8 Things We Were Ashamed Of Before, But Today We Are Proud Of And Desire

Fashion is really unpredictable. Who would have thought that women, who used to make their brows super thin, would regret it in just a few years and be using brow growth products? Or that the orthodontic device, which used to be a joke, today would become super common and even a charm?

We, from awesome.club, we’ve rounded up some current fashion trends that 10 or 20 years ago would have made anyone the butt of jokes. And not bonus, something that took off thanks to the movie Back to the Future.

Thick eyebrows became popular in the 2010s. And we can even name the “culprit” of this trend: Cara Delevingne introduced the fashion for natural eyebrows. When she showed up at London Fashion Week, all eyes were on her, and it wasn’t just her outfit.

At school, everyone made fun of me for my thick eyebrows. I never would have imagined that one day people would say, “I like your eyebrows”. It’s so weird to receive compliments. © Expert-Calligrapher3 / Reddit

Today, Russian actress Nastasya Samburskaya is praised for her hairstyle à la Cruella, whereas before cosplayers were considered weird. But time passed, and now, being a geek has become fashionable: even Harry Potter scarves can be bought in a regular store, not to mention Star Wars t-shirts.

I remember in the early 2000s, cosplayers were called “weirdoes”. But now everyone pulls out their phones when they see people dressed as their favorite characters. A former classmate who used to laugh at me now attends more cosplay festivals than I do. © OrifielM / Reddit

You must remember that even in the movies there was this cliché: an extremely unpopular character had to wear glasses and braces on his teeth. Fortunately, now people are more used to this treatment, and it has even become common among adults. The list of celebrities who have already used the device includes Cindy Crawford, Tom Cruise and Prince Harry.

Gwen Stefani wasn’t born with a perfect smile either.

The good news is that these days my kids won’t be the butt of jokes for wearing braces. Maybe it’s because braces have become more affordable and more kids are using them. © ClownfishSoup / Reddit

The predecessor of the common backpack we know today was the military backpack. For a long time, the main fans of backpacks were tourists and sportsmen. Nowadays, the Internet is full of articles on the topic “100 Looks with a backpack”.

Involuntarily, I heard my mother say to my father: “Our daughter doesn’t understand anything about fashion. She has such a beautiful white dress and she wears it with a backpack.” Mom always managed to lower my self-esteem. I even started to feel insecure, but then I entered a luxurious hotel and found a woman at the door, she was also wearing a dress with a backpack. Anyway, I’m not ashamed of it anymore.

Overlapping pieces, which marked the 1970s and the hippie movement, are now an integral part of streetwear. Modern experts claim that people who wear layered clothes look — mind you — more sophisticated.

At school, I wore a sweater with a shirt underneath so I didn’t wear it directly on my skin, and because it was easier to wash the shirt. But the bottom of the shirt was always visible through the jeans. And my grandmother criticized that. Anyway, now there are even models of sweaters with a fake shirt collar.

Before, many women disguised freckles with foundation and concealer. Today, freckles are back in fashion. By the way, they were one of the most popular trends of spring 2021: many women opted for a “makeup without makeup”, which highlights the natural beauty and does not hide those small spots on the face. Actress Emma Watson doesn’t worry about her freckles and inspires others to embrace them: “When we filmed Beauty and the Beast, I insisted that the makeup artists not cover up the freckles. There are so many girls who feel insecure about their faces.”

Jacket over sweatshirt

Some sources indicate that hoodies appeared in the 1930s. Initially, it was just sportswear. Over time, sweatshirts conquered representatives of hip-hop culture. Nowadays, they have become universal pieces and can be worn with jeans and leather jackets, as well as with dress pants and classic coats.

I used to wear a sweatshirt with a jacket or coat over it—I went to school in that, because the sweatshirt was warm and comfortable, and also because I didn’t have many other options. People looked at me strangely. And now it’s part of streetstyle and considered pretty cool.

In childhood, our parents bought us clothes in a larger size for practical reasons: we know that children grow very quickly. Now, oversize clothing is the preference of many fashionistas. We can say that this style as a phenomenon emerged in the 1920s. After the First World War, the fashion world underwent a transition from corsets and tight skirts to wide and bulky pieces. Oversize gained even more popularity in the 1990s thanks to hip-hop and became an integral part of street fashion. These days, singer Billie Eilish is bringing back the popularity of this style.

At the beginning of the school year, we always went to the market to buy clothes for school, and always in a larger size. I still remember how some colleagues made fun of me for it.

Usually, these vests are used as the uniform of some professionals, such as factory workers, vendors in markets. But if a celebrity appears wearing a piece, it immediately becomes a fashion item.

I remember how in the 80s, the lined vest became fashionable. Then it became a wardrobe item only for the poor. But then the movie Back to the Future came out, and vests became popular again. © bruwin / Reddit

And you, do you have a history with an “out of fashion” piece? Is there something you used to wear or do that has now become a trend?