On the subject of trends, I enjoyed this short essay by Avery Trufelman, the podcaster who makes Articles of Interest (such a fab podcast!)
https://articlesofinterest.sub.....melessness
A quote:
"In her excellent Trend Forecasting textbook, Lorynn Divita puts forth that, when it comes to clothing, there are two kinds of “cool.” One kind changes and evolves constantly (Madonna, David Bowie), and another kind stays constant (Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen)."
Later in the essay, Trufelman mentions a challenge posed to her by a friend: "What's wrong with something looking of its time?" This simple question upended all her former aesthetic ideas about the supposed superiority of "timelessness."
And then she brings up Roland Barthes' contrast between Coco Chanel and Courreges (Coco="timeless"; Courreges="trendy" or of its time.) What struck me about the images was how Courreges actually adopted the same shapes and proportions as Chanel! The differences were surface, quite superficial, really (at least in the images she shows.) Which suggests...what? That trendy always has a basis in timeless? That Barthes was wrong to view Courreges as so revolutionary? That time has a way of making distinctions that once loomed large, seem minor? I don't know!
Anyway, I like Helena's distinction between trends and fads. And like Rachy, I am potentially susceptible to both -- if and only if they fit into my own style! (So I'm like Irina, in that way.)
- What causes us to decide we no longer enjoy wearing a particular trend anymore?
For me, it's like what Phoebe said. I get tired of it the way I would get tired of any frequently worn item. Or, like Irina said, I decide it no longer fits with my style sensibility. My style is consistent but it does evolve and at a certain point I just get tired of a particular silhouette, whether or not it is still trendy.
- Does the fact that a trend is really popular matter to you?
Not one way or the other. I will only adopt it if I like it. I don't really care if others like it a lot or not at all. This is interesting because when it comes to movies or books or new restaurants (to take a few examples), I'm often reluctant to pick up on those that are extremely popular. I tend to leave those alone, or at least wait until the buzz has worn off. The more popular an author is, the less likely I am to read their book right away.
- Do you worry about a trend's popularity peaking?
Not really, because if I like it, I like it. And I'm not one to overbuy into a specific look very often.
- How much do you feel your current style is actually influenced by trends?
Significantly, because I buy from mainstream retailers. And also because I'm interested in looking current and modern. That's part of my style sensibility.
Great questions, Dee, and I'm glad you started the thread because I was thinking of the same thing.
