I came to Barcelona literally a day after July 4th, so for some reason I packed this tacky American flag bandana that my best friend had bought me. I decided I would bring it but I wouldn't wear it, because that would be obnoxious wouldn't it?
But since I've arrived in Barcelona, I've seen so many people walking down the street wearing American flag inspired clothes. I've seen shirts and bandanas for sale in stores and sunglass vendors selling American flag sunglasses. I asked myself, why is American flag fashion popular in Europe?
In New York City, there was no denying that Americana had resurged. American Apparel and Urban Outfitters were selling American flag apparel and all the hipsters were wearing red, white and blue. But it's always like that around Independence Day, so it made sense.
Somehow, for some reason, Americana has become an international trend of summer. But how did the American flag go from being something that middle-aged patriots wore, to a hot fashion trend?
Maybe it has something to do with all of the celebrities that have been spotted rocking red, white and blue. In the video for Telephone, Lady Gaga and Beyonce are head to toe in stars and stripes (Gaga is wearing my tacky headband!) Willow Smith was spotted sporting platform American flag sneakers and of course Lana del Rey looks classic and cool in the American flag sweater that my grandma probably has.
In this article on Buzzfeed about "11 tired Hipster Fashion Trends That are all Over Instagram," American flag print is number 5. Maybe someday soon it'll be as popular as food art.
Something quiet interesting to add is that this 'patriotic' trend is actually against the "flag code," (there's a flag code?) Apparently, "the flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery." Whoops.
If you also want to rock stars and stripes I would suggest checking out Etsy, American Apparel, Forever 21 to start off.
