(ETX Daily Up) – We thought we were done with the leftovers of the 2000s, but we have to believe that’s not the case… After low-waisted jeans, capris, slouches and other bobs, here’s the younger generation bringing back the famous ‘ skirt over trousers’. A trend straight out of Y2K that millennials and their elders would do just fine without.
Cycling pants, sleeveless headdresses, visible thongs or even leggings are among the most criticized, if not controversial, pieces of recent decades. And they all have one thing in common: Generation Z, the famous one, with great pleasure brought them back into the center of all attention, and in the last two years, they even pushed them to the very top of trends. A decision that only the under-twenties can make… And for good reason, they haven’t had the privilege – or the trauma – of dealing with the supposedly futuristic – or eccentric – fashion of this decade.
While we thought that the youngest were (finally) gradually turning away from Y2K, in favor of the nineties, it seems that on the contrary, they are going back to it headfirst. And not just any trend: it’s the combination of ‘skirt over trousers’ (or ‘skirt over trousers’), one of the most criticized associations of the 2000s, which is now benefiting from its unwavering passion for this decade. A trend that reflects not only a certain taste for non-conformist fashion, but also a renewed interest in layering – or the art of multiplying layers of clothing.
Over 10 million views
The combination of a skirt and trousers, of course layered, is especially liked by the younger generations. Proof on TikTok where the hashtags #skirtoverpants and #skirtsoverpants have already generated 8.8 million and 2.8 million views respectively. And that’s not counting their variations, like #skirtoverjeans, which crossed the 5 million view mark. The trend is also confirmed by the global fashion search engine Stylight, which reports a 37% increase in searches for the term ‘skirt over trousers’ on Google in just one month, between December and November 2023.
Please note that this trend does not impose any rules, except for wearing a skirt over pants. Pleated or straight skirts, mini or maxi, even asymmetrical, anything goes. As for trousers, it’s better to avoid a pair of leggings – one Y2K inspiration at a time – but it’s possible to wear cargo pants, jeans or even tailored trousers for example. However, a straight-out-of-the-2000s revision of this trend seems to favor baggy pants, whatever they may be.
*For this report, Stylight analyzed the search behavior of its 120 million annual online customers in December 2023 and compared that data to November 2023. The platform used the same dates to analyze Google Trends figures.