Discussions
How trendy are you?
Posted by SweetViolet • 6/22/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: trendiness, trends, trendy
I am thinking about writing a blog entry on the subject of trendiness and I am wondering what others think.
My opinion of trendiness is negative. While I may occasionally purchase an item that is considered trendy, it is solely because I have an objective liking for the item, not because it is the "latest thing." In fact, hearing an item described as trendy will cause me to seriously consider whether or not to purchase it, so much is my dislike of trendiness. I equate it with shallow fads rather than true innovation or an addition to true style.
I recognize, however, that this is just my opinion and that there are other views, and I am interested in them. Most especially, I am interested in those who consider themselves to be trendy and why they believe it is a good thing.
Enlighten me, please!
User Comments
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Not very trendy at all. I like things that are functional and practical. I'm also not a very trendy dresser. I care more about how my body looks as opposed to wearing trendy clothing. -
Not trendy at all -
I never follow fashion trends...I go shopping about once every 2 years and buy functional clothes that suit my body. There's something very bizarre about fashion trends, especially when everyone suddenly started wearing ponchos and peddle-pushers...and now everyone looks like they fell out of the 80s! -
Very trendy. Even stopped wearing knee-high white socks and corduroy shorts a couple of years ago.
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I share your opinion on trendiness, SweetViolet.
I prefer to avoid buying clothes just because they're trendy. I will only buy something considered trendy if i really like it. I'm not a follower of fads either. -
I wouldn't know a trend if it hit me on the head If I do something trendy, it's usually by accident.
I would say that people who like to follow or start trends tend to want to seem as if they are forward thinking, progressive, edgy, whatever. Cosmopolitan, if you will.
I think it's a scam to make money on people who want to feel as if they belong to something bigger than themselves, but also make s them feel important as individuals.
And if it does that for them, more power to 'em. It doesn't do that for me personally, nor do I usually wear o have things that I don't like.-
Im with you there. I couldnt tell you any trends.
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I wear what I like. I don't care what is "in" at the moment. I've always had my own sense of style and I like it that way. -
I'm not a trend setter, that's for sure. I'm a trend lagger. I adopt certain clothing or hair styles long after said trends have burned themselves out. I don't know why I do this as it's certainly not a conscious choice on my part.
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I hate trendy because it usually makes finding my favorite standard clothing difficult. For instance, I find some pants I like a lot, and a year or two later when I need to replace them, they don't exist anymore.
Trendy is a pain in the butt. -
Interesting responses...but where are the trendy people who drive these trends by purchasing all this short-lived merchandise?
It can't be just celebs who sport and support trends...there aren't enough of them! -
I like like classic style clothes I never buy "trendy stuff" I think those people are sheep.-
My sentiments exactly. IF I buy something trendy it is because it is something I like, independent of current trends, and would likely buy even if it was WAY out of fashion.
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Yeah exactly. Not that I don't like clothes and like to look good but I think the people with real style are the people who don't have to try so hard.
When people say trendy, hairdressers pop straight into my head and the day I leave the house dressed like a hair dresser is the day they have come to take me away.
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i work on fashion field but my personality doesn't match to what u call trendy or 'in'.i dont like to wear what most people wear,more to what made me comfortable. -
meh I'm not trendy. I dress casual and comfortable. Anything else is just not me. -
I think I strike a chord between trends and classic. I get irritated by people who are slaves to fashion, but I also get irritated by people who consistently wear clothing that is unflattering. You can make yourself look years older than you actually are or appear 15 pounds heavier by how you dress. I do believe that if you wear clothes that fit well in flattering colors, you don't have to wear the latest trends to present yourself well.-
Yup. That's about where I fall on the trend-o-meter. I choose what I like and what fits right. If the clothes currently aren't appealing and I need clothes, I wear what I have. I don't buy expensive things anyway.
And I wear a lot of vintage-look things anyway, so it has a bit more staying power. -
For men, I love a man in a well tailored, classic suit. Grrr.
