Wondering what style updates you need to make as a millennial to look updated and modern? In this post, I am sharing 23 styles from denim jackets to jeggings that we all have rocked but now needs an update.
As a millennial myself, I have worn all of these styles. Over the years as fashion has evolved, I have practiced in updating these styles that will help me stay updated without being too trendy and look good. This has helped me feel confident and that reflects in how I present myself.
Millennial Style Update We Need To Make
Let’s dive into them and see what are the better options we could wear now.
Tips For Updating Outdated Millennial Outfits And Style
Swap Your Denim Jacket
Well, I had to start with this because we have been wearing or more like clinging to the denim jacket for far too long. But these jackets no longer serve any purpose. They don’t even keep you warm.
The denim jacket was and probably is an essential part of all millennial outfits. When we were younger, we did not have the budget to invest in a quality jacket or coat. And denim jacket gave us that casual vibe. But now as we have gotten older, we have matured and so should our style.
And there are plenty of casual style of jackets that look much more stylish than denim jacket without costing a fortune.
Checkout the best denim jacket alternatives for you.
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If you still want to wear denim jacket because you want a light jacket, instead of these basic denim jacket, opt for stylish denim jackets.
Wear Something Other Than Skinny Jeans
You can still wear skinny jeans, but let’s face it, it does not look good with all the tops and sweaters out there. And it does not elevate your everyday looks does it. And if you have a little bit of belly pooch, you cannot tick your tops and sweaters will bulk up your waist line when you do.
There are wide leg jeans, straight leg jeans, mom jeans and so many styles of jeans that look flattering and sophisticated. Why not try those.
Find out the best skinny jeans alternatives.
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Now, don’t give up your skinny jeans completely, you can wear them with tall boots in winter to elevate your winter looks or add chunky loafers to look classy in them. Checkout some ways to update your skinny jeans outfits.
Update Your Rain Boots Please
Rain boots became the go to boots whenever the monsoon’s hit us in the winter. And we thought they are the appropriate shoes to wear. And I agree with you. But they look childish and frumpy. Nothing about them looks sophisticated or stylish.
Today there are plenty of weather proof shoes that you can swap them with, that actually look like normal shoes. These will still protect your feet from rain. But they also add style to your outfit.
And this way you don’t have to wear leggings all winter.
Checkout the best rain boots alternatives.
Wear Better Prints Than Animal Prints
Animal prints used to be all the rage when we were younger. It made us feel sultry and edgy. I would see a lot of club or party wear in animal prints. But now, the only feeling I get when I see someone wearing animal print is Cougar vibe. And I know this is controversial topic and I would get some backlashes for it.
But I am here to help you dress better.
If you love prints, there are so many modern prints that you can swap your animal prints with to elevate your outfits and look classy. You can go for geometric prints, floral prints and so on.
They also make you look younger and fresh. Animal print has a very intense vibe to it that ages us. But if you pick floral print or even geometric prints they add a modern touch to your looks.
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Ditch The Colorful Necklaces
Remember those chunky colorful statement necklaces that we all rocket with party or even work outfits. We thought it looked so chic and fun. I bet just like me, you have them hidden some where in your jewelry drawer.
They had their moment, but its time to upgrade them with something more classy and sophisticated.
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The colored jewelry looks a childish and cheap. It feels like you are still a teen that cannot pick decent piece of jewelry. There is nothing stylish about it.
Go for chunky gold link chain necklaces or add layered necklaces to create a sophisticated look. You can go for tennis necklaces that give you the bling that we hoped to get from these colored necklace. But they look classier.
Stop Wearing Cut Out Shoulder Tops
I used to be obsessed with the cut out shoulder tops. I thought they gave a peekaboo moment to my shoulders and looked chic. But all they were creating were a hobo look. Nothing about them are flattering and sophisticated. And the loose sleeves made the whole outfit sloppy and frumpy.
And there are no alternative was of wearing them. Not even as PJs. Instead you can go for one shoulder tops, off shoulder tops that still bare your shoulder, but in a much more classy way.
