we think this time it is going to be different. Before we saw straight cut tube tops, and they were cloth. But we think the new tube tops we’re going to see are going to have a sweetheart neckline and will be made out of different materials.

The new tube tops are going to be crocheted tops. Over the past few months, crochet tops have become more popular. So, with summer coming soon, we think crocheted tube tops are going to be very popular. We think these tops are very cute and we will definitely be wearing them!

Trends are like a wave, they go up and down. They’re in and then they’re out. We think some of these fashion trends are really good, but others not so much. But it’s all about what you want to wear! That’s what makes fashion so great. You can wear whatever you want and shouldn’t be judged!

For more information, please visit:

• https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/fashion-trends-forecast-2023
• https://www.insider.com/fashion-clothing-trends-coming-this-year-2023#ballet-flats-will-continue- to-be-popular-4

By: Ajmal Abdirahman & Mushtaq Yonis

Are you aware of the manufacturers of the clothes you’re wearing right now? Do you recall where your clothing was made or how much you spent for them? Is fast fashion always the best option? Is it safe for the planet and our environment? Should we keep purchasing from fast fashion? Many people don’t think about these questions which is why these are some of the things you should consider asking yourself.

People should not purchase fast fashion because of overconsumption, child labor, and pollution.

The first reason why we should not purchase fast fashion is because of overconsumption. People usually tend to buy way too many clothes and items that aren’t necessary because things are cheap, affordable, and easy to access. Fast fashion allows people to buy cheap and trendy clothing that they’ll later end up discarding after a few wears.

Fast fashion falls into the idea that outfit repeating is lame and that if you want to stay trendy or relevant you have to achieve the latest looks as they happen.

Fast fashion causes pollution, slowly killing our planet everyday. Did you know, according to Good On You’s website, fast fashion is the second fastest polluter; oil is the first. Fast fashion’s impact on the planet is massive. It pollutes the world’s waters and creates carbon emissions which are very harmful to our planet. This includes the overuse of cheap toxic textile-dyes, making the fashion industry one of the largest polluters of clean water globally.

Many cheap textiles increase the impact of fast fashion. Fabrics like polyester, microfibers, and conventional cotton result in so many global warming disasters. Is it okay to continue this? To worsen the damage?

Child labor is sadly another reason why we shouldn’t purchase fast fashion. Factories like SHEIN (an online clothing store) that’s recently risen to popularity in the past 3 years, Zara and H&M, which are other major giants in the fast fashion field, often use low skilled child labor. They all, including many more, use that to their advantage so children in these factories can be exploited at a young age. As much as there is an environmental cost of fast fashion, there’s a human cost that comes along with it.

The risk of poor human environmental issues include poor labor conditions, and the people/kids who make the clothes get paid very little. In some countries, children working 16 hours a day 7 times a week only make enough money to buy a meal a day.

The fast fashion industry is widespread with low wages, long work hours, inhumane working conditions. Additionally, sexual abuse, and physical assaults also occur as reported about on Shared-impact.com.

Countries such as Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, are great examples of these horrendous fast fashion practices.

The reason why people like to purchase fast fashion is that it’s cheaper for people who may not be able to afford much. The affordable prices and instant satisfaction for consumers, leads to more profits for companies, and the standardization of stylish clothing.

Instead of relying constantly on fast fashion, you can try shopping second hand because thrift shopping is affordable, yet it doesn’t harm our environment as much making it an amazing alternative to fast fashion. There are many other alternatives to this, such as buying clothes from ethical and sustainable brands.

People should try not to purchase fast fashion because of the many downsides to it that include overconsumption, child labor, and pollution. If consumers continue to try to buy less and consume less, that will be the first step we can all take to prevent many disadvantages.

Remember, 10% of global carbon emissions dry up water sources and pollute rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year.

Fast fashion is affecting the whole planet and if we continue to purchase more and more items this will have a big impact on our environment. Fast fashion is unethical and hard on the environment. It is responsible for huge textile waste, water, air, soil pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Large amounts of resources are being removed and clothes sent to landfills due to fast fashion. If we don’t try to help our planet now who will?

For more information, please visit:

• “What Is Fast Fashion and Why Is It So Bad?” January 20, 2023: https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-fast-fashion/
• “The True Cost of Fast Fashion” July 28, 2022: https://www.shared-impact.com/perspectives/the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion/
• “5 Alternatives to Fast Fashion” By Phillip, November 17, 2021: https://borgenproject.org/alternatives-to-fast-fashion/
• “Fast Fashion Explained and How It Impacts Retail Manufacturing” By Hayes, January 16, 2023: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fast-fashion.asp?scrlybrkr=df0f6b1b
• investopedia.com
• borgenproject.org

By: Emilia Moberg

Throughout history, thousands of fashion trends have emerged and gone out of style. Typically, trends follow a multiple-decade cycle. For example, in the 1940’s pre-war era, wide-shoulder shirts and jackets and a-line skirts were popular silhouettes. Then, in the 1980’s, large, shoulder-padded blazers returned to the fashion sphere, completing the cycle.

