I’m a fashion editor – you need to bin trainer socks to look younger plus 7 other clothes mistakes giving your age away
YOU may have lived in “mom jeans” in the Eighties and have your favourite Noughties ballet shoes to thank for your bunions.
But wearing such fashion items today reveals your age.
That is according to TikTokers who, despite reclaiming many Nineties and Noughties styles, mock others as outdated.
There are 90.2million Gen Z v Millennial posts, with hot topics of debate including the types of jeans worn by women aged over 27, the length of their socks and even the way they tuck in their shirts.
Here, fashion editor and millennial Clemmie Fieldsend reveals how TikTokers are casting judgment and that what you wear is, apparently, an instant giveaway of age.
Crossbody bag
JUST a bag, right? Wrong.
The fashion politics of your arm candy is a complicated affair.
If, like us, you spent your youth squeezing everything into an over-the-shoulder handbag, you have most likely graduated to a cross-body bag now, like Sarah Jessica Parker, 59.
Maybe you wear a crossbody that sits at the hip or higher.
The longer version indicates you are Gen X or a baby boomer.
The higher one – dubbed the “millennial Birkin” by TikTokers, says thirties or early forties.
The irony is that Gen Zers – who only carry a phone and keys – now prefer the slim shoulder bags we loved in the Nineties.
French tuck
IN the early Noughties the term “French tuck” was coined by male stylists on the show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.
It referred to the Parisian way of having half of your shirt tucked in and the other side, and back, out.
The 42-year-old Duchess of Sussex – a millennial – is a fan of this style.
But older generations prefer a full tuck, as do Gen Zers.
“Gen Z vs Millennial Shirt Tuck” has 71.2million posts, with the younger saying thirtysomethings should tuck everything in to show off the waistline.
If you are Gen X or a boomer, congrats on sticking to your vigilant tucking.
You’re in style!
Short denim jacket
SLIPPING a denim jacket over your floral midi dress, and white trainers paired with a leather Radley rucksack may be your go-to look.
But it’s also declaring your age.
The standard short denim jacket with pockets on the chest, with the odd rip or embellishment are out, according to Gen Zers.
It could be bad news for Amanda Holden, 53.
Instead, denim jackets are gigantic and from an overpriced vintage shop.
“Faded leather jacket” has racked up more than 450million TikTok views.
So dust off your oversized biker or denim jacket from the Eighties or Nineties instead.
The trainer sock
THERE are more than 40million TikTok posts debating what the coolest length of a sock is.
Gen Z say they should be visible, pulled up to mid-calf and you get extra points if they are worn over gym leggings.
If you are wearing any other kind of sock, you might as well walk with a Zimmer frame.
There is no escaping it – no matter how much Botox you have had, putting on a humble trainer sock, also known as a no-show, will reveal your millennial identity, indicating that you were most likely born in the Eighties – or earlier.
Mom’s jeans
THE biggest denim divider are mom jeans, named after mums in the Eighties.
Think Rachel in Friends and Cindy Crawford.
While the tapered ankle-length style had a resurgence in the 2010s, and has been spotted on style-savvy models such as Kendall Jenner, the twenty-somethings over on TikTok are not impressed when us oldies wear the style.
They say it is a huge fashion red-flag and we should opt for wide-leg or barrel-leg jeans.
Converse
FROM Sixties rocker Danny Zuko in Grease to Alexa Chung and Rihanna, in the Noughties, Converse All Stars have been a staple shoe for decades.
The trainers were first designed in 1922.
But Gen Z would not be seen dead in them.
If you are clinging on to yours, you are certainly not in your twenties.
These days, on-trend trainers include chunky “Dad” styles and colourful designs from top brands Nike, New Balance and Adidas.
Another age revealer is burrowing your laces inside your shoes instead of simply tying them.
Celebrated trends are Gen Z no-no
Mini skirt
MARY QUANT changed the way women dress for ever in 1958, when she created the miniskirt.
But if you are wearing one today, it is probably an outdated style.
That’s unless it is a micro-skirt, with a crotch-skimming hemline, because that’s the length Gen Zers prefer.
With a heavy influence from the Noughties “skelt” (a skirt-belt) the micro-mini is flooding TikTok.
If you like to wear a more demure miniskirt, a couple of inches above the knee, which was popular in the Nineties on celebs such as Melanie Sykes, now 53, you’ll look lovely – but might as well walk around with your age etched on your forehead.
Wrap dresses
IT is half a century since the wrap dress was invented by designer Diane Von Furstenberg.
And it has certainly stood the test of time, with Madonna, the Princess of Wales and Michelle Obama, 60, embracing the style.
However, Gen Z has finally called time on the look, so you won’t find a twentysomething wearing one on a night out in your town.
On social media, you will only see women over 30 in one.
Yes, they are flattering on the waist, bust and stomach, but according to TikTok, it is not cool.
Gen Zers favour cottagecore, the sort of milkmaid-style dresses that are suitable for strolling whimsically through sunlit meadows.