I’m pretty set in my ways style-wise, so I mostly see trends an opportunity to obtain new versions of old favorites, but I do try to remain open to the idea that as my body and lifestyle changes, there is room for some new favorites, too.
Things I liked in the past that I’m embracing again: I’ve always liked and worn cropped narrow pants - I wore them less frequently when they were “out”, but they never disappeared from my closet. Now that they are more readily available I will be stocking up. The same for block heels, which have always been my favorite heel. Those have the added bonus these days of being more stable and easy to wear.
Other items have never appealed to me for myself and, if the reasons they didn’t are still valid, those items aren’t earning a place in my closet this time either. I didn’t like wearing wide short pants when they were called gauchos or when they were called culottes. The reason being I don’t like wearing clothing that swishes around when I move. So I’m not wearing them now that they are called cropped wide pants. i don’t like wearing bell sleeves for exactly the same reason. I don’t wear ruffles, floral embroidery (or really prominent floral anything) because I prefer a more tailored, less “girly” style. I hate strapless bras, so cold-shoulder and off-the-shoulder tops and dresses aren’t appealing. None of these preferences has changed.
Meanwhile, there were a couple of trends in the past few years that I had never worn before, but work splendidly for my current body and life. Fluid tops over lean pants is a great silhouette for my “advanced middle-aged” physique. And booties are so much more practical in my warm dry climate than knee high boots. Those will both likely stay in my wardrobe for good, with some modifications to whatever versions can pass as somewhat “current” at any given time.
As for trends I liked before but won’t embrace this time - I used to enjoy restrained pattern mixing and bright colored shoes and handbags. Now that I am striving for a leaner and simpler wardrobe, they don’t appeal to me as much. I’m not saying “no way” but I won’t be seeking those things out.
And then sometimes I end up wearing something trendy despite myself. Last summer I realized I had some outfits that cried out for white sneakers. But I don’t particularly like white sneakers, they always look to me like they should be paired with mom jeans. So I set out to find the least white, lowest profile, most obscure pair I could find. The theory behind seeking out some obscure ones was simply that they wouldn’t become dated, since they were never “in” in the first place. I found a pair of Tretorn Tournament Nets languishing on 6pm.com. Wouldn’t you know that this year, several major retailers are carrying them - Nordstrom, J Crew, etc. (I do recommend them by the way - supremely comfortable and breathable.)
One of the nice things about participating here is that I get to enjoy floral embroidery and bell sleeves and pattern mixing, etc. etc. on many of you who embrace and wear them well!
