Is Vaping the New Fashion Statement?

There’s a new, hot and trendy accessory, and it’s not a designer bag or a limited edition pair of shoes. It’s vaping. Several fashion magazines and blogs have said that this generation collects and shows off e-cigarettes the way some people do with a Birkin. Yes, folks – vaping is a fashion statement.

Why has vaping become trendy?

There was a time when cigarettes were also thought to be cool and chic (remember James Dean’s iconic photos, and the glamorous Virginia Slims ads that ran in the world’s biggest fashion magazines?). However, cigarettes lost their public appeal after numerous health campaigns that illustrated its health risks. Besides, cigarette smoking was banned in most public places. How could smoking be a fashion accessory when nobody could actually see you do it?

However, vaping and e-cigarettes promised to provide the “smoking experience” without cancer and health risks. Initially, it targeted smokers who wanted to switch to a healthier alternative.

But eventually, it attracted another audience: young party people. Vaping bars started sprouting around the country, and then vaping stores started selling a wide range of accessories and flavors. You could get e-cigarettes in different colors, special kits, and a ton of interesting flavors. People also started showing off their vaping skills, competing on who could make the best smoke rings. Friends would share their favorite vaping flavors, and vaping aficionados took pride in building their e-cigarette themselves. They were vaping clubs, vaping blogs, vaping meet-and-greets. It became the next big thing.

Vaping: the new fashion statement

They say that a trend is what’s popular, but a fashion statement is what tells the world who you uniquely are. In that way, people who love to vape actually enjoy it for the same reason they like an eye catching handmade necklace or a limited edition scarf.

They can customize their e-cigarette. They can choose a flavor. They can change the settings for deeper hits or bigger smoke rings. There are so many ways they can tailor their vaping experience to their personal preference. So when they go to a bar or a party and start to vape, they can proudly say, “Hey, you gotta try this new flavor – I found it in a really small online store that nobody else knows about.” Or, “Look at this design! I had it completely personalized, you can’t buy this just anywhere. I changed this and I replaced it with that…”

So yes, vaping is a fashion statement because it’s universally accepted as cool, but more than that, vaping is a fashion statement because it can be very, very personal.

That’s not to say that vaping hasn’t had its share of backlash. The medical community still hasn’t said that it’s completely free of health risks, and most teachers and parents will still freak out if they see kids vaping on campus or at home. But like many trends, the possibility of rebellion and the thrill that you could even get caught just makes it more intriguing. You feel like a rebel. Like James Dean, but with a vape.