So, 2016 fashion for women, huh? What a time that was. I remember it pretty vividly, mostly because I was in a bit of a style rut back then. Yeah, you know how it is. You look in the mirror one day and think, ‘Who even IS that person?’ That was me, mid-2016. My wardrobe felt tired, like it had run a marathon and just given up.
So I decided, right, time for a bit of an update, or at least an attempt at one. I actually started paying attention to what was out there. I found myself scrolling through those online fashion pages and, believe it or not, even checking out what the younger crowd was sporting. It was an… interesting process, let me tell you.
My Great 2016 Fashion Experiment
First thing I really noticed? Off-the-shoulder tops. They were absolutely everywhere! Seriously, it seemed like shoulders were the new ‘it’ thing. So, naturally, I thought I’d give it a go. I bought a couple. One was a nice, flowy cotton number, which I actually quite liked for the summer months. The other one, a more fitted jersey top, was a bit of a pain. It kept riding up or threatening to slip down entirely. I swear I spent more time fiddling with that top than actually enjoying wearing it. So much for looking effortlessly cool.
Then there were the chokers. Oh, the chokers. That was a real blast from my teenage past, I tell you. I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I can pull this off again.’ I went out and bought a simple black velvet one. Put it on. Looked in the mirror. Honestly, I felt like I was playing dress-up, and not in a particularly fun way. It lasted about an hour on my neck before I gave up. I think that one ended up in my daughter’s collection of bits and bobs.
One trend I did get behind, and quite surprisingly too, was the bomber jacket. I managed to find this really cool satin one, in a kind of dusty rose color. It sounds a bit much, maybe, but it actually went with almost everything! Jeans, dresses, you name it. I wore that jacket until the zipper was practically begging for mercy. That was a definite good buy. A solid win in my 2016 fashion adventures, for sure.
Let’s see, what else was a big deal back then? Ah, yes. Slip dresses worn over t-shirts. All the fashion articles were raving about it. ‘Edgy!’ ‘So chic!’ they all proclaimed. I gave it a shot. Once. I tried it with a plain white t-shirt under a black silky slip dress I already owned. I took one look in the mirror and just thought I looked like I was wearing my nightgown out and had accidentally put a t-shirt on underneath in a sleepy haze. Nope. Definitely not a look for me. Maybe you had to be 20 and built like a model for that one to really work. Or just, you know, not me.
- I also remember seeing a ton of athleisure starting to really take off. You know, leggings being worn as actual pants outside the gym. I was kind of already doing that for sheer comfort on my lazy days, so I guess I was accidentally on-trend there? Ha!
- And rose gold. Everything was turning rose gold. Phones, jewelry, even little details on shoes. I did get myself a rose gold watch. I still have it, actually. It’s quite pretty.
So, yeah, my whole 2016 fashion journey was a bit of a mixed bag. I guess the main thing was that I tried. I made an effort to step out of my usual comfort zone, which was the whole point of the exercise. Some things stuck with me, most of them really didn’t, but it was a process, you know? It wasn’t about completely reinventing myself, more like figuring out which of the new bits and pieces felt like ‘me’ and which were just… background noise. And believe me, there’s always a lot of noise when it comes to trends. You just have to try and sift through it all.
It’s funny looking back on it now. That year, I was working on this incredibly demanding project at my old job, the kind where they basically expected you to live in the office. This was before I switched to my current role, which is way more relaxed, thank goodness. Anyway, trying out these new clothes was kind of my little act of rebellion, my small way of having some fun and feeling a bit more human amidst all that stress. I’d sometimes order something online during a particularly soul-crushing meeting, and it would give me something, anything, to look forward to. Even if half of what arrived ended up looking utterly ridiculous on me. That’s how I remember it, my little fashion experiments of 2016. Just me, trying to keep things interesting, one slightly awkward outfit at a time.
