What is Cheugy? A Transition to More Ethical Consumption
@then_again on depop
I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for a cute Target #girlboss mug and I get way too excited when sweater weather arrives. I own countless pairs of Nike running shorts (you know the ones) and I used to stunt in my fuggs (fake Uggs). This is all to say, I’m a bit of a cheug.
If you don’t know what cheugy is, allow me to familiarize you with the newest addition to the Gen Z vs. Millennial fight. There is no exact definition of cheugy, but I’d describe it as late 2000s, early 2010s fashion combined with the millennial girlboss. Think “live, laugh, love” signs, Eos, Lilly Pulitzer, etc. Cheugy can also be used to describe male-coded trends at the time, like “Saturdays Are For The Boys '' posters, Vineyard Vine quarter zips, and Adidas slides (which I also own). Overall, cheugy describes something that was once trendy but is no longer in style; there is no exact definition, so what people define as cheugy varies.
Cheugy is a silly term and has become essential to the millennial girlboss meme, but the word also describes the current transition underway on social media from the mass produced style of millennials to the thrifted, eco-conscious Gen-Z style.
Fashion trends are nothing new and Jason Dorsey of the Center for Generational Kinetics said in a BBC interview changing fashion helps delineate between generations and the transition of generational power. Currently, Gen-Z controls what is stylish and what is not per the war over skinny jeans and side-parts. Similar to most fashion trends throughout history, this current transition reflects the social and political issues of our time, primarily the growing awareness of ethical consumption.
Cheugy items often reek of fast fashion run by massive corporations who exploit their workers, an issue which is gaining more traction on social media and in our collective social conscience. Cheugy-ness isn’t unattractive just because the products themselves are gimmicky and often ugly but, because it represents unethical consumption and the contribution to global issues like climate change and inhumane working conditions. Gen-Z has brought back thrift shopping, encouraged buying from local stores, and raised the consciousness of how large companies treat their workers.
However, Gen Z’s trend towards more conscious consumerism has negative effects as well, such as white and wealthy Gen Z-ers buying from their local thrift stores and reselling those clothes for double or triple the price on resale apps like Depop or Poshmark. The once affordable clothes are now often being consumed by other white and wealthy people. In addition, Gen-Z fashion trends cycle rapidly and staying on trend means buying new clothes often which keeps fast fashion companies - like Shein - in business. Shein profits from Y2K style camis and mini-skirts coming back into fashion. The constant need to keep consuming clashes with Gen-Z’s hopes of ethical consumption and poses complicated questions about the intersection of ethical consumption and social classism. Comparatively, cheugy style’s relationship with unethical practices is clearer and easier to criticize. The move away from cheugy is positive overall, but does not mean that Gen-Z fashion trends are perfect or the best form of ethical consumption.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that if you own cheugy items or like your side part, you’re inherently unethical, but the advent of the term is an opportunity to evaluate your consumption and how it contributes to the world, in a positive or negative way. Witches, you can still rock cheugy items and tease your friends for being cheugs, but if you’re buying a pair of skinny jeans, think about where the jeans are coming from and if they are produced in an ethical way.
By Marla Hiller
La Croix obsessed, coffee addicted, podcast fanatic.