Think back to the version of you that was five - to - seven years ago. Think about how you wore your hair, what you wore to school each day, what kind of makeup you applied if you wore any. Now compare yourself to what you look like now…it’s a relief, right? By now, hopefully, you have shed the skin of your awkward phase and flourished into a beautiful—and more attractive—butterfly. But your own genes are not the only thing that has developed, your sense of style has also changed. Not only has your personal sense of fashion been modified, it has developed along with the trends of society.

When current college students were in middle or intermediate school, it was totally okay to wear bright pink Sketchers with flared jeans and a Limited Too tee shirt featuring their adorable animated monkey. For females, we had side bangs that were ALWAYS straight, even if we flat-ironed the rest of our head, or we “scrunched” it, which looking back now, was probably one of the most hideous trends in existence.

But let’s not forget the brightly colored eye shadow and the flavored shiny lip gloss from Victoria’s Secret that was 3 for $5. We as a generation have certainly set new standards for fashion, both positively and negatively. Branded tee-shirts and sweaters from Aeropostale were mandatory at least 2 days a week, and if you didn’t have a $40 plain blue V-neck from Abercrombie…who were you?

But as we look at the present fashion trends, we can see history beginning to repeat itself. What were skinny, brightly colored jeans and high-top Converse sneakers have given way to shift and skater dresses, often accompanied by knee-high boots, seen often in the 1960s. The word “hippie” has now developed into the modern day “hipster,” often seen wearing floral print shirts, a flowered headband and usually some kind of fringe accent. It’s safe to say that hipster fashion is the grandchild of the 1970s.

Although it is not uncommon to see young girls wearing dresses that are so short they would make nuns cry, longer dresses have quietly crept their way back into style. Maxi and midi dresses are now quite popular again. “It’s now much more common to see girls showing more skin in their everyday outfits, and then going more conservative and modest when it comes to an occasion or formal event, which wasn’t the case when I was in high school,” says Elaine Melendez, a senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Tea-length dresses and skirts were all the rage in the 1950s, although so was virginity and monogamy, so I guess not ALL trends came full circle.

Ponchos, flared jeans, maxi and midi dresses, flower headbands, high boots and fringed accessories can be found in nearly every popular clothing establishment. Stores like Forever 21 are making a killing off of these trends, but ironically, all of their most popular merchandise have simply time traveled from the mid 1900s. The world of fashion is its own vessel of development, constantly creating and changing, but with trends coming full circle in as little as 50 years. It makes one wonder what we will be wearing by the year 2050…wool dresses to conceal our ankles perhaps?