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always trying

Veteran

here is what I am currently thinking:

1. different bloggers, etc. call different things trends.

2. Some seem to be general, like the cold shoulder, block heels, crops. lace up sandals, etc.

3. retailers seem to lag behind the internet sites and bloggers in having them in stores.

4. Some seem to never really take off while others seem to just boom quickly.

5. many seem quick to die!

Also I am wondering who starts them. Who really are the trend setters? Guess they die when they seem to not be popular with the trend setter followers. Some like culottes seem to just hang around but never really become a biggie. Others just seem to slowly fade away, like maxis seem to be doing now.

What do you all think about this -or not?

I am just doing my own thing, not really paying much attention to the concept of trend..Buying and trying what I like and ignoring the rest makes me happy.

7 years ago

General

9 replies

Latest reply was from Ledonna N.

Joy

Veteran

Trends can often take years to reach my area. I suspect that the most popular and most quickly adopted are those that are a version of a trend already in place, like cropped skinny jeans or frayed hems as a variation of skinny jeans. Those are already very popular. The wide pant trend has not made it here, therefore I do not expect culottes to take off.
Assymetrical hems are just now becoming popular, especially those that are on a tee. I am happy to have Angie identify trends and like to adopt them early if they fit my style and life. Then I can get several seasons of wear out of them.
I suspect that people take a wait-and-see attitude to see what others do before committing.

7 years ago

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

This all makes sense to me. I've wondered the same thing about who are the trend setters. Your last paragraph especially is exactly my mindset. I'll add: it seems to me that a lot of trends are regional. I think there are some areas of the US (and probably other places, but I'm not a world traveler) where a trend never or rarely makes an appearance.

7 years ago

LaPed

Veteran

It's definitely at least in part a regional thing, and a rural/urban thing. I see a lot more on-trend street style in large metro areas. In "seasonless" cities like LA people have a larger chunk of the year free to experiment with trends, compared to those of us in places with long winters where you're stuck in coat/boots for half the year regardless of what's in. And LA is light years ahead of the rest of the southwest, fashion-wise. When I lived in Las Vegas, I liked to say that LV is where LA's trends go to die.

And of course big fashion centers, like NYC and Paris, are going to see a higher proportion of early adopters, because people work in the industry. However, I think you also get a higher proportion of classic dressers in NYC and Paris, because being trend-averse is something of a style statement in and of itself.

In the northeast, I'd not hesitate to say that Montreal is the best place to go to observe street style and unique interpretations of current trends. Smaller cities like Halifax NS and Portland ME and Burlington VT have developed their own very distinctive/quirky styles that I really like, but the looks lean more toward retro/vintage than bleeding-edge.

7 years ago

LaPed

Veteran

One more thought: the problem in small towns and remote areas is that a lot of people are still rocking new trends from the last time around. It's harder to make a block heel look contemporary if the ladies at the Rotary are still wearing pairs from 20 years ago.

7 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

I feel there are two kinds of trends - promotional and street. Promotional are what designers and the blogosphere are interested in. Street is what's happening in your workplace, school, neighborhood. They interact, but I feel the tracks are different somehow.

7 years ago

rabbit

Veteran

Agreeing with all this. I think it's a lot like Top 40 music. There is an interplay between the promotion and adoption/streaming of a song, but a lot depends on whether you are tuned in to 'hear' it -- there are regional variations, but if you are linked into music or fashion online or through radio you are a lot more globally trend aware and trend exposed than someone who takes cues from their local environment. Just like hit songs there is a trajectory for trends -- they come off the runway (record labels), are either stocked or passed over for retail (radio and streaming playlisting), and then climb or fall seasonally based on adoption and exposure (sales). Some songs or trends can take a long time to rise and a very long time to fall, and some are flash in the pans. Also I think there is retro futurism in common between fashion and pop music in how the vibe of a past era gets sampled or reinvented.

7 years ago

Anonymous

You are a wise woman. I've seen lots of trends start on the internet but never filter down to real life. Rabbit explained it so eloquently.

7 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

I think Rabbit's analysis is a good one. For what it's worth, I suspect that the trends that hang on for a long time are ones that tend to be more flattering. Like, the midi-length culottes probably won't have a lot of staying power because they make a lot of women look dumpy, unless they get the details perfectly right. Cropped slim pants are more flattering for most, and also useful/versatile, so I bet those will stay around for longer.

Also, it seems like trends that lean toward the casual are more likely to hang on. I think what Angie has said about the "era of casualization" is true.

7 years ago

Ledonna N.

Veteran

I agree with Rachylou . I tend to buck trends or I'm always late to the prom

7 years ago

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