If anyone watches Stacy and Clinton, I love the way they dress their clients. Not too trendy, not too expensive, just very flattering. They are all about bringing out the confidence in the women and men they make over.
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I would say I'm not "trendy" at all. I tend to stick to my own ideas of style. I like my natural sense of style. It's influenced by my own thoughts and perspective of the world or my body (in relation to fashion). I shop what is there and as fashion and style changes of course so does mine, but I think "trendy" people tend to blindly go where they are told and I never do that. -
I am trendy by default. Like I was rocking colored hair and grunge punk retro inspired apparel since 8th grade, yet now that is considered trendy and I am just like...what? Thanks to stores like Hot Topic, and Starlets and Harlots individuality is slowly being sucked out of my little clique-
So you consider yourself a trend-setter?
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Kind of a conflicting statement...individuality being sucked out of a clique. A clique is not individual, it's a group of like individuals. If there is likeness, then there isn't individuality.
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I call a clique a group of people who share similar interests. One of us is an 80's punk, I wear pin up attire, another is gothic. Clique is not neccessarily code for clone. We all share certain interests yet are clearly our own people. "If there is likeness, then there isn't individuality." well so if 90 people all listen to Nekromantix, but have differing views on politics, fashion and religion then by your definition because they hang out together, they are all the same? If 15 girls all cheerlead, but have different life styles they are all the same?
I would not say that I am a trend setter regarding the nu punk trend but there are other things I have done that have caught, mostly with hair though and not clothing. -
There is no such thing as a trend setter. But no, that's not what I meant by the above quoted statement. A clique is usually seen as a bunch of people who are very much a like and feed off of that likeness. Otherwise, it's just a group of friends. My group of friends consists of several different ethnic backgrounds, religions, career choices, ages and backgrounds, so I would never refer to us as a "clique". But I guess that just got lost in translation.
When I lived in NYC I remember being entertained by people who claimed to be trendsetters, because they "started" doing or wearing something that hadn't been seen in a while, but was definitely not new. Everything has been done before, perhaps in a different order or with a different emphasis, but it's all been done before. -
eh
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Im really only trendy when it comes to suits and such. But even then I only where what I like. Outside of that I wear a white Tee and basketball shorts.
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I only wear designer labels. -
This is another area in which I think tolerance should be key. Respect people's choices in clothing without categorizing them. See them as individuals expressing themselves and having fun, rather than sheep blindly following a trend or fashion. I don't see why we need all these labels. Follow your own whims and let others follow theirs. -
I don't know if I am trendy but I can fit into the category of fashionable. -
Those of you who self-identify as "trendy" or "fashionable": why is it important to you to be so?
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A lot of people refer to me as fashionable, but the funny thing is, I don't really follow trends. What they perceive as fashionable is actually just that I wear flattering clothes that fit..
I am overweight, and I don't walk around in shapeless, unflattering clothes. I think it's important to present myself as best I can. -
I make a distinction between being well groomed and being "fashionable. I am well-groomed but I am fashionable only when the clothes I like and wear happen to coincide with what is currently in style.
I am trying to fathom the minds of people who throng the malls buying the latest trends: why do they do it, why is it so important to them? Do you know anyone like that or have any insights? -
I see a difference between being fashionable, and being "trendy".
Fashionable doesn't need to follow the current trend, it only needs to be well put together. -
Sometimes, Anok, I agree with that sentiment. But...
Those nearly obscene low ride jeans that were around for a few years...would you call them "fashionable" or "trendy"? I identified them as a trend and continued to wear natural waist jeans...nothing in the heavens or earth would have gotten me and my stretch-marked muffin tops into those things!
And yet, I saw women old enough to know better and girls plump enough to wear a larger size baring their bellies in the coldest weather, regardless of whether they looked good or not. I see that as being trend followers... What compels someone to do such a thing?
