Fashion moves in circles. Anyone who’s been wearing clothes for more than a decade or so of their adult life will know this: overnight, that long forgotten pile of hand-me-downs from your mother, or even grandmother, transforms into the season’s most coveted capsule wardrobe. It’s a cycle fuelled by nostalgia, pop culture, and recurring consumer habits.
Now, a team of mathematicians from Northwestern University has claimed that the cycle lasts 20 years, with trends having repeated themselves within that timeframe since 1869. The study was based on an analysis of around 37,000 images of women's clothing dating from the 19th century to the modern day, noting how trends aligned every two decades. For example, in 1985 and 2005, the key trends were denim jackets, high–waisted jeans, and leg warmers.
