The Ins and Outs: 2025

As always, this list does not have to apply to you. But it might. This is what I recognize as "in and out" this coming year, what I am practicing and what I like to see appreciated in the media and world today. Without further ado:

In:

• Groove revival, camp-ify everything

  • I got this idea from a Nymphet Alumni podcast episode featuring The Dare. What is groove revival? Well, it’s groove again. Not the costume-ized yellow disco pants wearing groove, but The Beatles crossing Abbey Road in classic wear groove. The idea of music being just for music’s sake. “Just peace and love, dude.” said by the worst man you know.

• Dissection of media

  • Podcasts have gotten big again! And more and more I’ve been tuning in to podcasts going over interpretations and history of new art, music, novels and more. This isn’t the simple explanation of media literacy, these shows delve deeper into the background and nuance of media. It prompts me (and hopefully others too) to look deeper into the media we consume and the “why?” behind it. 

• Made from scratch

  • Obviously adjacent to Nara Smith, but making things from scratch has been having a big rise as the economy has… not. It’s a great way to save money and be healthier while still eating gourmet meals! As a lover of homemade dishes, multi-day recipes and hand pulled noodles and pasta I’m IN.

• Anora

  • Girlbosses don’t always end up on top. Anora (Sean Baker)’s story concept pulls this into the forefront of media around women’s aesthetics and goals. I loved the movie (maybe because I related to some of the “dating a rich immature Eastern European mama’s boy” a little too much), but also because Anora is the trying it out, all in lover girl that I am at heart and offers an option of things not going to plan but still ending up somewhat okay. She’s real, she's traumatized and just wants love and fun.

• Shitposting

  • My dear friend Lola got me on this train (Hi! Thank you!). As someone who’s never been online quite enough to understand Twitter, the Instagram story shitposting is real. Who cares about judgement or embarrassment? I say this stuff to my friends, I might as well be candid and real online too. But if you get added to my close friends story in 2025, I’m sorry about the amount of posts you’ll see. 

• Craft cocktails based on flavor (the rise of mocktails)

  • I love a dirty martini, and exploring the world of savory cocktails. Through this I’ve found so many fun recipes highlighting unique flavors and herbal essences of drinks. When you’re focusing on the flavor profile and craft, it’s less about the alcohol and more about the enjoyment of what your consuming - hence the mocktail. Ready to get to bartending in 2025!

• Unique/personalized bags

  • I hate a basic purse… why not have fun with your outfit and your accessories? I think fun and unique bags add so much to a look, and with the trend of personalized clip on keychains and the worn-in lived look of bags, this can be so fun to play with. I just might start painting my thrifted leather again!

• Homebody-ness with club nights

  • Brat brought club life back to center stage for people past the early 20s, but home influencers brought back the pleasure of making tea and staying in for the younger groups of people. A perfect balance of this that I’ve been finding is having nights out going a little wild and also nights in with a book and vegan bone broth. It’s all based on what brings me joy in the moment - and not going all-in with one or the other. 

• Nightgowns

  • I recently thrifted a long silk and lace nightgown and let me tell you: nothing has felt more comfortable. Not only is it the perfect level of comfy for bed, I feel pretty getting up to get my morning coffee too. Don’t let anyone tell you a floor length nightgown isn’t sexy either; there are plenty of lace, sheer and silk options and just look at how many children our grandparents had ;). 

• Volunteerism 

  • Community, community! Found community is so important for people of any age, and while I’m in a place where I can’t give back to the world much financially, I still can with time and skills. Plus, finding a volunteer position in something you love gives a good hobby, and adds to your learning and self growth while also boosting the world’s karma. 

• Smörgassboards

  • I’m trying everything girlie. A “let's order a few dishes to share” and a lover of charcuterie. Whether it’s pasta flights, a mix of bruschetta, family style meals or shooters of multiple small drinks - I love being able to have a wide pallet and share a conversation starter with my company. All in for assorted dishes!

• Old Kanye (play their old, dismiss the new)

  • Love Kanye’s music, hate what the new Ye has come to stand for. The same goes for many artists. The bad thing about liking art from people still alive and active socially is that they can always do something to fuck up their image. Thankfully, practicing media literacy to appreciate good art without idolizing the artist is a wonderful approach to this. Anyone can paint a masterpiece, however that doesn’t make them an all-around master. 

