If you’ve used TikTok or Pinterest lately, you may have noticed something: trends move incredibly quickly right now (think polka dots everywhere for one week and stripes (of varying sizes and colors) the next). This has caused many people’s wardrobes to look alike.

These trends are referred to as micro-trends, which are short-lived fashion trends that explode overnight. Social media is primarily responsible for driving the rapid pace of these micro-trends; when a user sees a piece they like, they will save it, purchase something similar and quickly thousands of other users will do the same.

At first glance, it might be fun to have this ability to stay fashionable by keeping up with social norms; however, over time, this becomes limiting because there is no longer an opportunity to express one’s personality through clothing choices, as the decisions on what types of clothing are popular are solely based on what is trending at that moment.

Many Pinterest boards that I once thought were unique now appear to be very similar. TikTok outfits tend to have a few specific looks repeated over and over again. I can’t help but notice that it seems like everyone is inspired by the same ideas rather than trying to develop their own unique style.

The unfortunate result of this phenomenon of everyone gravitating towards micro trends is that the individual will be less distinguishable in the crowd. In the past, fashion has been an outlet for people to express who they are as individuals, but presently, we use our clothing to indicate our ability to keep up with current trends.

While current trends have the potential to bring joy and motivation to someone, the rate at which they change renders them no longer about creativity and instead about the ability to keep pace with what is considered the current trend.

Perhaps the trend we really need to embrace right now is simply wearing what we, as individuals, like, whether that be polka dot clothing, striped clothing or anything else entirely, uniquely different from anyone else. Even if it is not a trending style on TikTok. At the end of the day, style should be about standing out from the crowd and not blending in.