Smart words from our Fearless Leader and many smart observations from forum members as well.

As in so many areas of life, the key is to know thyself. Some people love the challenge and find it a joyful diversion from life's other stresses and strains....while others find dressing stressful in and of itself. For them having one more thing to worry about is Not Fun At All!

Figuring out on which end of the spectrum you fall makes life much more enjoyable. And FUN!

I think it very much depends on a personality. For some people a challenge is a stress and for others it is a requirement of life - and I am not talking just fashion here. As we have different personalities it makes sense that we have different view of a new trend challenge.
As for myself I am trying to keep an open mind before discarding the new thing. I have learned the lesson the first year when I joined YLF and it was about skinies..
Sure ihave seen b them before but it was so ingrained in my brain that they will never work for curvy me that I did not even try. Of course street examples how skinnies were worn by not very skinny women just confirmed my opinion about this trend. But the Angie and YLF came along and she convinced me to try, that it iis HOW you style the trend which matters - and she was right. Now skinnies are an infegral part of my style and it does nor take a lot of effort to style them ehen you already discovered what works for you.
I am not trying to make any trend work for me but I have fun diung this for trends which peak my interest. Oh, and I want to defend culottes and sleeveless jackets from that articles: both of them were extremely wearable for me last winter and actually were style savers from the umiforn of skinnies tucked into boots. And it did not take much effort to get the styling work for me at all!
I would like to encourage you to keep an open mind and at least try our the trends which are speaking for you. The worst thing we do in our life is when we engage in the negative thinking instead of trying: "oh, it will never work for me!" You may be surprised when you try! And yes, I am taking not only about fashion here
Sorry for the novel - I am sitting in the airpott and have nothing better to do
And yes Suz, we need to find the sleeveless tnecks for both of us!

Great wisdom from Angie and the other forum members. I didn't agree with the blogger about the trends. I don't find ponchos hard to style. I have a crossbody handbag and a clutch that work fine with my poncho. Not a big deal. I find a poncho is a great thing for certain days and it suits my style. I also find culottes easy to style. I have worn them on and off since high school. No big deal.
I have always loved fashion and clothes. I love design and colour in general. For me it is a hobby and it is fun.

Such good questions and responses! The last few months is the first time I've consciously tried a style refresh. Along the way, I've had a few narrow escapes from trying too hard to make a trend work for me.

In the past, I've always SYC quite a bit, and tended to buy things when I discovered "holes" while putting outfits together. Ironically, that's made me somewhat an impulse buyer: I have an awesome outfit waiting in the wings! Fill that hole right now!

So what unfrumped said about being intentional and getting the foundation in good shape first really resonated. For me, footwear was the single most important item; my closet is full of 1940s and 1940s-inspired shoes that work with my clothes, but are hard to style in more fashion-forward ways. Pointy toes and ankle straps were my first big step. Then oxfords, calf-high flat boots, and white sneakers followed. And in the last two weeks I've finally added booties. I'm also working on upgrading my basic leggings/stretchy pants capsule, since I spent so much time in it last winter. The discussion on making short tunics/long shirts work has been extremely helpful.

I also noticed that I'm feeling drawn to trends a year or more after Angie first identifies them. Like Chelsea booties. I was somewhat appalled to see how old her post was when I looked it up! And the whole trend for booties with skirts and dresses, which was such a weird look two years ago, and I'm finally really wanting to try. The responses here encourage me that being a late adopter is just fine. And good thing, too, because I finally found my booties. I love them, I'm wearing them now for the first time, with a dress no less, and I'm thrilled.

Hi!

And to follow-up on my comment about trends from Angie's first post on this thread. I think that Angie is right....sometimes the experimentation is fun. Sometimes its fun to push your own boundaries and see if something new will work for you!

But then sometimes it becomes work and forced. I don't want to spend my day fussing and adjusting with my clothes. (arms cold/torso hot, wind blowing up my poncho, water dribbling into my peep toes!) And I certainly do NOT want to have to buy all new under-pinnings and other garments just to make a trend work.

Its always a joy when you try something shiny and new and VIOLA! it melds perfectly with your current closet. Its good to challenge yourself and stretch. That I agree with. And I do like experimenting and seeing if something new can work. But if it doesn't hit that sweet spot of new and melding, it may require too much work to make it work. At that point, its no longer fun.