A mathematician analyzed 150 years of women’s fashion to understand 20-year trend cycles, and how “optimal distinctiveness” drives change.

Clothing trends come and go, but in some cases, they don’t stay away for too long. For decades, both the fashion industry and its devotees have referenced the so-called “20-year-rule,” which suggests ...

Fashion insiders have talked about this for decades,” said applied mathematician Emma Zajdela of Princeton University..

Fashion insiders and beauty magazines have long cited the "20-year-rule"—the idea that clothing trends often resurface every two decades. According to Northwestern University scientists, that ...