Ok, pardon my philisophical waxing for a moment.
I clearly lean towards the classics. APC jeans, standard button up shirts, aviators, and my favorite shoes in the history of the world are Stan Smiths (technically, it’s Common Projects in all white but I can’t drop $360 on a pair of all white sneakers.)
But I see kids roaming the malls looking like Kanye’s take on 80’s fashion and think, this shit is going to last about 8 seconds - then what. Grunge remix? Prep/punk? Future/hippie? The classics go through a rehash every 5 years, but the trends seem to be in a constant recycle. So if right now we’re stuck in between a recycle of classics and a recycle of trends, what’s coming?
Mad Men - I’ve been feeling for a while now, especially with the recession still hanging over us that once the smoke clears and people go back to work that they will want to go back in style. Psychologically, there will be a need to shake off the feeling and the LOOK of the recession by dumping the over-tattoo’d tees for suits. You will know this has happened when it permeates beyond Madison Avenue and the Chi-town agency crews. (Yes, it’s simply a rehash of older classics, but….well…I still think it will happen.)
Personalized - I have felt for years that the next major trend was going to be personalization. I’m seeing it in small flashes here and there with Nike ID, Indochino suits, Threadless tees, but I’m talking the individual as the designer. Personal branding, to me, was never about social media - it was always about individuals representing themselves in a unique way. What can the post-Y2K era deliver that the 50’s-90’s couldn’t? New fabrics, new lines…? No - we’re still wearing button ups, polos, jeans and khakis. Technology can make anyone a designer, the web can make anyone a brand, put it all together and you get the individual as fashion designer. Threadless is only the beginning. When kids in HS are making their own back-to-school clothes, you’ll know it’s hit.
Subtlety - I’m not as sure about this one, but I can only hope that designers like APC signal a shift away from douche-wear like Ed Hardy. For every generation, there is a Garfield tshirt trend. Ours, apparently, is giant bedazzled tattoo wear that is ridiculously overpriced and over decorated. There are so many fashion options right now that look like the clothing equivalent to doing your entire house in animal prints (rugs, chairs, couches, throw pillows, dining room accents, wall hangings ) hey 40-year-old asshole at the bar in Kansas City, I’m talking to you. I can only hope that the backlash is coming, and it’s coming in the way of subtle fashions being more in vogue that graphic barf, bedazzled fashions.
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Comments ( 2 )
Nathan added these pithy words on Aug 28 09 at 9:55 amYou’re right that the ’80s stuff probably won’t last too long, but I’m enjoying it while it’s here, as it seems to be expressing itself mostly in huge, fun, plastic sunglasses.
admin added these pithy words on Sep 10 09 at 4:34 pmYou know what trends I have enjoyed? Tiny ruffled skirts. When we hit Boston a couple years ago, I remember distinctly thinking that female fashion finally took a turn for the improvement of all mankind. I enjoy the female “wifebeater” a great deal. I’m glad the exposed thong has died. And for dudes, I’m glad that the Seattle grunge look has never eeked it’s way back (although I believe a derivative is coming.) The “ironic mullet” was thankfully short lived and never made it far from NYC or LA (in the US anyway.) But giant plastic sunglasses and super skinny jeans make everyone look like they got invited down to play dress up with the clowns at the circus.
I am totally open to the Mad Men look coming back, as long as I get to call dames and broads things like “dame” and “broad”. And get to drink during the day.