388. Style, Fashion, and Identity.
MaryLeigh Bliss
November 13, 2025
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In today’s episode, MaryLeigh Bliss, Chief Content Officer at YPulse, shares insights from their latest fashion and style report, which surveyed 1,500 North Americans aged 13 to 39. The findings reveal a generation that talks about individuality but tends to dress alike. Comfort has become the default, with 66% saying sweatpants are acceptable anywhere and 63% considering matching lounge sets a form of “dressing up.” As Bliss explains, Gen Z expresses identity through small details rather than bold statements, a shift that challenges how brands connect with them.
Key themes discussed include:
• Fear of “cringe” and “try-hard” looks: Over half of young consumers avoid clothes that seem overly effortful, favoring simple, low-key styles instead.
• Social media as validation, not discovery: TikTok and Instagram reinforce familiar trends, keeping users in tight style loops.
• Redefining luxury: With many raised on fast fashion, mid-tier brands now feel aspirational, and affordable entry pieces like accessories serve as attainable status symbols.
• Price over principle: Thrifting is driven mainly by cost rather than sustainability, and shoppers visit stores primarily to try things on.
• Craving connection: A renewed interest in “going-out” clothes hints at a larger desire for real-world experiences and social interaction.
YPulse is the leading authority on Millennials and Gen Z: tweens, teens, college students and young adults. They provide strategic insight to companies and organizations via their subscription-based syndicated research content as well as their custom research and consulting services. Staffed with a cross-functional team of researchers, marketers, writers, and technologists, they give their clients a 360-degree view of what it’s like to be a Millennial or Gen Z today.
As Chief Content Officer, MaryLeigh Bliss oversees YPulse’s syndicated products. Her role also involves acting as a culture and youth insights expert, consulting with brands to identify actionable insights, align young consumer strategy, and layer generational and youth knowledge over data findings.
MaryLeigh has worked with a range of brands, including Facebook, Hampton, Bravo, HBO, Target, Best Buy, and Gap, and has been quoted as a youth insights authority by publications including The New York Times, Digiday, Business Insider, and Adweek. She has appeared as a Gen Z and Millennial expert on Bloomberg News, Fortune, and NPR Marketplace, and been a speaker at many off-sites and conferences. MaryLeigh’s interest in youth culture originated from her love of YA literature and pop culture anthropology, and she is continuing her passion for decoding and demystifying the next generations of consumers at YPulse.
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MaryLeigh Bliss
YPulse