Ins of 2025
Having game night with friends:
Often, friend hangouts fall into one of three categories: going out, sitting and talking, and making or eating food. However, that proves to be boring very quickly. Spicing up group hangouts with games can make a ginormous difference in your friend group’s dynamic. When you are sitting around playing different board games, it’s hard not to laugh because the whole point of the game is, quite literally, to have fun. Recently, my friends and I were bored and played games like Wavelength, What Do You Meme, and Cards Against Humanity while over at a friend’s house. Tell me why it was the most I’d laughed in a very long time?! Having an interactive topic of conversation kept us up until midnight, laughing so much our stomachs were genuinely in pain.
Clean skincare:
Beauty trends can be sick and twisted, but last year, social media saw a rare side of the beauty industry: products that keep skin health and longevity in mind. Acne-safe makeup and skincare with minimal ingredients were on the rise last year, and because many products are allergy and acne-safe, we hope to see more of this in 2026. If this is going to be the year for health and wellness, why not start with your skin? Stocking up on reliable products that have consumers’ health in mind is the first step to becoming the best version of you in 2026.
Layered tanks:
Layered lace tank tops, an essential piece of Y2K fashion, are making an appearance once again. A long, bright, lace tank top under a shorter, more neutral, colored short-sleeve shirt or another tank top is a unique and fun way to add a pop of color to any outfit. As the weather becomes more susceptible to change in the spring, tank tops and jeans become a staple for staying warm but not sweltering hot (layering is also an amazing way to avoid being frigid or sweating in a teacher’s classroom, where the thermostat seems to have a mind of its own). Last year, we saw what might be the most boring color palette in fashion ever. Trends favored white, beige, and brown over bright, fun colors that make our days better. This boring range of colors was seen all over, even in Pantone’s 2026 color of the year, Cloud Dancer, which is boring Canvas white. Bringing back some 2000s trends in 2026 may solve 2025’s bland color palette.
Statement belts:
Why is wearing shoelaces for belts still “in”? We have managed to oversimplify fashion to an extent I didn’t even think possible. Putting a shoelace through the back loops of jeans is fine until you look at the misshapen fabric rolls in the back. Truly, it reminds me of the 5-minute crafts we used to make fun of, and not in a good way. Furthermore, it takes away from what could be a unique belt tying your outfit together. For example, circling back to the 2000s, chunky and layered belts added personality to an outfit. Currently, everyone is taking away personality in their outfits with basic colors and basic styles. Instead, this year should be focused on adding to them with unique statement pieces that set you and your outfit apart from the crowd. In 2026, let’s keep our shoelaces on our shoes and belts on our waists.
Insecurity transparency on social media:
Scrolling on my feed brings me to insecurity city. Nowadays, every video is a quick snapshot of someone’s perfect life. If we’re going to attempt to use social media to better each other, starting with being vulnerable is a good place to begin. And one could argue that it’s already here. Towards the end of last year, social media saw a moment of transparency as many influencers shared more nuanced posts and even insecurities. No one’s life is perfect, and it’s time we stop pretending that even a select few have a picture-perfect life in 2026.
Outs of 2025
Movie remakes:
The first on the list is all of the animated movie remakes we saw in 2025. The old animated movies are nostalgic for many people’s childhoods. Because of the high success of the originals, producers have been remaking them into live-action versions that just aren’t the same. When remakes of these movies were just starting, they were fairly good. However, it quickly went downhill, with examples such as the 2022 live-action “Pinocchio” remake, which received an abysmal Rotten Tomatoes score of 27%. Until 2025, people tolerated, maybe even liked, some of the remakes; however, now it is just too much. The worst out of the 2025 selects is the new “Snow White,” which faced significant controversy over its cast, contributing to another terrible Rotten Tomatoes score of 39%. Personally, as a kid who grew up obsessing over the “How to Train Your Dragon” films, the live-action remake was a letdown. Although these new movies will never compare to the originals, the biggest problem I had with the live-action movie was how closely it followed the old script. Almost every line was the same, and the only thing that changed was the actions. Toothless was more like a puppy; Hiccup had less of his failing-at-everything act, and everything was much more intense. It tarnished the originals’ glory with a new version that just can’t live up to them.
So, although the real purpose of remaking these movies is to make a lot of money, as old fans hope these new movies will bring back the same magic, they suck the fun out of their original animated counterparts. Moving into 2026, we just don’t need these remakes to cover up the beauty of the past; therefore, live-action adaptations should be left behind.
Chat GPT therapy:
People are indulging in this because it’s cheap, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. Supposedly, the app “empathizes” with people. How? You would be staring at a screen, telling it your deepest, darkest secret, and then receiving AI-generated messages back. Not only is this creepy, but it’s even creepier that people are using this instead of going to a professional. In reference to the college graduate who was almost encouraged by ChatGPT to commit suicide, this is just one example of why this trend needs to go. More specifically, AI wrote messages such as “You’re just ready” and “Rest easy, king,” instead of actually providing support. There are free suicide hotline numbers for this exact situation. This is a trend that should have never started in the first place…
Overpriced concert tickets:
I’m tired of the Ticketmaster crashes, expensive tickets, and confusing websites that make purchasing concert tickets so difficult. Concerts are meant to be places where people can enjoy music, while artists show off their talent through new albums or songs they’ve created. But now, rather than hearing about how the concert went, we hear about ticket scandals or chaotic events. Live music is so much better when heard in person rather than through Spotify. Don’t get me wrong, Spotify is great. However, sometimes I just want to see an artist I like, in-person, with friends. Now, tickets are so expensive that it’s become a rare occurrence. Let’s stop competing against other fans and paying everything we have to enjoy live music.
QR code menus:
As if it isn’t bad enough that time with friends is dominated by phones, but to add that same screen time to our meals? I prefer seeing and talking to people face-to-face without being encouraged by an online menu to pull out my phone. Furthermore, half the time these menus don’t even work — I don’t want to rely on Wi-Fi just to see what I can eat. Give me a menu that I can hold. In my hands. Not on a screen. If I wanted to look at a screen, I’d use DoorDash.
Clothes that look like nudity:
Why is this a trend in the first place? No one needs to see or wear scandalous clothing just to make headlines. Being on the front page for wearing nude clothes isn’t impressive. I can understand supporting women’s bodies, female power, and body positivity, but this isn’t the way to do so. Especially not on live TV where everyone is watching. No one, especially kids, needs to see intentionally revealing clothes. The fact that photos of people wearing these clothes will never leave the internet makes it especially hard for me to believe it’s worth participating in this trend.
