I love bows.
I have strands upon strands of ribbon to tie into my hair. I weave long ribbons into my braided hair; I tie a slick back with a bow. I knot a strand around the belt loop of my jeans.
And though I love bows, I must admit that the bow trend has gotten far out of hand.
The moment I knew it had gone too far was seeing someone post on TikTok about how much they wanted the In Print We Trust “Put A Bow On It” shirt. Everyone in the comments agreed with the person, saying how cute and coquette it was. I thought it looked stupid. As far as I’m concerned, a picture of a bow does not make it cute. No matter how detailed a picture is, the 2D aspect isn’t bow-like.
As I continued to scroll, I was appalled at the bow pieces I was finding on TikTok.
Coach came out with an entire bag collection of a printed bow pattern.
I think it looks so incredibly ridiculous. I hate that the bows are rotated in different directions. I hate that it’s plastered with little bows. This bag is the epitome of my hate for the bow pattern trend. The pattern of bows is following the constant trend-cycling of patterns. From stars to mushrooms, the fanatic never ends. Eventually, the bow pattern may become Gen Z’s version of the Millennial’s chevron.
Another bow outfit I saw on TikTok that I disliked was an embroidered bow on a sweatshirt. The creator drew out and hand-embroidered a bow onto a crewneck. While I appreciate the dedication, I think it could’ve been done in a way that looked more like a genuine bow rather than something drawn on.
I think that the bow sweatshirt would be cute if an actual ribbon were tied into a bow and then sewn onto the crewneck.
The next bow trend that appalls me has haunted me for years: the giant bows on dresses. While I understand the appeal of wanting a feminine touch to an otherwise plain dress, the large bow is rather unflattering, especially when it is used on the top of a strapless dress, like with Zara’s multitude of bow-front dresses.
The best way to incorporate a bow into a simple dress outfit is by tying ribbons into bows around the straps, like Beginning Boutique’s Taylor Tie Back Mini Dress.
Basically, I only think bows look good when tied with an actual ribbon rather than being printed on. Though I think everyone should wear what they want to wear, I do judge when I see the overdone bows.
In addition to the different ways that I like bows to be worn, as I have already mentioned, using ribbons for shoelaces is a good way to add a fun touch to an outfit without being all too common.
The next time you decide to buy or wear a bow on your outfit, please think about using actual ribbons instead of prints.
