Young Ticos are no different than other youth cultures around the world when it comes to fashion. They innovate and emulate in equal amounts, they set trends, and are painfully aware that the world can’t seem to take their eyes off them. It’s not just parents or the moral majority keeping tabs on what they wear; marketers, industry observers and the media are always examining young people for different reasons.

The young may feel like they are on display, but continue to please the masses with fashion novelty nonetheless. The rest of us keep observing and commenting on their activities. It’s a perpetual cycle.

Here are three different reports on the current fashion habits of young Ticos, as published by La Nacion, Costa Rica Hoy and Revista Soho:

Nonconformity Rules the Wardrobe of Young Ticos

Color combinations and sensible looks are out, according to an article by Sofia Guerrero of La Nacion. This is based on empirical data collected by grad students at Veritas University who surveyed and observed 350 Ticos aged 16 to 25. This is based on a trend called JPEG, just like the digital photography format.

Martin Rodriguez, director of the International Fashion program at Veritas, explained that the JPEG fashion consists of wearing various bold colors, layered clothing and moving away from matching or skintight garments. Ticos at the older range of 25 and over are more inclined towards primal futurism, which essentially means earth tones, as well as prints and patterns that emulate nature.

The Fashion at the 2012 Festival Imperial

At the recent iteration of the Festival Imperial, online news daily Costa Rica Hoy was there to cover the fashion trends with observations, interviews and photographs. There was little uniformity noticed:

“Here you can see everything, from ankle to knee-high boots, tank tops, capri pants, ball caps, very short dresses, etc.”

The digital newspaper interviewed a young female concertgoer:

“You have to doll yourself up for the Festival Imperial, you just never know if here I’ll find the love of my life. Death before homeliness, glamour above all.”

A young man who preferred comfort above glamour explained:

“I came here wearing shorts and a tank top; the sun is beaming and it makes no sense to cover up. The good thing about it is that I can see that girls are thinking the same way…”

Diatribe Against Hipster Fashion

Earlier this year, Angelica Leon was tasked with writing a scathing diatribe against Tico hipsters for Revista Soho. While she mostly concentrated on the mannerisms and attitude of Tico hipsters, she revealed some fashion tidbits:

“You’ve seen them going through life glued to the current Apple iDevice de rigueur, with v-neck t-shirts and mustaches groomed to excess. They smoke like dock workers on strike and rant against everything they consider maintstream.”

“Although they usually come from privileged backgrounds, they rather shop at Tiendas de Ropa Americana. They do this because, according to them, ‘it’s vintage, mae.’ They show a penchant towards 80’s fashion, although most weren’t even an apple in someone’s eye when View-Masters were cool toys. And most amazing of all are the eyeglasses: they may not even need them, but the thicker the horn-rimmed frames, the better.”