This Once "Tacky" Trend Is Officially Back and Beloved by Fashion People

Just a few short years ago, you'd be hard-pressed to find even a smidge of metallic fabric or material in my packed closet. But I suppose I'm easily influenced because shiny things are slowly making their way back into my wardrobe.

Like many things in fashion right now, I suppose you can blame (or thank) the return of metallics on Gen Z and their collective interest in all things Y2K. But the thing is that the metallic trend is one that really comes and goes. It was a thing in the '60s, '80s, and the early 2000s, so it's inevitable that every few years or so you can bank on metallics making their return.

As somewhat of a human magpie, I actually like metallics. They can be pretty and fun when done well, but I get the "tacky" connotations. I have seen plenty of pieces that could qualify as that in my day. But in 2022, even tacky things can be kind of cool. It may not always be the case, but it's where we're at right now.

With that, keep scrolling to see examples of great metallic looks out in the wild (well, the wild of Instagram), and shop the chicest metallic pieces on the internet right now.

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(Image credit: @annabelrosendahl)

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(Image credit: @anaasaber)

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(Image credit: @devonleecarlson)

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(Image credit: @lefevrediary)

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(Image credit: @camillecharriere)

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(Image credit: @emilisindlev)

Next up, the shoe trends editors are saying are "over."

Allyson Payer
Senior Editor

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.