June 4, 2012
To follow or not to follow, that is the question if we’re talking about fashion trends. Let’s begin with a little quiz:
Walking down the street, you catch a glimpse of an impeccably-styled girl, donning every one of the season’s hottest trends. She looks effortless, chic, as if she’s been plucked from the pages of some uber-hip editorial. Glancing down at your own sorry excuse for an outfit, you race into the nearest Forever 21, grabbing for touches of faux fur and animal print, stripes and safari, thinking “if she can rock it, why can’t I?” In the light of the over-crowded dressing room, you see that everything fits. So, what do you do?
A) Leave everything there and slip back into my black skinny jeans. It’s impossible that I could pull off that look.
B) Buy the cheetah capelet and sparkling headband, but leave the rest. Those items looked best on me anyway!
C) Buy it all! Now I’ll be a spitting image of that inspirational fashionista!
If you chose A, you might be a little too cautious about branching out and trying new styles. We wouldn’t want you to be one of the unfortunate few holding onto her boot-cut, light wash jeans, when everyone else has clearly moved on to skinnier, darker styles! B-girls, pat yourselves on the back. You’re fearless enough to attempt wearing some of the more out-there trends, but still conscious of what looks good on you. If you chose C, honey, we may have a little problem.
The biggest trouble with the trends of today comes from the fact that we often see them on our favorite celebrities. “Beyonce looks so cute in that pair of thigh high hooker boots!” you’ll think. “I need a pair!” Mind you, Beyonce has racks on racks on racks and can not only afford the most nice, expensive pair of boots, but also has the trainer, nutritionist and stylist to ensure that those money-making thighs look ever so slender and that the boots are perfectly-paired with some killer outfit. When we plebeians attempt to plunge our thunder thighs into a pair of Steve Madden knock-offs, it may not look so good and we need to be aware of that!
Often, I think that girls race to Top Shop and H & M attempting to emulate the styles of their favorite stars without actually looking at themselves in the mirror. Do those kitten heels, currently favored by Taylor Swift and the like, really look good on you, or do they make you resemble a try-hard librarian, attempting to sass it up with that one little inch of heel? These are the kinds of questions we must ask ourselves as we search the racks. Does this maxi dress look boho chic or muumuu horrendous?
With a keen eye, all of us can be the perfectly put-together girls that make other girls sartorially jealous.
