2026 Fashion Trends

Hi! Welcome to Gigi’s blog! I am Gigi Wacaster, and I am 14 years old! I love everything about fashion! Today, to kick off the New Year, I wanted to talk about 2026 fashion and trend predictions. This year is a breaking point, and many old trends we used to love are slowly going away, but a new style is on the horizon, and old ones are coming back. The trends I wrote my opinion on are: denim on denim, vintage jewelry, royal blue, aka Duke blue, ballet flats, and neutrals. I hope you take my opinion into consideration this summer and spring when you are choosing an outfit from your closet. 

Of the six trends, the first one I would like to talk about is denim on denim because it's very controversial. For those of you who do not know what denim on denim is, a denim top and denim pants are worn together. Many people have been rocking this style, including Kendall Jenner and Rihanna. Multiple brands have come out with denim on denim recently, including Veronica Beard, Free People, and Abercrombie and Fitch. Denim on denim was mostly popular in the 70’s when Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones were in their prime. Denim was originally made in Nîmes, France, in the 1700s, where it was originally called serge de Nîmes, quite literally meaning serge from Nîmes (Cabanos). I personally am not the biggest fan of denim on denim, but I feel like other people can pull it off perfectly. Where I live, it's a little too hot to be wearing denim on denim or even denim in general, but if I were to live in New York, I would most likely wear it. I think denim on denim will definitely make a big move in 2026 and will stay a trend even in 2027.  

Now, for our next big trend in 2026, which is vintage jewelry. Jewelry is considered vintage when it's 20 to 30 years old. Vintage and antique jewelry are not the same thing. Antique jewelry is 100+ years old. Common characteristics of vintage jewelry are gold, silver, and colorful gemstones (Brown and Company Jewelers). I love vintage jewelry because of its unique style, such as gold and colorful pieces. I also love vintage watches. One example is the ones from Cartier. At age 14, I am not personally wearing vintage jewelry, but I love how it looks on other people, Rihanna, Zendaya, Cate Blanchett, and Vanessa Kirby. Vintage jewelry is one of my favorite new trends because of the details. Because of the timeless nature of the pieces, old becomes new, and I think this will be a trend for a long time. 

Our next trend is something called royal blue, but I call it Duke blue. Royal blue is a deep, vivid shade of blue. It was hard to find a specific brand that does it the best because all the brands sell it. People who are wearing it are Kendall Jenner, Victoria Beckham, and Greta Lee. I personally can not stand royal blue or Duke Blue. Duke blue is a reference to the college Duke, whose colors are royal blue and white. I can’t stand the color because my family is a massive UNC fan. Duke and UNC are the top basketball rivals in the country for college. I am sure if I were not a UNC fan, I would not have as much hate for it. On the clothing aspect, I wish stores never sold it. I hope this trend will not carry on into  2027. 

One trend I have seen everyone wearing, including myself, is ballet flats. Ballet flats are lightweight, low-profile shoes inspired by professional ballet slippers. Brands like Miu Miu, Chanel, Repetto, The Row, and many others are selling ballet flats in 2026. Kendall Jenner and Olivia Rodrigo have been sporting this big trend. The history of ballet flats began in the early 1600s, normally worn by women and men, and called “pompes.” In the early 1700s, Marie Camargo started wearing them as ballet shoes. Then ballet flats hit their prime again in the mid-1900s. I love ballet flats so much, way more than I like Duke blue. I have two pairs from Margaux in black and cheetah print. I wear them every single time I go out to dinner. I like how they can be worn with everything: jeans, skirts, and of course, dresses. Overall, ballet flats are my favorite big trend in 2026. 

Putting aside ballet flats, let's talk about a more neutral trend. “Neutrals are defined as colors that aren’t on the color wheel. This includes varying shades of black, grey, white, and brown. There are two ways that neutrals can occur. They can either be achromatic, meaning they have no color, like black, white, or grey, or they have a lot of colors blended together, like different brown tones and shades” (currentboutique). I do not personally like this trend because it's a little too mature for me. Also, when I wear neutrals, I feel like I lack color. Veronica Beard, a more mature brand, sells a lot of neutral colored clothes. When I am an adult, I’m sure I will wear them more than I do now. Neutrals as a trend aren’t something that is going away, but I hope that they become less popular by the end of this year.

I hope that after reading this article, you take my opinions into consideration. From what I call Duke blue to, in my opinion, the best shoes ever made, I feel like the trends this year are not as bad as they were in the 1980s, when neon was the only color. My inspiration for this article and blog was my Mom, as she knows every single thing about fashion. She is also a fashion icon wherever we go due to all of her different outfits. My opinion on fashion and style comes from her own great style. Going off of that, I feel like I have a very strong knowledge of what to wear and what not to wear because of her. My mom and I would definitely agree on all of what I said: that denim on denim is okay, Duke blue is terrible, and ballet flats are definitely the best trend. I hope on your next shopping trip you think about this article and my opinions, and please try not to get anything Duke blue.