"Nostalgic" items are hot, US fashion category consumption insights

It is learned that recently, Civic Science Insight Store summarized and released the popular trends of American fashion consumption in 2023 based on the consumption data of American fashion categories. Generation Z is the consumer group with the highest fashion sensitivity, and their consumption preferences lead the fashion market trends.

Generation Z is the main force of fashion consumption and pays most attention to fashion trends

Research shows that more Americans are beginning to pay attention to fashion trends, especially adults in Generation Z.

Currently, 37% of fashion consumers in the United States pay attention to the latest trends, up from 36% in 2022 and 34% in 2021. This proportion jumps to 68% among Generation Z, more than double the proportion of adults over 35 years old.

Social media is the main channel for Generation Z to obtain fashion trends. When asked where Generation Z gets fashion inspiration from, social media ranked first (42%), an increase of 6 percentage points from 2022.

More than 33% of Gen Z also turn to TV/movies and friends/family for inspiration, both of which are up from 2021. Conversely, magazines and fashion websites/blogs are becoming less popular places to get style inspiration.

Different consumer groups have different preferences in fashion categories. Consumers who pursue cost-effectiveness prefer to wear second-hand, vintage and unique clothing, while consumers who are keen on fast fashion prefer clothing that keeps up with the trend.

According to the latest data from CivicScience, Americans are most likely to buy most of their clothing from e-commerce platforms (21%), with department stores (20%) and large stores (16%) being the other two most popular shopping channels.

Among them, Generation Z is the most likely group to shop online, accounting for 18%, but the size is smaller than fashion lovers (21%). Compared with other age groups, Generation Z is the largest fast fashion shopper, with 13% mainly shopping in stores such as Zara and H&M.

Millennials make up the largest share of shoppers at specialty stores like GAP and Lululemon (9%), while baby boomers shop most at department stores (27%).

"Nostalgic" items are hot, and skinny jeans are being eliminated

The report shows that Y2K fashion, overalls and thick-soled shoes are the most popular fashion trends among young people. But when asked to rate various trends, adult consumers said they like casual sports shoes (such as Converse) the most, up to 64%.

Denim-inspired outfits (e.g. jeans with a denim jacket) were another hot trend, with 42% liking them. Wide-leg jeans (e.g. boot-cut, baggy), leather clothing and 2000’s fashion (clothing from the 1990s and early 2000s) were less popular, while fanny packs were the least popular.

In addition, data from CivicScience shows that nostalgic items are becoming increasingly popular when it comes to fashion product choices.

Data from April showed that 43% of U.S. adults said nostalgia was at least a factor when buying clothing, a 3% increase from last year.

In particular, consumers are most drawn to early 2000s fashion styles, with 26% naming this fashion decade as their favorite, which aligns with today’s Y2K trends, followed by fashion from the 1970s (18%) and 1980s (17%).

The nostalgic trend is also evident when it comes to jeans buying habits. When asked which style of jeans consumers plan to purchase next, interest in skinny jeans dropped 3% from 2020 (15% to 12%), indicating that consumers are moving away from the dominant fashion trends of the 2010s.

Conversely, more consumers are purchasing wide-leg and mom jeans (+2 percentage points) compared to prior periods, a shift likely driven by consumers placing a premium on comfortable, loose-fitting clothing while staying at home during the pandemic.

The ripped/ragged jeans popularized in the 1980s also saw an uptick in popularity, with the percentage of consumers planning to purchase this style of jeans increasing by 2 percentage points (3% to 5%) compared to 2020.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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