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Update Your Work Jersey Skirt
Jersey skirts were the work skirt for all Millennials. And we would also wear them casually with flats or sneakers to get more wear out of them. While this was ok to wear when you are stick figure. But the jersey fabric in general looks cheap. So, you can only wear black.
But now that our bodies have changed, I don’t these skirts feel great to wear. An easy swap is to wear pencil silhouette skirt with front slit. These skirts are made of either denim, cotton, wool or other thicker material. So they don’t hug your body like the jersey skirt would. So, it looks relaxed and flatters your body.
The front slit still adds a sultry touch without looking tacky.
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Update The Gladiator Shoes
Gladiator shoes were one of the trendiest footwear of early 200s. And as Millennials we all rocked them in some sort of style. I used to love these gladiator shoes. I owned flats and even heeled ones. And even spent money a Stuart Weitzman.
But these shoes don’t look good with anything, not even club wear. They don’t even cover your feet completely. And most of the time, they are not even comfortable. You can’t walk in them for long hours.
Upgrade to simple sandals or mule slides that are comfortable, won’t give you blisters and look chic as well. These shoes can be worn casually and dressy too.
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Slogan Tops Always Look Tacky
We all wore some sort of slogan tops or sweatshirts in our early 20s. It was a fashionable moment. The time was different, we were trying to make a statement. Trying to express ourselves as a generation. And hence the slogans in the tshirts or sweatshirts made sense.
But that did not stop them from looking tacky. There is nothing stylish about these big slogans written all over your top. And they weren’t work appropriate.
If you really want to wear prints on the t-shirts, try simple small prints or patterns. They add some detail, but they don’t look tacky.
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Swap Those Thong Sandals
Comment below if you still own the famous Tory Burch Thing sandals. I am not sure how these were even stylish. They do nothing to make you look stylish. Nothing about them is stylish.
Even though you are spending a lot of money on them, the still look like slippers you walk around the house or at the beach. And now there are beach shoes too.
Even though you might think that fashion recycles. This footwear will never help you look better. Instead pick slides that are simple, comfortable and look much better.
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Upgrade Your Skinny Cardigans
Cardigans are an essential to every woman’s style. But are you still wearing those thin really fitted cardigan we used to wear in our early 20s. I call them the cardigan version of skinny jeans. It’s time to upgrade them. While there is nothing wrong with these styles of cardigan. They also do not benefit us in anyway.
They for sure don’t keep us warm because they are lightweight. They are almost always see through as well. Even if you are wearing black, they are so fitted that you cannot wear them as tops. Layering them over anything just ruins your look.
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Go for loose sleeve structured cardigans that have button details. These look sophisticated and classy. And because they are thick you can also wear them as top.
Stop Wearing See Through Chiffon Tops
Button down shirts looked different for millennials. They have come a long way, but it looks like we might still be stuck with these see through style of shirts that we also wore as blouse. And its unfortunate that you can still see them being sold.
It really didn’t matter whether you are wearing black or any other colored shirt, they were always see through. So you could not wear them without a camisole underneath. And that just ruined your look.
Let’s switch to thicker cotton white or black button down shirts instead.
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Swap The Tshirt Peplum Top
While I didn’t rock this style of top in my 20s, many of us did. They were a club wear tops as well. Now these tops are flattering and covers and imperfections around the belly. But do they look sophisticated or do they look stylish in anyway now.
These tops are the bridge between casual and trying to dress up. But not really dressed up. With fashion evolution we can now find so many dressed up version of tops that this one.
So, let’s swap these tops with regular shirt style tops. Or wear peplum style tops that don’t look like a t shirt and extra fabric stitched to it.
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Ditch The High Low Dresses or Tops
These high low tops and dresses were another party wear that millennials loved wearing. I owned them too. Though I cannot find the dress, added a picture of a top that I think I bought from Guess. Yup, Guess and Bebe were stores know for club wear. And we all bought them thinking we would rock them at the club or actually anywhere.
Let’s just leave these behind. Neither are they appropriate for club wear nor should you wear them to a backyard kids birthday party.
The high low silhouette just looks good on a mannequin, not on us. It makes you look short, and out of shape.
