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wattHen Matthieu Blazy first feather Chanel (Chanel) Master Series The semi-emerging artistic director, who made his debut last month in an abandoned subway station on New York’s Lower East Side, has been praised for bringing “a happy bunch of characters” to New York. Fashion The previous house was kind of stuck in a tweed skirt suit rut. Silk jeans, flowing black opera capes, sequined modern dresses and various animal prints adorned the models as they walked down the stage to jubilant industry insiders.
Cut to London’s Monday morning commute at 7am, and the Northern Line to Moorgate fails to spark such a joyful mood in me. As André Leon Talley famously lamented in the 2009 fashion documentary September issue: “It’s a beautiful famine!” Every passenger, whether a finance person or a marketing manager, was dressed in grey, beige, navy and white. Neutral colors are our uniform – everyone looks glum. We are a bunch of gray moonfish; samey and boring. Turning to the TV, there Sophie Turner The stars of Amazon’s new company drama stealthe style was equally sad (a trench coat and a pale blue button-down shirt). Can’t she have a pair of personalized shoes?
Currently, the holy grail commuter girl uniform is as follows: black pants (or jeans if you’re that type of workplace), a basic white tee, a Longchamp bag, a windbreaker, Adidas samba shoes, and claw clips. From South Wimbledon to Soho, you couldn’t escape the various iterations and reimaginings of the outfit’s basic structure. I kept seeing it and felt like I was going crazy – until one day I wore it too.
“This could be a result of algorithmic dressing,” says personal stylist Manisha Sabharwal. “The young professional crowd is consuming very similar content and therefore dresses similarly. Additionally, the uniform is easily replicable and highly functional. It is made up of pieces that people already own, so it can be used by most people.”
This look has become so common that my own father asked me one day why all the women my age (29) “dressed like detectives” every day. Indeed, the only crime here is against self-expression.
The culprits behind the drab style on train carriages and elsewhere are blamed on the weak economy and the lobotomy of the internet. “These are low-risk productions,” Sabharwal explains. “Customers are really avoiding any risky fashion purchases right now. But clips, for example, are a quick, easy and dopamine-boosting purchase. It’s easy to justify. At the same time, trench coats, white T-shirts and tote bags are all considered very durable capsule wardrobe pieces – which is what most of my clients are putting a lot of effort into creating.”
When the economy goes down, we change our appearance. Brunettes are more popular than blondes as maintenance costs no more than £200 every eight weeks. We chose sad beige colors because they go with everything. As Leonard Lauder (the heir to Estée Lauder) noticed in 2001, lipstick sales exploded because they were small and affordable. skirt become longer. High heels are getting higher and higher, and everyone is opting for “clean girl” nude manicures so they can grow out unnoticed in a matter of weeks.
All of this makes us look a little drab. While the phenomenon has been called everything from “90s androgynous style” to “thrift chic,” it has dampened the mood of those who wear it and those who witness it. “Oh my God,” said my American friend visiting from San Antonio, Texas, as we boarded the Northern Line. “Everyone looks sad. What happened?” It’s hard to know where to start.
a phenomenological study Research has found that wearing clothing that people describe as “happy” is associated with improved well-being, positive emotions and a stronger sense of identity. Importantly, however, “happy” clothing represented an appearance that participants felt was sincere. other Research Research has found that dressing inappropriately or inconsistently with one’s self-identity can cause inconsistency and emotional stress. Therefore, it is important to find a balance between pleasure and authenticity. Happy clothing makes participants feel confident and energetic, if They feel like themselves.
In addition to being cash-poor, we were also time-poor. “Adopting any uniform style can save you time and decision-making. In situations of constant overload, having a simple go-to outfit can feel relaxing and just one less thing to think about,” Sabharwal said. Previously, technology giants such as Apple founder Steve Jobs have adopted “uniforms”. He wears a black turtleneck, blue jeans and New Balance sneakers every day to “focus.” [his] ”, now every man and every woman in 2026 is equally lacking the mental bandwidth required to dress for entertainment.
If you want a simple proof of how plain we’ve become, remember that this year’s Pantone color is “Cloud Dancer” (white).
This lack of sense of occasion also seeps into our downtime. Similar to the first half of the 2010s, when Millennials wore ruffled tops, blazers and city shorts to the club, many Gen Z now look more like they’re headed to a board meeting than to a bar when they wear blazers and neutral colors for a night out. PrettyLittleThing is a former fast-fashion brand that started in 2012 with teenagers and twenty-somethings scoring their own party outfits. Changed its name to Edge Business and Leisure Brand Last March. “You’re 20 and you’re dressing like a corporate lawyer in a club,” complained one TikTok user. “I’m tired of this clean-girl aesthetic.”
When I asked Sabharwal how to spice up a basic capsule wardrobe, she suggested tying scarves to the handles of bags and using brooches to customize jackets and pants in fun ways—suggestions that, shockingly, TikTok had already thrown at me via its algorithm a few days ago. Could it be that the biggest trend in 2026 is actually original thinking?
While many of us are clutching minimalist dressing with both hands, a swing back on the energy pendulum is almost certainly coming. After the First World War, the Swinging Twenties entered. After World War II, the glamor of the fifties continued. The Eighties, an era synonymous with neon lights and shoulder pads, emerged from the stagnation of the Seventies. Meanwhile, the grunge and maximalism of the nineties emerged at the end of the Cold War. Dopamine dressings slowly emerged following the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, peaking during the post-pandemic liberation of the 2020s when cow print dominated.
Essentially, we should almost do something Expressive and quirkyAs seen in Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel celebration. Minimalism is out and glamor is in. Shoulder pads, statement skirts, big sunglasses, gold, fun jewelry, more animal prints, feathers, daytime sparkle, (faux) fur and hats. This should be enough to quickly spice up your daily trip to work.