The media we absorb from our childhood greatly affects our life outlook today. The same can be said about our sense of fashion. Trends come and go throughout decades, flare jeans for example were extremely popular in the 70s, then came back in the 90s, and back in style again today.
This of course makes it no surprise that the fashion styles from the icons of our childhoods are coming back today. Two of these icons I believe are most visible in today’s fashion trends are Fancy Nancy and Angelina Ballerina.
One of the first characters to come to mind when thinking of fashion icons of children’s books is of course Miss Fancy Nancy. This girl had a flair for the dramatics in both fashion and personality.
She always dressed in the most extravagant clothing, loving tutus, feather boas, tights, frilly socks, heels, sneakers, ballet flats, boots, and tons and tons of accessories from bracelets, to necklaces, barrettes, crowns and even fairy wings. Nancy was also not one to stray away from colors and patterns. She was constantly decked out in polkadots, stripes, and cow prints all in bright colors. She would layer each one of her pieces in unique ways. Her outfits didn’t always match, but each one allowed her to express herself in whatever she was doing.
You may be thinking how could such audacious fashions ever be worn in real life and to that I say look at trends like recent maximalist fashions in trends like Aliyah core. Different looks from this style just look like a more elevated version of outfits Nancy would wear. There is no doubt in my mind that this girl was a fashion icon of our childhood who can help you look as she would tres chic.
No one can doubt that balletcore has been taking over the internet in the past few years, who better exemplifies this aesthetic than Angelina Ballerina.
Angelina loved everything sweet, delicate, and feminine at least in her clothing. She constantly wore details such as frills, flowers, and small polka dots all on her trademark tutus and in her classic color pink. As a ballerina she of course had to wear tights and ballet shoes. We also can’t forget the signature ribbon that she constantly wore in her hair.
We saw a total resurgence of ribbons and bows earlier this year, they may be considered out of trend now, but they will always be perfect in my heart. Angelina’s style is much easier carried over to real life fashion then Nancy’s. Think of aesthetic trends like balletcore or coquette, both of these aesthetics have gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. Taking inspiration from Angelina will leave you looking elegant and absolutely, positively beautiful.
Fashion is a method in which we can express ourselves, so why not have fun with it. Fancy Nancy and Angelina the ballerina are only two examples of amazing fashion inspiration from our childhood.
There are so many other outlets to take inspiration from even outside of books. For example in cartoons like Totally Spies, Winx Club, and Bratz. We should take advantage of the amazing fashion icons we grew up with, by taking the inspiration we need from them to keep elevating our own personal styles.