The Sobers Are the Coolest of 2025
No more hangovers, just green juice, therapy, and plane tickets to Bali. Why is being sober the hottest trend in love and self-respect?
When you think of romance, you think of red wine stained lips, clinking glasses, and someone charming enough to ignore the fact you are slurring your own name. Lately, however, the sexiest accessory isn’t a cocktail. It’s clarity. And, perhaps a matcha latte with soy milk.
Sometime between Dry January and my third set of BIAB nails, I noticed something: the sober girls weren’t just surviving- they were thriving. Glowy in the “I just booked a solo flight to Bali, figured out my attachment style, and bought a silk dress in my actual size” kind of way.
All of a sudden, being the girl who leaves the party at midnight with a cup of Kombucha and pilates at 9am is cool. We used to drink to forget bad dates, Sunday scaries, or the fact that we have no five year plan. But now sobriety feels less like a restriction, and more like a revolution. Forget designer handbags! The new status symbol is remembering every conversation you had last night and not waking up next to ‘The Fear’. There’s something undeniably attractive about someone who doesn’t need liquid courage to be interesting. Who can dance badly to Taylor Swift completely stone-cold-sober and still look like they’re having the time of their life. Someone who flirts through genuine eye contact instead of tequila-induced boldness.
Let's talk about money. While your coupled-up friends are splitting £15 cocktails and pretending they can afford another round, sober singles are stacking coins. No more £200 bar tabs that you can't remember running up. No more drunk online shopping sprees for clothes that don't fit your actual personality (or body). The math is simple: fewer drinks equals more funds for the things that actually improve your life. Like that yoga retreat in Greece you’ve been stalking on Instagram for months.
Somewhere between matcha becoming a personality trait and therapy becoming a dinner party conversation, sobriety got the rebrand of all rebrands. It’s no longer about what you’re missing out on- it’s about what you’re gaining. Better sleep, clearer skin and the kind of energy that makes you want to sign up for that 6am spin class (and actually show up). Instagram influencers pose with their fancy mocktails like they're sipping Dom Pérignon. Celebrities casually mention their sobriety journeys in interviews like it's the most natural thing in the world. Suddenly, being sober isn't just acceptable - it's aspirational.
Of course, this isn’t about judgement or moral superiority. It’s about choice. The choice to show up fully present in your life instead of numbing the edges. The choice to process emotions instead of drowning them. Being sober in 2025 isn’t about deprivation - it’s about abundance. An abundance of energy, clarity, authentic connections and most importantly, self-respect. And honestly? That’s the most fashionable accessory of all. So here’s to the girls trading tequila shots for ginger shots, replacing bar stools with yoga blocks and spending on flights instead of vodka whites. Cheers to that - with sparkling water and a twist of lime!
Writer - Aisling H
Editor - Ieva Dambrauskaite
