The Algorithm has become the New Editor in Chief: How the TikTok Microtrends Took Over Your Wardrobe
TikTok has this talent for convincing you that you urgently need things you’ve never cared about before. One minute you’re casually scrolling, and the next you’re convinced that every leopard-print piece you own must be replaced with polka dots immediately. A week later, that polka-dot blouse or handbag is within arm’s reach, while the leopard-print jacket you wore only five times has vanished into the deep ends of your wardrobe. Your new “favorite thing ever” appears in every outfit and every Instagram story for the next two weeks until suddenly it’s “everywhere” and therefore “embarrassing.” So you scroll on to the next trend. But whether it’s a pair of platform Uggs or Adidas Sambas, it will probably end up buried in your wardrobe just as quickly, swallowed by another incoming wave of a microtrend.
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On TikTok, trends don’t rise because a stylist or fashion editor crowned them worthy, they rise because the algorithm decided they should. And look, polka dots have always been timeless, but the real question is whether they’ll remain timeless after this spike induced by TikTok. Anything with enough likes, saves, or comments can appear in our fyps. A sound goes viral, a creator posts a 7-second fit-check, and suddenly whatever they’re wearing becomes the new “must-have.” Just like a magazine editor choosing which looks make it into the issue, the algorithm decides what gets published on your feed and what disappears. In real life, trend cycles take seasons to shift, but on TikTok, that cycle is compressed into a few weeks, creating the rapid-fire microtrends.
Trends cycle back all the time, but the issue isn’t trends themselves; it’s the speed. The algorithm has so much power over what we wear that it shifts tastes the way an algorithm does: fast, reactionary, and based on whatever gets the most engagement in the moment. That’s what’s causing personal style to turn into something performative. Fashion as a form of self-expression is fading, everyone wants to belong yet also stand out, creating an impossible loop. The constant churn of 15-second videos and trends with a one-month lifespan makes it nearly impossible to actually find your own style.
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Microtrends that live for two weeks get dropped the second something new goes viral, leaving closets overflowing with pieces bought but barely worn. Meanwhile, overconsumption keeps rising year after year, and microtrends fuel fast fashion at full speed. As TikTok pushes the next “must-have” every week, brands flood the market with fast and cheap copies to meet demand, and we end up with closets full of impulse buys and nothing we genuinely want to put on.
Take bubble skirts, for example: they popped up on our TikTok feeds in 2024, appearing in every outfit-inspo video. Yet within a couple of weeks, they vanished, and were suddenly not as pretty anymore. Or the parachute pants that blew up in 2023 thanks to the Y2K revival. They were the new “cool-girl” essential for a moment, before becoming another trend most people now regret buying. What was once unavoidable on the feed is now almost impossible to spot in real life.
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However, not every microtrend is a trap. They can push people out of their comfort zones and help discover styles they actually love. Bows were everywhere for a while with the rise of the coquette aesthetic. Most people moved on quickly. But for some, what starts as a viral TikTok accessory might lead someone to experiment with feminine touches they never considered before. Yes, trends can be fleeting, but they sometimes leave a mark.
Microtrends don’t have to hijack your closet. Start by pausing before buying: ask yourself if you genuinely love the piece or if the FYP just hypnotized you. A simple pause — literally 24 hours before buying something viral — can save your wallet, your closet, and your sanity. Trends can expand your style, but you get to decide the pace. My advice is simple: enjoy the new trends, but never let your feed dress you more than you dress yourself.
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Editor: Felicity Field
