Too many times in the fashion and style world, and on YLF in particular, people say that they will never wear a particular style, trend, colour, or vibe. But often it’s only a question of time before they do, and thoroughly enjoy the item or look. I’m guilty of the same thing, despite my efforts to keep an open mind as a fashion professional.
Today we’re owning up to these “nevers”. I have many examples, but here are the ones that immediately come to mind. If you’ve been with YLF for a while, you might remember some of them.
Returning to Skinnies
When skinnies came back on to the scene as a fringe trend about fourteen years ago, I was not impressed. I’m an ‘80s gal at heart, but after awfully elegant bootcuts, I thought no way would I go back to tapered skinnies. It took me months to even try them on! When I finally did, I was unsure, but didn’t hate the visual effect. I took the skinnies home and in-house fashion stylist Greg liked them right away. I kept them, and eased myself back into wearing tight tapered pants. It took about a season before I was comfortable with the resurgence of my early ‘80s groove.
Dropping the Crotch
Eleven years ago, harem pants were quite the fringe trend, and I thought they were awful. I didn’t think the dropped crotch point silhouette looked good on anyone. I headed to Israel later that year, and to my amazement saw loads of locals sporting harem pants with panache. I was wowed, and could not have been more wrong in my initial assessment. I came back to the US, bought a dressy silk pair of harem pants from Ted Baker, and loved them. They’re still going strong today and come out to play every Summer.
Boho Light
I used to say that my style was about as bohemian as Karl Lagerfeld’s look. That is, not bohemian at all. Yet over the years I have been drawn to the soft, flouncy and romantic integrity of boho blouses. I’m totally owning up to wearing a boho-lite look and loving it.
Shorter Lengths
I thought I would never wear full-length flared pants and jeans shorter than at floor-skimming perfect pant lengths. But this year I surprised myself by loving and wearing the new shorter full length with flats and sneakers because it’s a lot more practical for my urban and often wet walking lifestyle. It’s fun to have the trendy bottoms bug, even if it means I have to eat my words.
All the Rest
Although I never said never to small crossbody bags, I said it would be highly unlikely that I would sport them. Same goes for earth tones, chunky soles, Seinfeld sneakers, a monogrammed gold necklace, denim with a polyester content, and a style rich in fashion sneakers. Well, the joke’s on me because I regularly wear these items and adore them.
You can never say never when it comes to fashion and style. Sometimes it takes five minutes for our perceptions to adjust, and sometimes it takes several seasons. Often we are pleasantly surprised by the outcome and what was previous a “never” becomes a wardrobe workhorse. These days when I think “never” about a style, trend, colour, or vibe, I laugh at myself and remind myself to wait and see.
Your turn to fess up. What are you wearing today that you never thought you would?
