Move over, clothing hauls and unboxing videos: the growing phenomenon of videos offering unexpected, quirky or, on occasion, surprisingly practical ways of styling the clothes you already own are taking off.
A Gen Z take on “make do and mend”, these styling hack videos have blown up in 2023, taking social media by storm. On TikTok, the hashtag #fashionhacks has more than 17.4bn views, and #stylinghacks has 1.2bn. Stylists’ tips and tricks often involve reimagining an item of clothing so that it is worn upside down or back to front. Almost anything, it turns out, can be worn as a top – so long as you’re not fussed about having sleeves.
The interest chimes with the growing awareness of waste in our wardrobes. Earlier this year, a Business of Fashion report found that a “growing niche of consumers are pledging to buy fewer or no new clothes, amid growing anxiety about the climate and the cost-of-living crisis”.
So, with sartorial innovation and sustainability in mind, can these left-field social media hacks work in the offline world? I put five of 2023’s most popular hacks to the test.
Cropped shirt hack
Many of this year’s top hacks revolve around cropping an item of clothing, without taking scissors to the hem. Hoodies – especially those from the 90s, during which they were worn oversized and baggy – are ripe for a cropping. TikTokers often opt for a twist-and-tuck method, with the surplus material scooped up and tied inside the back of the (still relatively loose) hoodie, which I imagine works well until you need to sit on a firm chair.
Instead, I opt for the cropped shirt hack, as demonstrated by the Canada-based digital creator Shayne Hydn – and many, many others. Hydn takes an oversized shirt and fastens the top button as normal, before fastening the next button down at the back of her neck. Then, she continues buttoning at the front, before undoing the very top button to reveal the final look.
“This hack is useful because it allows you to repurpose boring clothes easily without needing advanced sewing skills or equipment,” says Hydn. “It’s a simple and cost-effective way to give an old oversized button-up a fashionable look.”
This may be true, but it’s fiddly. The magic of TikTok means Hydn achieves her chic, cropped style at lightning speed; I have to enlist my sister to help and still end up looking a bit like I’ve accidentally missed a buttonhole.
Long sleeve/one shoulder top hack
One of the most ambitious hacks doing the rounds this year, this involves not putting your arms in the sleeves of your long-sleeved top at all, but rather tying them around yourself on a diagonal to create a one-shouldered handkerchief top. I say top – it only really looks like a top from the front. At the back, it’s more flesh than fabric.
Not for the faint-hearted perhaps, but the Australia-based content creator Camelia Farhoodi’s how-to TikTok has more than 13,000 likes. Being able to tie a knot behind your back feels like something a former Girl Guide should excel at but it turns out I’m hopeless. The resulting knot is flimsy at best. One false move and I might spontaneously unravel. It’s fine for twirling in front of a phone camera, but I might give this one a miss for New Year’s Eve.
Scarf hood hack
Something simpler, then. This hack turns a scarf into a hood by looping it around the neck, tucking the two ends downwards through the loop, then pulling the fabric at the back of the neck up over the head. The British content creator Annabel Staite has the hack pinned at the top of her TikTok page, where it’s had more than 5m views. “Use a really thick woolly scarf,” she advises. “I don’t think it would work as well with a thin scarf, and I also don’t think it would keep you very warm.” In fact, nearly every video of this viral hack uses near-identical versions of the same fluffy, fringed, check scarf. Luckily, I have one of these, so put it to the test on a cold, wet day at Edinburgh’s Christmas markets. It’s a success: warm, dry, easy to replicate, harder to lose than a brolly. My sister’s verdict? “It looks a bit Handmaid’s Tale.”
Bra/shoe hack
Not all of this year’s biggest fashion hacks are visible: this one involves stuffing a bra padding insert – the kind that’s forever coming loose in the wash – into the toe of a pointed shoe. This stops your foot from “sliding forwards and pinching your toes together”, according to style account @stylexfox’s Instagram reel demonstrating the hack, which has more than 7,000 likes. “I’m always trying to find new ways to use bra inserts because I have a ton of them floating around,” says Sarah Brundage, the content creator behind the account.
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I’ve also seen bra inserts repurposed as heel covers, to prevent rubbing – who knew those pesky pads could be so useful? Pointy-toed cowboy boots have been everywhere since summer – a look I got on board with – so I shove some long-abandoned bra inserts into the tip of mine, like make-shift ballet pointe pads. Unfortunately it means my boots are now at least a size too small, causing discomfort in new ways. My toes are destined to remain squished.
Baggy jeans hack
Gaping waistbands are a persistent problem for jeans-wearers, whatever your size, but denim can be particularly harmful to the environment and so finding a way to make your existing jeans work is a plus. The Mauritanian TikTokker @hbellla’s guide to “how I get all my jeans to fit perfectly” offers a solution that has been viewed nearly 700,000 times: first, she cuts a small hole near each side of the button fastening on the inside layer of denim, then attaches a safety pin to a long shoelace and threads it through to create a kind of internal drawstring. “Try watching it in 0.5 playback speed bestie” she urges one confused commenter on her video – another hack I wish I had known earlier.
The threading process is not straightforward; denim does not scrunch easily and my safety pin gets stuck halfway round. The personal trainer and online coach @_fernfitness – who favours a bobby pin over a safety pin for this hack – says in her 2022 TikTok tutorial that this is usually because material gets caught up on the pin, so you can cut another hole to release it if need be.
The effect is to create a bit of a paper bag waistline – fine with tops tucked in but a bit bulky if you want to wear anything over the top. “Just wear a belt!” I hear you cry. But as Fern puts it, “sometimes a belt isn’t a vibe”.
