“Outdated” Millennial Styles I’m Embracing

Over the past year or so, I have been experimenting with moving on from the tried and true classics of my millennial-era coming-of-age.

I was happy enough to ditch skinny jeans because my knees couldn’t take the strain any longer. I never wore leggings as pants. But there are plenty of other silhouettes that survived the great style transition of the past few years…until they didn’t.

Straight leg jeans. Cropped pants. Waist-cinching silhouettes. Shirts with enough fabric to tuck in.

I felt like I could still wear these styles without showing my age until the last two years, when everything turned to low rise, wide leg, oversized, and midriff showing.

So, I tried as best as I could to go with the flow. I bought several pairs of barrel leg jeans (I actually bought these WAY before they caught on, but gave up on them quickly).

I tried wide leg and baggy. I attempted to get through a day without tucking in my shirt. I even bought a pair of midrise jeans.

But none of these have seen the light of day since the first failed experiment. I wasted so much money trying to keep up with the breakneck, wild west of fashion – to try to make myself feel like I wasn’t getting lost or forgotten by the cool police.

But I’m 37 years old. And I am a priest. I’m honestly too old to be chasing the praise of the cool police.

When I was in my 20s, women in their 30s would say to me, “Just wait til you’re in your 30s. You’ll feel self assured. You won’t care what other people do or wear or think.” But I think that has become less true in the hellscape, self improvement, influencer culture of the day.

I have been known as a bit of a fashionista since I was a kid, and I’ve been so afraid of losing my “brand” if I can’t keep up.

But you know what happens every time I put on a pair of full length, baggy jeans and a giant shirt? I change my outfit. Or I go out into the world feeling like a fool.

I’ve decided I’m not going to try so hard anymore. I am really determined to spend far less on clothing next year. It just got to a point where I regretted everything I was buying because I was trying to force myself into styles I didn’t, and don’t, like.

There’s a way to have “cool” style without losing yourself in the raging river of the trend cycle. It has nothing to do with how much you buy, but how close you get to authenticity.

In a way, it has to do with how much your clothing can disappear into your life without being distracting. Not because it’s boring, but because it makes sense for you.

So, I’ve decided to keep my high waisted, cropped, straight leg jeans and my tucked-in shirts and my big glasses. Who cares if I dress like a 37 year old? I am one.