People could already agree on fashion trends a hundred years ago.

In the 1920s, for example, many women suddenly wore Marlene trousers.

It was similar in the fifties with denim jackets for men.

And so on and so forth: mini dresses, shoulder pads, platform shoes, skinny jeans.

It's becoming increasingly obvious that we're becoming more and more alike.

It's no longer just a few trendy pieces - the more market power some fashion companies have, the higher the probability that the few pieces will always be the same.

Jennifer Wiebking

Editor in the "Life" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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Brown hair, gray hair, hair with bleached highlights, blue hair, everything is possible and everyone has their own thing.

But the winter boots?

Depending on where you are, every other pair might be Blundstone current (they're the ones with the tabs at the front and back of the entry).

Winter jacket?

Just as often and at least since the donation PR coup in September, it is from Patagonia (easily recognizable by the chest logo).

Woolrich and Ugg then, Patagonia and Blundstone today

The trend is not entirely new, maybe ten years ago the brands were called Woolrich and Ugg.

This partner look, which complete strangers are wearing, will remain the same when it gets warmer – even though it's not cold at the moment.

In any case, sneakers are predestined for this, because there aren't that many brands, and even fewer of them are flushed to the trend surface year after year.

A sneaker, of all things, could now outsmart the same and the same.

The one with Velcro!

It's still special, even if some brands - from Adidas and Veja to Chloé and Isabel Marant - are now participating.

And no, it's not just about first shoes for the years when kids are too small to tie bows.

The Velcro sneaker is the 0-99 shoe that, if anything, cites the kidulthood streak (another trend).

Foosball table in the hallway and jigsaw puzzles on Sundays, childhood feeling for adults.

It's unlikely that the Velcro sneaker will become a boardroom and red carpet prop anytime soon, though, because for all its never-to-be-tyed-again convenience, it's also a bit ugly in its outlandishness.

This doesn't have to be an obstacle in the dull gray everyday life, see the Teva sandals with Velcro fasteners, which have been a topic in many places since last summer.

However, not here in Germany.

Because everyone wears Birkenstocks here.