This weekend I took my husband to a Victorian-style barber shop to have a haircut and get his beard professionally shaped and trimmed. One of the barbers is an OTT gay guy who goes for funky fashion that is anything but trendy but absolutely hip and fashionable. The barber who shaved my husband, on the other hand, was wearing every trendy look of the past 10 years, none of which were appropriate for a man of his age: pierced eyebrow and side of his lip, a curly gelled mohawk that hadn't been shaved for a week or longer, and one of those insipid little pencil-thin jawline beards. I honestly feared for my husband's grooming at his hands, if that mashup of trends was what he considered attractive!
So what drives a person to take up these trends, even when they are unattractive or age-inappropriate? Nobody here on BC owns up to be trend slaves, but there must be a lot of them out there, otherwise we wouldn't find the shops stuffed full of the merchandise! -
Those low rider jeans with super skinny legs are heinously unattractive. I can't help but think people who wear them complete with ass crack and muffin top do not own mirrors. If you've got the body, go for it. But, if you don't, accept your limitations and wear clothes that flatter your body.
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I have to interject here...
Low rise, skinny jeans or any kind of jean have always been around they just took up a higher populatiry as of late. The idea behind any of these fits is that it...well FITS. If your plump or shaped in a way that makes these or any kind of fit unattractive on you then you should definitely refrain. The sillouette changes every few years which is the basis for every "new" style. Skinny jeans tied into the popular sillouette (I know I spelled that wrong) that was started with the whole hobo/romper look.
Ok, I'm done. -
I think the vast majority of women in the US do not know how to dress themselves, especially overweight women. They walk around in baggy, shapeless clothing made from the worst materials or on the opposite end of the spectrum, wear clothes that are much too tight.
When I see these women on the street, I just have the urge to take them aside and tell them, "you're a beautiful person but you're hiding under those clothes." Everyone, know matter what size they are, looks better in clothes that fit properly. -
I think the ultra low rise jeans were a trend. I bought a pair once (when I was skinny, and the stores carried nothing but low rise jeans). I promptly threw them away, and started buying men's pants
To answer your question: What makes people follow trends that are inappropriate for their age, build, or weight? I have no idea. To belong? To validate themselves? Because there is nothing else in the stores to buy and thus the fashion is forced on them because they refuse to shop at alternative clothing stores?
You got me -
I honestly don't think 1.) a lot of slaves to fashion would spend much time blogging unless they had a fashion blog
2.) Given the context of the thread, I doubt these fashionistas, if they were lurking, would really want to admit it, since the tone toward it is already so negative. If I had a fashionable bone in my body, I probably would have looked at the discussion and thought, "Forget this, I don't need to be prejudged." -
I think the vast majority of women in the US do not know how to dress themselves, especially overweight women. ... Everyone, know matter what size they are, looks better in clothes that fit properly.
@stillthinking
I couldn't agree more. I cringe when I see women who obviously don't have a clue with regard to how to dress to highlight the best aspects of their body type and how to minimize the less attractive aspects.
I'm repulsed when I see women in "little girl" get up or "sexy teen" outfits that are so obviously age inappropriate and unattractive that one wonders where their heads are at when they look into mirrors.
Everyone can look good provided they have a realistic understanding of what their body type is, and which styles will either enhance or detract from the presentation of their best features. So many I see are "showcasing" their least attractive features, and minimizing their best ones that I also want to counsel them.
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Personally I consider myself to have good taste and and understanding of what looks good. I was a personal shopper and stylist, and still do this sometimes now. It takes a certain eye. People can have every "hot trend" in their closet and still look a hot mess in the streets.