• Pickled things

  • Have I mentioned I love dirty martinis? Gut health has been a huge health and wellness topic the past few years, and as a pickle girl I love it. I’ve taken to adding something fermented to every meal I eat, spiking seltzers with ACV and grabbing a deli pickle to go on the way to class. This is a big snacking (and drinking) trend for us savory people, and I’m all for it! 

• Colourful lipstick (I feel like it’ll be big)

  • Hear me out: the blue lip tint is going to stop being wiped off. We all miss the bright cut-crease eye looks of the mid-2010s, but there’s no way big eyeshadow is back in the trend cycle yet. As looks have migrated down to bright eyeliner, hot pink blush and colourful pimple patches, I think the next thing to come is going to be fun colours of lipstick. 

• The art of patience

  • People are tired of on-demand. Netflix has started releasing series in weekly episodes again instead of a binge-able package. Movies are coming out in two parts once more. TikTok series of weekly updates have millions of followers. We’ve had the lifestyle of everything at our fingertips for so long that the world is craving the ability to wait. 

• Small music venues

  • This doesn’t just mean garage concerts and backyard shows (but do go support your local bands!). NPR Tiny Desk has been doing it for years, but a small concert venue just feels more intimate, more real. I think this will be launched even more into the mainstream with artists like Charli XCX and the Dare performing in Brooklyn-styled boiler rooms and club venues rather than stadiums. We’ve all gotten the chance to see the big artists dance ant-sized on stages, it’s time to enjoy music where you’re sharing the experience rather than watching it. 

Out:

• Hating on small artists (go big or go home)

  • People fuck up, no biggy. Oftentimes the media around “cancelling” an artist can become bigger than their work itself. The purpose of speaking out against bad behavior is to encourage the opposite, and when it comes to small artists, honestly no one is still trying to live in that person’s image. It’s the big artists that still need people calling them out, as for the rest, their actions usually speak for themselves. 

• Aiming for the average

  • Why would you want to be average when you can be happy? This doesn’t necessarily mean shoot for the top either. I’m terrible at ceramic sculpting but it’s still fun. I don’t want to qualify as average, or on any comparison scale for that matter. Simply enjoy what you do and leave it at that. 

• Late 2010s pop

  • Give me some Macklemore, I love it. All art is cringy from the right point of view, so why not embrace the hype music that gets you excited and ready to go? I would so much rather sing along to a song about “making it” that I can feel the base in than pretend that I relate to a TikTok-trendable indie mumble mix. 

• Industrialized animal products

  • If you must eat meat, why not make sure that that meat is actually good for you and for the world. People are already drawn to it, fast food where you can taste and identify each ingredient has much more of a cult following than a blend of processed foods that gives the flavor of an animal product. Focus on home cooking will definitely bring those taste buds back, and it is so much better for our world as a whole. 

• Gymbro biohacking meditation

  • So many people follow David Goggins and Whim Hoff’s methods just to say they do and frankly, I’m done with it. You don’t need to meditate so you can focus on spreadsheets all day and then go snort something that night. Leave meditation and self-optimization to the people who have things to meditate on and actually want to better themselves. 

• The constant stream

  • This ties into the art of patience… silence for thought or an educational podcast bring so much more to life than “background music” does. Additionally, reading instead of scrolling for hours is not only more productive, it stimulates your brain more with a less addictive activity that takes thought and concentration. Give up the constant stream (but not the full stream, I love a good media binge). 

• Plastic containers

  • Not only is it bad for the environment, and unaesthetic to a max, they are also bad for you. Who wants microplastics in their future kid’s organs? Not me. Plus, I much prefer the idea of eating off of a ceramic plate, out of a steel box or from a structurally sound reusable bag. They break less easily and have much more life to them - plus they don’t stain or wear the same as your tupperware does. 

• Spotify (I’m sorry, wrapped sucked)

  • Again, the end of the constant stream. Spotify was always great for their Daylist feature of recomended new songs to check out and for a stream of personalized playlists and liked songs. I have always been a Spotify fan. I think they killed themselves with wrapped this year, though. A supreme example of how AI is just not the same, wrapped was lacking the artistic flare and fun of previous years, and I’ve found that personalized playlists are moreso repeats of my most listened to songs with trendy radio hits thrown in rather than a way to find new artists.

