In the spirit of starting a new year the way you mean to continue, I thought it would be helpful to be positive about some of the new fashion and beauty trends.

It’s too easy to moan about Kardashians and Met Ball weirdness and miss the fact that most of the current fashions really are serving us well and making our lives easier, more comfortable and in many cases, more fun.

We’ve also been able to change up what we wear and where we choose to wear it. Cases in point…

1. Men wearing whatever they like. It has been thrilling to see the traditional gender constructs in fashion slip away faster than anyone would have predicted. It’s not just men-in-dresses shock value stuff, but real and permanent change as men move out of the stifling boxes they were relegated to. From celebrities such as Harry Styles in a blouse, Brad Pitt in a skirt, Timothee Chalamet in a halter top, Donald Glover in a drape front short sleeve suit and the unbelievably stylish singer of the Italian band Måneskin, Damiano David, in his makeup and pearls, what is considered appropriate “menswear” has bitten the dust, and the future looks brighter for it.
2. As the trend towards cosmetic procedures, surgery and fillers seemed to reach peak trout pout, there appeared to be another option that’s more about cosmetic enhancement in the form of lash extensions, long acrylic nails and elaborate, coloured makeup. It’s less permanent and more creative.The hit show Euphoria brought arty techniques featuring stick-on gems and decorative metallics to the forefront and championed a movement of exploration of individuality and identity rather than cosmetic cloning.
3. Haircuts. The ironic return of the mullet has brought with it the return of a proper haircut in general, which is a wonderful alternative to all that monotonous long, hot-ironed and dead straight hair.The mullet re-introduced the short fringe. Curly bobs are back as are pixie cuts, and full-on sharpie shag cuts (see singer Amy Taylor from Melbourne band Amyl and the Sniffers).On the male side we’re seeing mullets with moustaches take over from bushranger beards. On my son, we are seeing a bleached blond buzzcut with a dark beard and moustache, but we will have a word about that.
4. In the practical department, let’s talk about linen or cotton shorts with matching oversized shirts. This combo is genius. It suits all ages, body types, and genders. They look lovely unbuttoned over a cossie or singlet top and give enough coverage to take you from the pool/beach to lunch. And they look great with sandals or heels.Why haven’t we worn this combination forever? Was it because we previously considered it too close to a set of pyjamas? The legitimacy of pyjama dressing has been coming for a while, in terms of silk pyjamas worn as evening wear. COVID isolation has changed the idea of what daywear can be.So now we have house dresses to wear to bed and pyjamas for the street and short coats to wear to the beach. It finally feels like the consumer is in charge. We can do what we want.