However, largely due to the increase of global connection and mass industrial production in the past 5-10 years, fast fashion and “micro-trends” have taken over the fashion industry. Microtrends are trends that cycle in and out of style in a matter of months or weeks. In an article on Conciouslifeandstyle.com, Stella Hertantyo breaks down this new fashion cycle into five steps: introduction, rise, acceptance, decline, and obsolescence. A new style is introduced, then picks up relevance in fashion communities. Next, it is established into mainstream fashion consciousness and is often mass-produced. As the trend is fully incorporated into the mainstream, it is no longer fresh and exciting to consumers, and is discarded for newer trends to arise in its place.

The availability of mass-producing, fast fashion retailers, such as Shein, have fueled this rapid cycling. Additionally, social media competition drives the want to buy and consume more items to keep up with the trends.

There are pros and cons to this new trend cycle. Due to the desire for new products, designers have needed to get creative to fill the need. Mass production makes clothing cheap and fashion should be accessible to anyone who wants to participate in it. However, the fast fashion industry breeds overconsumption and has many environmental drawbacks.

One solution is sustainable clothing. However, it can be very expensive and inaccessible.

In my opinion, buying second-hand clothing is one of the best ways to expand your style and find quality clothing for cheaper prices, without participation in fast fashion.

By: Emilia Moberg

For those who enjoy thrifting, the Twin Cities is a great area to shop in. Throughout the cities, there are countless stores, each with unique features that make them a must-visit. However, the copious amount of stores can feeling daunting, so here’s my curated list of a few of the best thrift stores in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Best women’s clothing: Encore Consignment Boutique

Encore is my pick for the best women’s thrift store in St. Paul/Minneapolis, because of its wide selection of brands and reasonable prices. Encore uses the consignment selling model, which means you give them your clothing, and get a partial profit back when the clothes are sold. At a regular thrift store, clothing can be only donated. Consignment and other more curated stores ensure that you will be looking through quality clothing.

Encore sells an array of pants, dresses, shoes and accessories, and features jewelry from local artists. I personally like Encore because they feature items from a variety of higher-end brands such as Ambercrombie and Kate Spade, as well as good-quality items for 10-20 dollars. They even have a bin of mostly vintage, graphic t-shirts for 2 dollars each. At Encore, I’ve found some of my favorite dresses and sweaters that I consider staples in my closet.

Best vintage: Time Bomb Vintage

Time Bomb is the place to go if you’re looking for quality, vintage items. They have a significant selection of t-shirts, dresses and pants, as well as vintage games, toys and records. The prices at Time Bomb can be higher compared to other places, ranging from 25 to 150+ dollars. However, when I do purchase an item, it is something I love and know is a quality piece. Similarly to Encore, the selection at Time Bomb is curated and they specialize in vintage items.

Best bargain: Salvation Army Bins

Sometimes when you’re out thrifting, you just want to buy a lot of items for cheap. If this sounds like you, try out the Salvation Army Bins. The clothes are presented in large bins and the prices are done by weight. While you have to spend time digging through piles of clothing, at the Salvation Army in North Loop, the price for a pound of clothing is slightly under 2 dollars! While the selection is not curated, I have found high-quality and oftentimes brand name items in good condition.

By: Emilia Moberg

Iris Van Herpen is a Dutch designer, born in 1984, in the small town of Wamel, Netherlands. In her youth, she enjoyed painting and dance before being introduced to fashion as an art form in high school. During those formative years, Van Herpen learned the building blocks of fashion design, which inspired her to pursue an education at the Artez Institute of the Arts Arnhem. Her influences include Alexander McQueen and Claudy Jongstra, whom she interned for before starting her own brand in 2007. 

Since then, Van Herpen’s style has been defined by a futuristic, fantastical, sci-fi use of non-conventional materials, including 3-D printed garments. She has collaborated with a variety of other designers, artists and choreographers whom have further inspired her unique sensibility. Her work has been featured in the MET in New York City and the Royal Museum in Toronto, and has received various other accolades. 

One of the notable collections out of her repertoire is her debut couture collection, Capriole. It was presented during Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011. The show contains highlights from previous collections, but the heart of the show revolves around 5 new designs. These designs are intended to convey the feeling one experiences “Just before and during a free-fall parachute jump”. 

The first of these designs is a tangled knot of black plastic tentacles formed into a the shape of a mini dress. According to Van Herpen, the piece is a representation of one’s state of mind before skydiving. The three dresses to follow utilize geometric shards of black and translucent plastic material, which sculpt and expand from the models body. The collection’s final dress, called “The Skeleton Dress”, was created through 3-D printing technology. The dress loosely follows the structure of a human skeleton, with abstract ribs, spine and hip bones. Van Herpen likens the garment to the feeling of being “turned inside out” while falling through the air. 

By: Stephanie Caballero

Candy, spooky decorations, and scary movies! Who doesn’t love Halloween?