• Chunky boots

  • Okay I am not saying skinny jeans are back in, or if they are if I would ever wear them again, but I don’t like the look of a chunky boot. Shoes should compliment the outfit, and chunky accessories stand out, always. Unless they’re being used as a statement, refrain please.

• Takis

  • I don’t know if it is simply more attention being put on Euro and American health differences and the conversation surrounding that, but I swear I can taste red dye 40 now and I hate the flavor. 2025 is to indulging what both makes you happy and makes you feel good, and as delicious as spicy chips are, the amount of processing and food dye in these kills my stomache afterwards. Although I’m all for food freedom, making good choices also means thinking of your future self. So instead of Takis I’ll be going for the Trader Joe’s healthier version with a LOT of jalapeño juice and hot sauce added. 

• Nude makeup

  • No-makeup makeup has been huge this decade, but I think it is going further than that. For one, lips will always be a forefront. No one is using light shades of lipstick or gloss anymore, and I think this year especially is the death of the “perfect nude” shade. On top of that, though, there are more and more trends towards disregarding barely there makeup in general. Even mainstream and off of social media, stars like Pamela Anderson are leading the trend of going without heavy makeup and focusing on enhancing natural features. Personally, rather than a BB cream on lighter days I just use my sunscreen. When I want a light contour look there are no layers of blending to achieve it, I just throw on some bronzer and go. I think we’re going to see a lot more no/light makeup rise, and less faking the look. 

• Tourist trap travel 

  • Euro-summer this, euro-summer that, Ibiza is a great time and Rome is beautiful if you can get around the crowds of American-English speakers and to a back-alley bar or volunteer-run basilica. I think 2025’s summer travel season will focus a lot more on bringing tourism to small towns, in small groups and following local recommendation. For good cause too, this will boost economy in less traditional tourist destinations and de-inflate the overrun locations. 

• “Let’s take an Uber”

  • Just. Walk. Unless it is freezing cold outside, I follow the rule of “no sober Ubers”. Plus, the walk to or from a night destination can be a lovely time for bonding and having fun with friends, sharing drinks (depending on the country you are in) and exploring. It wakes you up, gets you ready to go, and no awkward Uber rides are involved. 

• Repetition instead of recognition 

  • I really don’t care about your imitation of an art form. I would so much rather see your take on it. This is especially true in art, where pieces that honour their inspirations do so much better in the social scene than replicas do. Even in outfits, I look much better being inspired by a Pinterest outfit and doing my own spin on it than trying to imitate an outfit piece-for-piece perfectly. 

• Rum and coke

  • I am so sorry, I cannot get behind a rum and coke anymore. It’s too sickly sweet, and tastes almost sticky. I would much rather delve into the savory or floral realm, or even explore different fruit and salt ratios and combinations. Although it is a classic, I think this is the year of questioning if we really even like the classics at all, or if it is just a habit to lean towards in all areas. 

• Diet/fitness programs 

  • I don’t think this is too new, but it isn’t really being addressed out of a health and wellness sphere. Gen Z and Millenials definitely recognize that when it comes to health, there is no one size fits all. A computer program or set schedule will not know the ins and outs of your nuanced life, and it takes thousands of dollars paid to find a trainer who will. A new age of exploring your interests, passions and what works for each individual person when it comes to fitness is upon us. There hasn’t yet been a big fitness trend of the 2020s because there won’t be one. It is every man for themselves.

• High school nostalgia idolization 

  • Varsity jackets can look cool, as can diplomas on your wall, but in a beat up “this is a memory” kind of way. I think we should be done with the days of idolizing a time of naivety and learning without acknowledging that we have grown and changed into new people since high school. “You’re not the same” should be a compliment on who you have become now, not a callout. Media has recognized this too, with popular shows focusing more on college students and young adult, even middle age life rather than high schoolers making the same awkward mistakes. 

And that's a wrap! This is out pretty late (as always, who can expect me to be on time), but the full explanation plus a few extra things thrown in of my ins and outs of 2025’s year to come hopefully makes some sense. As always, I am writing this from an airport charging station, but newly 21 I have an aperol spritz accompaniment that they (dissapointingly) did not ID me for (a constant reminder that I could have been doing this a long time ago.)