A person wearing simple, elegant accessories like a wristwatch and rings, shown in a close-up while holding a coffee cup.
Surprising Trend Drives High Demand for Understated Accessories
Written by Audrey Givenchy on 5/10/2025

Notable Influences: Film, Media, and Street Style

Somewhere in the mess of old movie mags on my nightstand, my chunky minimalist earrings just vanished. Trends don’t come out of nowhere—movies, music videos, crowds outside coffee shops, all of it. But I still can’t find those earrings.

Hollywood’s Role in Shaping Accessory Trends

Okay, so, you know how sometimes you watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s—like, actually watch it, not just pretend—and suddenly you’re digging through your stuff for those big black sunglasses you bought on a whim three years ago? Happens to me all the time. People keep name-dropping Clueless plaid or that weirdly dramatic belt scene in Devil Wears Prada, usually without even realizing it. I keep noticing the same leather crossbody bag everywhere, and I honestly can’t tell if I’m hallucinating or if everyone just has the same Pinterest board. Red carpets, extras, random people on the street—whatever, it’s just there.

TV shows, even the ones nobody admits to watching, shove gold hoops and minimalist watches in your face every five seconds. Succession sort of shoved those subtle logo totes back into the universe, which is either genius or totally exhausting, I can’t decide. Wild how a random split-second shot makes everyone suddenly want a scarf or whatever. I mean, I literally bought a scarf because it flashed by on a Netflix thumbnail and I got FOMO. No idea what that says about me, but at this point, I’m just rolling with it.

Street Style’s Rising Impact

I walk past a bus stop and, not even kidding, there’s always someone wearing some “quiet luxury” thing—could be Zara, could be Chanel, nobody’s checking the tags. Street style’s this weird echo chamber now, like, I’ll see something in a magazine and then someone’s wearing it outside a coffee shop, except now it’s sneakers instead of heels. Or maybe Crocs? Sometimes it’s Crocs.

It’s all mashed together. Skater chains with dress shirts, thrifted bucket hats with boots that probably cost more than my rent, people just picking up stuff from Instagram reels, YouTube hauls, or maybe just their cousin’s closet. Virgil Abloh’s Off-White started tossing out these subtle accessories, and now every flea market’s got knock-offs—can’t tell if it’s genius or just the algorithm eating itself. Dropped my beanie on the subway once, and this guy—three chains, plain tee, looked like he’d spent hours making it look like he didn’t care—picked it up for me. Honestly, I think half these trends are just grandmas living rent-free in everyone’s heads.

Balancing Classic and Trendy in Modern Fashion

So, jeans—why do they go in and out of style faster than my phone battery dies? I’ve got chunky boots next to a pearl brooch, and there’s no way anyone’s organizing by decade anymore. I’ll pull out a nylon bag that’s probably older than my email address, wear it with a white shirt, and then realize I still have my neighbor’s tape measure in there for some reason. Oops.

Contrasts Between Fast Fashion and Timeless Accessories

Fast fashion just messes with me. I’ll buy some neon crop top, and two months later it’s unraveling like a bad friendship, but my tiny gold lapel pin? That thing’s indestructible. Brooches, too. There’s something weirdly satisfying about sticking a fake-fancy pin on a blazer and pretending it’s vintage, even though I found it in a box of my aunt’s old stuff.

I never really figure out how lapel pins, random chain necklaces, or my birthstone ring always look fine, but then I see those “flash sale” bucket hats everywhere and just get confused. If I dig through my bag right now, I’ll probably find a leather cardholder I forgot about. Throw that together with this year’s neon sandals and honestly, nobody can tell if I’m following trends or just forgot to do laundry. Maybe both, who cares.
There’s a table here, not sure why, but whatever:

Item Type Staying Power Trendy Cycle
Brooches/lapel pins High Years
Fast-fashion tops Low Weeks

I mean, table or not, when did zebra print even vanish? Was I asleep that year?

The Outdoor Scene and Leisure Trends

Outdoor wear’s just… everywhere now? I mean, I wore these trail sandals to an art exhibit, fully expecting a side-eye or two—nothing. Not even a raised eyebrow. Fleece jackets, those pilled ones that shed everywhere, get treated like some kind of luxury. I keep buying these so-called “tech bags” because I swear I’ll be organized, and then I’m fishing out old receipts and, like, a single cough drop. Headphones? Who even knows where those went.

Athleisure—ugh, that word—nobody cares anymore if you show up with cargo shorts on top of leggings. I read somewhere that “hiking utility” is trending, whatever that means. Like, those belt bags that are supposed to hide your phone or stash, I don’t know, a granola bar? But everyone’s just using them for keys and lip balm. I’m not sure if anyone’s actually hiking. My sun hat’s still got the store tag on it, and it’s definitely never been near a bug.

Here’s a dumb list of places I wore hiking stuff this year, and, yeah, none of them involved hiking:

  • Grocery store (wore a rain jacket, but it was sunny—classic)
  • Friend’s backyard BBQ, where I spilled ketchup on my “performance” pants
  • Sitting in my car, sweating in a fleece, waiting for a drive-thru latte and regretting all my choices

Honestly, nobody cares. Maybe that’s the weirdest part? Or maybe everyone’s just tired.