Times when pop culture became muted, soulless or gutted

I think the muted aspects best represent the style of late 2010s even though they started prematurely in the second half of the mid 2010s, just starting out in late 2014 and taking over by mid 2015. and are still somewhat present today alongside whatever incoming 2020s culture is already in style or being put together.

People keep lumping the two eras, there was a definite difference in the two halves of the 2010s. 

I see it centered more on fashion and maybe some graphic design and music and a mindset to some extent but not as consistent or super clear in those regards. The first thing that comes to mind is post hipster, I think yuccie and normcore embodied that aesthetic well, its all about less is more. I think it more practical approach to the strong, crowded, exaggerated and excessiveness in casual fashion and subcultural fashion from 06-13/14  I think was getting tiring. I think less is more was the focus, subtly was the key. It was about keeping the same 2010s style and attitude but doing what you want with it and avoiding cheese and anything overdone. 2010/2011- most of 2014 is when the original 2010s hipster was in its purest form.

I think loud colors and exaggerated fashion dates back to the scene, early hipster and indie fashion of the late 2000s even if in 2010s it was a different aesthetic and different I think around late 2014 to early 2015, is when it looked semi dated to dress like a real hipster from 2011, 2012 or even 13.

New and cutting edge in circa 09/2010-most of 2014 (2015 to some extent)

Pure 2010s OG Hipster:

Takes pride in having the longest beard on his block with a twirl mustache which he spent 3 years maintaining, often reads comics in Japanese which impresses the girls, owns over 100 nes games in the box, has a vegan Tattoo on his side arm, has a rainbow patch on his vintage bicycle which he rides to work everyday to show his support, wears bright turquoise skin tight strech jeans everyday, funky shades, he only buys cassettes and loves lofi music,  and only wears bright solid colored shirts or obscure band shirts and lumberjack flannels when it rains, he moved to a state where it's legal to smoke pot, he used to share the rent with 7 other people, graduated with a major English lit with a minor in eco design and dreads offices. 

New and cutting edge in late 2014-2019 (still applies to some extent even though its less)

Post Hipster or Yuccie/Normcore or Normie Hipster or Faux Hipster:

Only wears grey, black or beige clothing or secondhand very muted clothing with some vaguely androgenous shirts, has a small beard that barely sticks out and manbun with shaved sides but can barely been seen, has mixed libertarian views on a number of topics, works at a tech company and graduated as a engineer, has black generic script tattoos his neck and hands, listens to classical music, synth pop and jazz, cringes at hipster cliches and thinks its dead even though he still has a lot of the traits or style, he is thinking of making a gourmet burger bar without buns or using imported meat from some exotic country and thinks it will bring in a lot of money.  

Muted aspects are what first pops up when I think of the late 2010s. I still notice the late 2014 aesthetics today. They’re probably going to last until early or mid 2024, even if 2020s culture blows up in mid 2022 to 2023.

The difference between the first and second half of the 2010s are jarring. Late 2014 and early 2015 felt like a brief changeover period between the two halves.

I think fashion is also the main stick out to me from late 2014. To hear the radio play early 2010s sounding songs became rare by late 2014. That’s also when I’d say early 2010s sounding electro-pop and or dubstep music fully died out. But some music styles, maybe singers, rappers that and who came to be around late 2014 and early 2015, were popular in the late 2010s. 

You’ve got an interesting observation on hipsters and post-hipsters, especially with how that ties to the fashion changes we noticed in 2014. I like how you outline the differences between the two. I was able to visualize them. IMO mid 2010s fashion was fully developed by late 2014.

“Less is more” best represents the fashion direction of late 2014 to 2019, even today in some cases. No wonder why I felt the fashion was headed more towards stripped down looks. I recall people getting tired of the excessive looks. Funny how that timeline almost lines up with electro-pop and or dubstep music

-Late 1994 through early 1997 - Original sketches and concepts and identifying the construction ingredients 
-Mid 1997 to mid 1998 - Construction is developing
-Mid 1998 to early 2001 - Store is mostly built but not finished, everyone is anticipating it
-Mid 2001 - Grand opening
-Late 2001 through mid 2004 - Peak sales and most defining period of the store
-Late 2004 through 2007 - Revamp and expansion of the store and traffic increases for a short time
-Most of 2008: Starting to decline but mostly the same
-Early to mid 2009 - File for bankruptcy
-Late 2009 into early 2010 - Closing sale but its over

sorry had to edit my post lol

This has been true of music since early 2020 for me, with the exception of hip-hop during 2020 itself.

This is a low point for EDM and pop. EDM desperately needs to move on from the style popularized by the Chainsmokers. I also don't care for the throwback songs or the pop punk revival (which brings absolutely nothing new to the table).

This is fitting as hell given how many stores closed in 2009 (looking at you Circuit City and KB Toys)

I feel like we've had this thread subject like a dozen times at this point.