Stop Wearing Open Toe Boots
Open toe boots were a popular style in the 200s. It made us feel different and edgy compared to regular boots available. But were they really functional? You could not wear them in cold because they are open toe and you will have sweaty feet. And what kind of socks would you wear with them.
So, the only time you could rock them with your outfit were spring? We can definitely do better now. Either pick regular ankle boots or were open toe sandals.
They look more weather and outfit appropriate.
Swap The Colored Leather Jackets
Colored leather jackets were really popular among Millennials. You can wear those burgundy, red, brown leather jackets to match something in your outfit. While you can still wear them, I don’t think they look as stylish. In fact they are hard to style with your outfit.
You can only wear them with specific colors and colored leather jackets don’t look as expensive and high quality as black or white leather jackets do. They look well made and make your outfit look rich. And they are versatile shades that go with so many styles of outfits.
Checkout some classy black leather jacket outfit ideas to inspire you to wear them.
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Get Rid Of The Long Chain Necklace
These long chain necklace with a big pendant at the end which falls on your chest and maybe sometime longer are not elevating your outfit in anyway. It never did when we millennials wore it with our long tops un tucked with jeans outfits. And it would never do now either.
The necklace’s feel too long for our body. And the pendant is accessorizing our top or dress instead of our neck. We wear necklaces to add some detail to our neckline or the outfits neckline and not to the chest of the dress.
If you still want to wear the bracelet, go for shorter. But if you are trying to add more detail to the outfit, wear a brooch instead. Much classier.
Let's Get Rid Of The Tank Shirt
These sleeveless shirts that are too long and are also made out of the chiffon fabric look frumpy and non flattering in everyday.
If you have thick arms you don’t look good in them, but they drown someone with slim arms as well. I was not sure why these styles were popular. Maybe we were trying to make out work wear club wear or fancier.
And the funny thing, you will still see them sold in shops like Express, New York and Company, The White House Black Market.
We can wear sleeveless tops instead that look flattering.
Do We Still Need To Wear Jeggings
I never liked jeggings, but us Millennials just loved them didn’t we. They were the hybrid version of jeans and leggings. They did not have buttons or zippers in the front for opening. So, you wore them like leggings. But they had the same fabric color as jeans.
I think a better word would be faux jeans. But these were never made well to fit our body properly. They had no core support, neither they flattered us in anyway. they also had faux pockets.
Now, we have leggings that look stylish like faux leather leggings that also provide core support. Why would you want to wear these?
Camo Pattern Is Not Flattering On Anyone
The Camo pattern was really popular for us Millennials. These patterns made us feel masculine and wore them to symbolize our freedom of choosing to get drafted to join military. Again, this is my opinion, but they never looked stylish.
Camo pattern was made for military uniforms to hide them in the forest during warfare. There is no reason to wear them as a jacket or pants walking on the streets. Are we trying to camouflage something?
If you still like the military style, go for forest green color, you can pick utility jackets or trousers in that green shade that look masculine but they are flattering and stylish.
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Stop Wearing Corporate Clothes As Clubwear
I was also guilty of this as a young Millennial going to a club, I would wear pencil skirts and a fancy shirt. They are not club wear in anyway. When we were younger we was still new to our job, didn’t have a lot of money to have more clothes. But if you are a fashion lover and you shop for clothes, why not allocate some money to proper club wear.
Structured pants or leather skirts with a fancy off shoulder top or silk top that looks more like club wear. Comment below if you want me to create a whole blog post about club wear outfits?
Stop Wearing Leggings Under Short Skirts
I used to do this as well. If a dresses or skirt is too short but we still want to be trendy, we would wear leggings under them. Not sure if we were trying to rock the ballerina look or something. But this did not look flattering in anyway.
This just made the whole outfit sloppy. And it seemed as if we were not wearing the right size of clothes.
Now I would avoid dresses that are too short anyways, but if I still wanted to wear them, I would wear sheer tights instead or opaque leggings.
I am sure, I am missing many Millennial fashion items that need a major update. Leave a comment to suggest some and I will share what their updated versions could be.
