Gen Z's Fashion Regret: Peplum Tops and Shell Suits Take the Cake!

BRITS’ biggest style regrets include shell suits, low-rise jeans and peplum tops

A poll of 2,000 adults found overly distressed jeans, giant shoulder pads and cargo trousers with too many pockets also ranked highly as the outfits they shudder at when looking back.

Former model and comedian Michelle de Swarte highlights how Samsung’s Generative Edit on the Galaxy S25 Series allows users to digitally ‘fix’ or erase past fashion faux pas from photosCredit: Jim Marks

While others still question what they were thinking wearing tiny handbags and bedazzling clothing with rhinestones.

Gen Zs under 24 are the generation most haunted by their fashion faux pas, followed closely by older Millennials aged between 35 and 44.

And of the 93 per cent who dare to look at old pics, nearly a third (30 per cent) admit they cringe at their former selves.

The research was commissioned by Samsung which has partnered with comedian and former model Michelle de Swarte to celebrate Galaxy AI and Photo Assist’s Generative Edit.

De Swarte draws on her years in the fashion spotlight to show how Brits can finally “fix” their fashion history.

She said: “I used to be a model, which means there’s a lot of photographic evidence of me taking fashion very seriously while wearing things I absolutely shouldn’t have trusted.

“Back then, if a shoot went wrong, you just had to live with it forever – bad bags, loud logos, people blinking, the lot.

“Fashion should be playful, not something that jumps out of your camera roll and humbles you years later, so being able to keep the memory and quietly fix the bits that didn’t age well is a welcome evolution.”

The study also showed more than a third (34 per cent) look back at old photos of themselves throughout the year and wish they could ‘undo’ or change a specific outfit choice.

And those respondents would pay an average of £26 to have all of their unwanted pics vanished from the internet forever.

Since 32 per cent feel “pained” by the evidence of their past fashion decisions.

And 30 per cent of those with pics on their social media reckon their feeds are like a minefield of their biggest fashion regrets.

With three in 10 deleting the photos entirely, 26 per cent archiving a post so no one else could see it and 19 per cent un-tagging themselves.

And 2016 is the average year they’ll scroll back to on social platforms before spotting themselves in an outfit they’d rather forget.

Over half (55 per cent) of those on socials would feel more confident about their pages if they had the ability to erase fashion mistakes from the past without deleting the pic.

And 22 per cent would use this tool to fix and edit outfits on old online photos.

Of those looking back at old pics, 17 per cent have deleted one because they didn’t like their hair or makeup, they weren’t looking at the camera (15 per cent) or because of their dodgy outfit (14 per cent).

And 37 per cent of them would welcome AI tools that could adapt old images by adding modern items – although 41 per cent would not use this and keep those pics just the way they were.

The top three celebrity fashion mishaps were voted as Lady’s Gaga ‘meat suit’ which she wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Sam Smith’s inflatable suit worn at the 2023 Brit Awards and Simon Cowell’s ‘high waisted’ trousers.

Annika Bizon from Samsung, which has launched the Galaxy S25 Ultra, said: “While fashion trends are constantly evolving, our research clearly shows that photos of our past style decisions can feel permanent.”

Michelle jokes that there are lots of photos of her in the fashion world wearing questionable clothingCredit: SWNS