Are You Ready For Recession Dressing?

via Cottonbro Studio

When I sat down in the salon chair and asked my hairdresser to help me bring my hair back to a more natural colour after years of platinum blonde, I thought I was inspired.

No one else had the brilliant idea of ditching the peroxide and heading for a more achievable and manageable look with their locks. When I got home, delighted with myself may I add, I opened up TikTok and learned how very wrong I was.

I was slapped in the face with the term recession core. Recession core is a trend that leans toward the more minimal things in life. Think about your favourite celebs. What have they been doing recently? They’ve been paring things back. Whether it’s their jewellery, removing their fillers, or just opting for more natural hair. They’re ditching showcasing their wealth, and going a little more minimalist.

Of course, economists have been predicting a recession for sometime now. In fact, an economic crash is almost certain to happen in 2023. You’re welcome for that insightful piece of knowledge! With fashion and beauty trends skewing in this way it looks like a recession is coming sooner rather than later. If you’re obsessed with red carpets you may have noticed that necklaces have seemingly become a thing of the past in recent months. It was first queried at the Golden Globes where there was barely any bling at all. Bizarre!

And then at this year’s Met Gala, the biggest and most decadent fashion event in the calendar, there were much fewer big sparkling necklaces than usual. Doja Cat was dressed like an actual cat and even she wasn’t wearing a collar! It feels jarring to watch some of the richest people walk the steps of the Met in the most expensive gowns forego a necklace for, well, optics.

Poor people tend to suffer during recessions while the rich get richer. So they won’t want to rub their wealth in our faces. Hence why trends of minimalism and recession core chic have come to the fore. TikTok trend predictions anticipate a move towards bigger bags, fewer accessories, outfit repeating and androgyny. Pair this alongside messy hair and makeup that prioritises being useful rather than being showy and you have recession core.

Over the course of the pandemic, we had things like dopamine dressing, Y2K and Euphoria-inspired style. Everything was bright and colourful. We had resin jewellery, bright eye makeup and clashing prints. We hopped from micro trend to micro trend. Now we’re putting all that on pause. The influencer-beloved Gucci belt is a thing of the past.

In fact, brands are now moving away from splashing their logo on their clothes. Luxury dressing certainly isn’t dead, but it is toned down. No one wants to know that you spent hundreds of euro on a bag or a belt anymore. Trend forecaster Delaney Bryant (@ufodelaney) thinks we’re going right back to the 2008 recession which saw earthy tones take to the fore and luxury bags take a backseat.

One of the most popular bags at the time amongst those who could afford it was Hermes Evelyne. “Before the 2008 recession, this bag was not in the normal sales department. It was actually a bag used to carry horse brushes,” she explains in her viral TikTok.

Hermes moved it to the normal sales floor after they noticed their customers going for more subtle flexes.” She explains that consumers are opting for timeless pieces, quality over quantity. This isn’t a new idea by any means, before you roll your eyes at Gen-Z coming up with a trendy spin on a cost of living crisis. Trust me, the idea that fashion and beauty are intertwined with the economy has been around the block a few times.

Photo by EVG Kowalievska

American fashion writer Kennedy Fraser wrote in her 1974 essay, ‘Recession Dressing’ that minimalism is the typical response towards an economic downturn. “The old interest in the cautious principle of spending more on fewer clothes of better quality is back,” she said. In fact, fashion has always been an indicator of the economy. There’s the Hemline Index which states that skirt length directly correlates to market conditions. The shorter the skirt the better the economy.

Do you remember last year when we had that viral micro-mini from Miu Miu? This year, you can’t walk pasta shop without seeing a denim maxi skirt. This has been the case since 1929, according to data from a 2010 economic analysis by Marjolein van Baardwijk and Philip Hans Franses, published in Econometric Institute Research Papers from Erasmus University Rotterdam. It’s believed that women would want to showoff their new stockings with shorter skirts.

There’s also the High Heelindex. The higher the heel the closer we are to financial collapse… sorry to say that platform shoes are all the rage right now! So expect more muted tones, less bling accessories and a lot less logo-mania.

Haven’t you heard of quiet luxury? Well, it’s just recession core’s bougie big sister; old money chic AKA palettes of white, beige and brown, with little to no accessories or logos. The beauty industry also has its indicators on if and when a recession is looming. The Lipstick Index, coined by Estée Lauder’s Leonard Lauder back in 2001, is the idea that people treat themselves to affordable luxuries in times of economic downturn.

Perhaps similarly to the heels theory, while you wouldn’t purchase a designer bag, you can part with €20 for a lipstick. It means that lipstick sales tend to soar during times of financial strife. Recently Clinique Black Honey has become the It Girl product with TikTok influencers gushing about the lippie. It’s so viral, it’s practically impossible to buy. So how does going back to my dirty blonde roots have anything to do with a recession?

Well, natural hair is making a comeback. Instead of heading to the hairdressers every four to six weeks to get a root top-up and spending an eye-watering amount of money, we’re going back to basics. Beauty influencers across the globe are going for a more maintainable look and many are likely to follow.

Summer hair trends are all about low maintenance, coppers and dirty blondes. Brondes are big right now, that’s blonde meets brunette. Even “mushroom blonde” is looking like a trending hair colour. There are other terms like “lived in” and “roots out” which just means that fewer hairdresser visits are allowed, making your look chic rather than messy.

So while I thought I was doing something edgy and cool with my darker blonde hair,I realise that I too was just following the trend. But if it takes some strain off my wallet in this climate, I won’t complain!

• Fashion
• recession dressing
• style