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Are band t-shirts trendy?-
only if you wear them to that band's concert
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Oh hell no - thats a cardinal sin
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I am trendy. Cutting edge! I shop at Goodwill stores. Salvation Army. Wear shirts with ink-stained pockets - and to verify - I color in basic red, yellow, and blue, the word "ART" on my white cap. Smoke by trashy cans on cool streets. Carefully field-strip my butts. I carry freebie newspapers for umbrellas when it rains. Smiley brightly at passing motorists who ignore the gutter-filled pools and spray sheets of water on my legs. Tip my newspaper in salute and do a mini-tap dance. I sketch caricatures of self on napkins with quippy comments to waitresses. (Get great service!) I am a walking Piece of ART.-
Me too! We are both so NOT trendy that we are starting a new trend!
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not at all..
My clothes spell out geek..
my wardrobe consists of Superman/Batman Tees.. XKCD, geek messages.. Beatles.. Led Zepp.. rock band tees you get the drift -
SV...why do you care so much? What difference does it make to you?
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I said it at the top...I am considering writing a blog entry on the subject of trendiness but, not being trendy myself, I'm trying to get some input from people who consider it a "good thing." I don't consider it a good thing and I don't understand it, so I am looking for information from "the other side."
And before anyone prejudges me on this, you should be aware that these little research forays have been known to change my original opinion. I recently did a magazine article about dog strollers: my original intent was to send them up. Instead, I saw the light and am now awaiting delivery of the one my husband ordered for me.
So, I'm looking for the reasons people consider trendy to be a good thing, why they do it, why it is important to them to self-identify this way. Who knows...I may be swept away by their reasoning...
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I don't think I am very trendy at all. But then, I am now in my mid-forties and don't care as much about that kind of thing as I used to.
It used to be extremely important to me to be up on all the latest styles, to have the hottest new fashions, etc.
Thank God those days are over. Life is much better today. More substance--less trend. Works for me! -
Even when I was enthusiastic about clothes, I never went for the stuff everyone else was wearing. I was way into it, just not way in style
Yes, I was the freak. Always. *sigh*. -
Well, I was kind of like that too, Anok--when I was a punk rocker, we HAD to be creative (i.e. thrift stores) because our fashions (what I considered 'in style') wasn't available at Macy's! That's for sure!
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Well that and the price tag part of it too
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Well, yes--there's always that too!
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I'm trendy like it's 1988. Urban chic. No shoulder pads though! I hated shoulder pads...they made women look weird. -
I don't try to be trendy. But when I put on my Members only jacket, rayban sunglasses, and Earth shoes...well, lets just say people notice. -
I'm not trendy. I know how to dress to suit my body type and my skin and hair coloring. I know what colors and which styles enhance my appearance and which ones do nothing for me. I know what quality fabric and stitchery is and I tend to shop in consignment shops and thrift shops. I rarely purchase new items. I have a basic style; I look best in classic well fitted, tailored clothes. I add whimsical and/or unique and/or interesting accessories to it to create my own bohemian look.
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I think that is the best way to dress - in a way that suits your body, your style, your personality AND your budget! I'll never understand why people spend loads of money on single items of clothing that may or may not even look good on them. (Save for some dress or outfit for a special occasion.)
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I don't care one way or the other. If its trendy, its trendy. If it isn't, then it isn't. I don't pay much attention to it. -
I'm not trendy, nor do I go out of my way to not be trendy. However, if a new trend seems excessively stupid to me, I will make fun of it.-
It's a tough job--but someone has to do it!
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TT, that pretty much describes me, except that I buy new. But I buy classic styles that are unlikely to go out of fashion, I seldom buy anything but natural fabrics, and I keep my clothes (like everything else I have) for years. My exception is shoes and bags...I buy expensive shoes for daily wear, and inexpensive ones for dress up...same with bags. But I will happily carry the same bag and wear the same shoes for five years...I don't them to wear out so I buy good ones!
But I stick to classic styles that work for the "apple" figure type and never go anywhere without my earrings and my dot!-
We sound very much the same. The new pieces I do buy are classic, tailored and well fitted garments made from high quality natural fabrics. They are designed for hourglass figures and that's my body type. I also have a shoe and handbag collection that dates back decades. These items cycle in and out of "fashion" so I keep what I have. In addition, I have formal and semi formal gowns that will never go out of style for fancy dress occasions.
