Rae's sandal post, dating and updating ?

So not to target Rae, but...

To me it was a great post that brings up questions of PPP and what gets dated and how we decide to add something and how we maintain wardrobes and freshen up style and don't go crazy or break the bank.

It seems to me like fashion for a lot of us would be 2 steps forward and one step back, or one forward and one hopping, or something. I can't think of the analogy.

You find some shoes that fit great and look good and you think, are they perfectly classic, which would also possibly be not very exciting, or are they mid-way with some staying power.
The shoes are great, your feet love them, they're flattering (because certain shoes remain flattering to certain feet and legs whether or not they are on trend) and they're not worn out in 1 or 2 years, but they're neither pure classic nor on trend for this season.

So to me, you don't have to toss shoes, you see if what you wear them with can be tweaked to add some edge--maybe you have a new pencil skirt or jean in the trendy Panettone color, or you add an it-bag because you want the it-bag, or something.

Then maybe in a couple of years with the it-bag, you still love it, it's a fantastic color, all your stuff fits in it, but it's no longer "it", but by that time, you really are up for some new shoes that are super-fab on-trend, and get them and you change up a few of your tops to be... ( insert descriptor: longer, shorter, boxier, less boxy, sheer-er, fuzzier) and you charge on.

So if I were into charts, my different wardrobe items would be ascending and descending toward and away from trends (using trend in the best sense--fresh, modern), the house of Aquarius rising and all that, with some items in each category kind of holding down the fort in between.

What do you think?

11 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

Ooh, nice post! I don't feel targeted at all - if anything, I'm happy to be the catalyst for such a discussion.

I think you are definitely right that it is sort of a balancing act between adding something very fresh to be current or adding something classic instead to be more timeless. Rising and falling, as you said. Makes me picture a two sided scale, with trends on one side and classics on the other.

For me, I have added a lot of items that are trendy this year (several pair of BF jeans, ombre patterns, cat prints, galaxy print, etc.), so I didn't want Super Duper Trendy It Sandals. I am okay with my BFs and cat prints and all that looking sort of dated in a few years because I still feel they jive with my personal style, regardless of trends.

BUT, I don't necessarily feel that way about sci-fi silver... maybe it will stay with me, maybe it won't. And I just don't like to buy sandals every year - I'm not emotionally invested in sandals the way I am with boots - so I needed them to be more of a classic for me. I posted the sandals to see if anyone thought they looked like 2013 Trendy Sci-Fi Sandals. Seems like most people thought they were not over the top like that.

Have you ever charted in vector diagrams? I think the trending power of an item could be well described that way. Pointing a degree toward or away from Trendiness with a certain amount of force. Then when you add that to another vector (another wardrobe item) it either pushes your style in the same direction or a different one.

catgirl

That is very well put! I am developing a better sense of what is dated-looking in my wardrobe. For example, a Ralph Lauren dress I wore for my wedding rehearsal dinner was really close to maxi length but very in at the time. I didn't wear it often after that, but when I next took it out, I could see it needed to be hemmed and shortened it to midi length. I was able to wear it often but now it just looks dated altogether (14 years later) - think Elaine from Seinfeld. However, I can't part with it for sentimental reasons, so it remains in my closet. Perhaps someday it will be retro-vintage cool!

The most interesting to me is when colors look dated... I find that to be true even though it seems logically ridiculous.

To use a theme, it's a fashion tango keeping up to date.

Then there are things that transcend time for me personally. Fryes and Docs come to mind.

Thistle

Interesting discussion!!

Makes me wonder how long before I will be tossing my white jeans as totally outdated

Raisin

Honestly, I find it a bit stressful at times wondering if I'm buying something that will be so outdated before I get good use out of it. I hate to make a mistake, you know? I'm really just trying to go with what I like and not worry about it too much because I don't find that too many people (around here anyway) are all that up to date on fashion anyway.

Caro in Oz

I liked Angie's post on this topic. It seems to depend on the wearer which strikes me as being spot on

http://youlookfab.com/2010/10/.....-is-dated/

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