Don’t forget the costumes, the best part about Halloween is dressing up! Dressing up gives people the opportunity to bring out their creative side. Some people choose to become something that interests them, others choose to go all out on the spooky theme. The most important part is that everyone has fun coming up with the costumes. Here are some of the costumes this year and that I will be rating.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

Maltreyi is known best for her role as Devi in the Netflix series ‘Never Have I Ever’. Maitreyi’s costume this year was very original as she chose to be the Energizer Bunny from the Energizer battery brand. Her creativity and originality with this costume is very unique as you can tell it was probably put together by herself, I however enjoy costumes that have lots of details. I would give this costume a 6/10. 

Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhardt and Madelaine Petsch

These actors are known for their roles in Netflix series ‘Riverdale’; Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl. For their costumes they chose to come together and follow one theme. Their theme was the famous movie ‘Hocus Pocus’ which came out in 1993. Dressed as the three Sanderson sisters. They went for the spooky theme this year. I would give their costumes a 8/10.

Paris Hilton  

The star Paris Hilton is known for her family’s reputation and music. This year Paris dressed as Sailor Moon. The character Sailor Moon is from an anime popular amongst anime fans. I think that her costume is not as original as the others but it’s definitely unique as she is one of so many to do something from an anime. I would give this a 7/10.

Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum, a judge from one of the biggest shows ‘America’s got talent‘ decided to do something very different this year. Heidi dressed up as a giant worm, and not those cute worms, no. This worm shocked and spooked most, she was a very realistic and detailed 6 foot worm. I would give this costume a 10/10. It was unexpected and very scary.

Overall, there were some really new and unique costumes this year, but there really wasn’t much of the spooky theme.

By: Emilia Moberg

Now more than ever, it’s easy to buy clothing online. There are thousands of different brands, high-end to cheap, well-established to newly created. However, there are other ways to engage with fashion online besides purchasing brand-new clothing.

Thrifting is a widely popular way to buy clothing, due to the often low prices, unique pieces and participation in sustainability. In recent years, there has been a shift of focus to sustainable clothing. Upcycled clothing, clothing made in ethical work environments and thrifted clothing are a few examples of sustainable clothing options.

While some still opt for “fast fashion” for a variety of reasons, including lack of accessibility to sustainable clothing, or the cheap price points, there are many online retailers that sell second-hand clothing. In this article, I will be comparing two of these sites.

Depop was founded in 2011 by Simon Beckerman, as a clothing marketplace app focused on combining the social aspect of Instagram with online buying and selling. Before Depop, Beckerman ran an arts and fashion magazine called PIG. However, as the internet cemented itself in our modern culture, Beckerman saw the decline of print media and felt a need to switch to a digital platform.

Grailed was started in 2013 by Arun Gupta as a high-end menswear resale platform. The site includes a variety of luxury brands like Supreme, Rick Owens, Marc Jacobs and many more. Grailed streamlined the high-end clothing buying process through their app, whereas in the past these items were not as easily accessible online.

Both companies have similarities and differences. The pair were started to fulfill a need in the fashion industry and have a majority young audience, with 90% of Depop’s users being under 26. Through the app interface, users are able to sell items from their homes.

However, the two platforms cater to different audiences. Depop is a one stop shop for thrifted items; it’s easy to look up general keywords and find something close to what you’re looking for. Grailed is more geared towards consumers looking for specific, luxury pieces.

By: Emilia Moberg

Marc Jacobs is a luxury fashion brand founded in 1984 by designer Marc Jacobs. It was highly successful in the 90s and early 2000s and is credited with creating the grunge aesthetic. Despite its accomplishments in fashion, the brand slowly started to lose revenue in the 2010s.

 Throughout history, fashion brands, large and small, have found the need to reinvent themselves to stay on-trend. One way brands combat irrelevancy is often by catering to a new, younger audience to help revitalize the image of the brand as a whole. In a quote from Marc Gobé, founder of an international design and branding company, Gobé states, “The mature brands lose the younger generation. The younger generation gravitates towards brands that are culturally relevant to them”. Marc Jacobs did just that with the launch of its new project, ‘Heaven’ by Marc Jacobs. 

Heaven by Marc Jacobs is an off-shoot brand of mainline Marc Jacobs. The idea for the brand was originated by Jacobs and Ava Nirui, the special projects directors for Marc Jacobs. Started in the fall of 2020, the brand’s designs focus on a combination of the 90’s grunge look and modern youth culture to engage its Gen Z and Millennial audience.

Heaven features items such as printed baby doll dresses, platform heels and boots, baby tees in muted colors, silver statement jewelry and hand and shoulder bags. Movie posters, zines, and CD’s are also sold at the brand’s online store and Los Angeles location. Heaven has featured design collaborations with Doc Martens, Thai brand Nong Rak, and musical artist Bladee, as well as celebrity campaigns with Nicki Minaj, Beabadobee, Steve Lacy, and Bella Hadid. 

According to fashion financial executive, Jean Jacques Guiony, Marc Jacobs as a brand began to increase in profits after the release of Heaven for the first time in 5 years. The brand represents the success that can be had when a young creative and an established, yet open-minded designer collaborate.