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I dress like a scarecrow, and change my clothes about as often. SV-If that's trendy, please let me know.
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It sounds like "not being trendy" is the biggest "trend" of them all. Except for NP.
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Yah, I was thinking that. Maybe I shouldn't have said I considered it to be negative...but I thought all those young'uns who like to put old ladies like me in their places would rise to the bait and defend their trendiness, just to show an old woman where she's soooo out of touch!
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I don't think there are too many "young'uns" around here...at least from my experience.
Everyone seems pretty established to me. -
Well, maybe that's why we aren't getting any of the Trendies here.
Although your definition of young'un and mine may be considerably different...I'm thinking anybody under 35 qualifies... -
I thought you were refering to anyone under 21!
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Anyone younger than my youngest child (who is 36) is a young'un to me!
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Ok SweetViolet I am going to take the bait...I love fashion. I am not a slave to it...I wear what is current, affordable for me and tasteful. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Friends of mine are way into fashion, being buyers, designers and showroom merchandisers etc etc etc, so it's something that I was around so to be trendy to me doesn't have a negative meaning. At the same time I can see where it might be that way for some it kinda walks the same line as being a cheerleader or jock in highschool, of which I was neither but I still liked clothes. -
I think that while I like to take advantage of some trends with staying power (gladiator sandals, leggings, belts at waist, etc) others I've let alone (nerdy glasss, maxi dresses, etc.). It's always best to find out your personal style, because what looks good on one person can look terrible on another. I try to stick to more classic pieces.
www.jenniferbrix.blogspot.com-
Interesting viewpoint...I would identify gladiator sandals and leggings as trendy. In fact, gladiator sandals have already left the stores here, and leggings are giving way to stretchy lace stockings...
So, there is an element of the definition of "trendy" at work here.
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I was thinking about this more - and there may be a valid point that we are all "trendy" in our own way. Although "trendy" is typically used to describe what the stores are pushing, and what those in power and fame are wearing on the runways and red carpets to be emulated in the mainstream....there are numerous genres and sub genres that all adhere to their own version of trendiness, and we all, to some degree, take part in that following.
For example, I have eclectic tastes, however I do find myself dressing both to show my personal taste and interests in particular genres or lifestyles, but also appropriately for whatever function I'm attending. While I might wear a nice dress to a formal social function, I would not wear that to a punk show, and vice versa. Partly due to practicality (no sense in ruining a fancy dress, or wearing heels when boots protect your feet from being stomped on).
On the other hand, it may be a desire to fit in just enough so that you don't "stick out" in a manner that is unflattering to you. However sticking out in a manner that garners you positive attention is often desirable.
So because we all present ourselves in a way that conveys to others our personality, our interests, and our lifestyles, we are subconsiously (sp?) following the trends of the genres we happen to subscribe to, even if only a little bit. And because no one belongs to a genre of one - we are all part of a larger group to some extent, and if we were all gathered together in one spot for each genre, we would all be followingn the current trends of said group to some extent.
Which makes us all trendy. Although perhaps not in the mainstream sort of way.
This could be part of a greater desire to belong and be accepted, and to not be singled out in a negative way for being too different. As humans are social creatures, I would it's a reasonable guess.-
The fact that the behaviour you describe is widespread and considered normal means that it is not, by definition, trendy.
Trendy are those who must be "the first kid on the block" to have the "latest and greatest" without regard to longevity, appropriateness, value, or in the case of clothes, if it objectively looks good or not. I'm seeing trendy as the willingness to buy, have, and in some cases, wear things because they are considered "cool" or "hot" or "hip," and the items are liked primarily for these reasons.
I see a subtle distinction between trendiness, fashion and true style, the latter two having longevity, the last transcending time. Trendy, to me, is a flash in the pan, what we used to call a "fad." The thing I have yet to understand is why some people not only follow trends but consider being trendy something to be proud of, something to aspire to. -
I wasn't implying that the behavior was trendy, but rather that every genre or group has a trend unto itself. It may not be driven by "newest" but it is driven, and there is the drive to have the best/newest/biggest/smallest in the group.
In conservative classic fashion circles, perhaps the quest for the softest sweater, or newest sweater sets or crispest khakis might be the 'trend". And in punk circles, the biggest mohawk, most tattoos, most patches, dirtiest pants will be the trend. In the tech circles, the newest gadgets and phones - always out teching each other. In mommy's circles it might be the latest greatest car seat, the cloth diaper eco-phase, or whatever else there. In hippie circles the floweist skirt, prettiest beads whatever.
We all follow trends and fads in our own circles, even if it's not the latest mainstream fad. -
Your point is well taken, but to me, this describes competition between members of a sub-group rather than true trendiness.
I am after those who self-identify as trendy and who find it important to have/wear/do the latest "thing," regardless of whether or not the thing looks good either objectively or on them.
I want to know why people think this is a good thing, why leaping on the latest fad is "good" in their eyes. When I first moved here, there was a trendy local look of wearing blue jeans under dresses...it just looked stupid. Then these pedal-pusher length jeans with 6" deep cuffs came in...which looked even more stupid and made the women who wore them look squat and like they had short, fat legs. Both "styles" were gone in one season, but I want to know what is in the mind of someone who adopts these things. Can anyone possibly have put on those bucket-bottomed jeans, looked in the mirror and, seeing she looked like a Hobbit, said "Oh, how cute! I'll take them!"? -
On that I have no idea Perhaps it's a need to be socially competitive? Our society is often driven by being "the first" to accomplish something. Be it making it into the Guinness book of world records, or being regarded as the up-to-date cutting edge competitor in your career. (consequences be damned)
Maybe there is a subconcious drive to "show" that by presenting themselves in fashion trends that no one else has yet, or for some people, quickly adopting each new fad as soon as they can so they can "keep up" as a way to compensate for not being cutting edge anywhere else?
I'm totally guessing here
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Once in a while certain trends come out that you know will have no life past that season. So if I happen to like it, I try buying an affordable version. If its something that has a longer lifespan and will make the transition to future seasons, then Im willing to invest a bit more -
I am completely, unequivocally classic. I do find some trends interesting but I do not dabble in them. I have such respect for anyone who tries certain elements I could never go near. Have a great one! -
Now that is a very interesting perspective! I am going to have to think on that! Thank you!
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Well,I'm trendy but not in a materialistic way. I saw this 2cute bathing suit I wanted to get the other day @ penny's. 2cute=80$ so needless to say I didn't get it,but I took a cute t-shirt I bought @ old navy for 6 bux, cut the sleeves off,tied the back into a knot,and v'd the collar,add a pair of cutt offs and u got "down south" bakini -
trendy trend hype ... farty farter fart!! -
I'm the trendiest trender that ever trended -- except when I'm not being trendy which is most of the time. -
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Reported right now
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I am materialistic on some level...though I no longer own a cellphone. I love vinyl records so that makes me old school. but I love being updated with science news and computers...also new music on my own genre.clothes-I develop my style..which is no style at all LOL -
I love trendy stuff, they provide a breath of fresh air, entertainment, fun new ways of using materials and wearing things, a reason to take the piss, etc. Having said that, I spent most of my youth adapting to some, rebelling against others and setting my own style.
I wore mini skirts, hipsters, yellow leather platform boots, tube tops, peasant dresses, hippie skirts, and mary quant haircuts, I loved them then and I love seeing elements of them come back into fashion. Yes some of them were stupid but so what, we were young, we had a laugh and so what if the old folks thought a mini skirt, yellow platform boots and a faux fur jacket were stuuuuuuuuupid.
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