How to Spot a Fad
Or perhaps more correctly titled One Way to Spot a Fad. Please leave a comment and share your method. Here’s mine:
When you see a look that contains an inherent contradiction, it will probably turn out to be a fad.
At the very least, it will project a somewhat dramatic look. For example a sleeveless turtleneck sweater, a 3/4-sleeve coat, stilettos with jeans; all contain an inherent contradiction. Which explains why the modern Bermuda suit is so much more wearable than yesterday’s (corduroy or whatever) “city shorts”.
When to wear it anyway:
- When your personal idiom is high drama. Either your style personality is glamorous or trend-setting, or you work in a high-fashion arena.
- When the look just matches you, for some unique reason. Like my pink-striped flip-flop necklace. Casual, and with a hint of a joke, the color and pattern on it are just right for me.
- When you can be certain you are going to wear it so much while the look is hot that you achieve your cost per wear before it cools off.
So, only one question remains: How do you spot when the fad is expired?
Related Posts:
Real Fashion for Real People! Tessa’s Business Look
The ever-frugal Tessa featured this inspirational quote on the email she sent in:
The philosopher Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, “If you would learn to be subservient to the king, you would not have to live on lentils.”
Said Diogenes, “Learn to live on lentils, and you will not have to be subservient to the king.”
–The Song of the Bird, by Anthony de Mello
Tessa makes her sartorial “lentils” look pretty tasty!
Quiz Style: Glamorous
Personal Style Idiom: Classic with a bit of trend thrown in.
Lifestyle segment: Business
Top: J.C. Penney, $4
Skirt: Vintage at thrift store, $2
Belt: Red croc print from J.C. Penney, $2
Shoes: Red patent slingbacks from Shoe Carnival, ~$28 (but I had a gift card, so they were free!)
Handbag: Vintage from a flea market, $6
(I just have to say, that’s an inspiring use of red.)
This week of Real Fashion for Real People has been such fun. When shall we do it again?
Related Posts:
Real Fashion for Real People! Jody’s Evening Out
“This is the same top/jeans that I wore in the “Is Black Slimming” post you did awhile back. My hubby and I were just going out on a date, but he wanted to stop and take some pictures of our hayfield on the way. He asked if I’d get in a picture or two. ~Jody
I’m a classic contemporary with a twist of romantic.
Casual Wear (we were going out for a supper date)
Knit Top: JC Penney’s on sale for $17
Dark wash Jeans: Boot-cut style at GAP for $50 (I wear them for a couple years)
Sandals: Joseph Siebel for $100 (I have feet that need good shoes, which
last me, but I saw the same sandal style at Walmart for about $20 by Dr.
Scholl’s)”
Thank you, both to Jody for participating and to Jody’s husband for taking her out and taking the picture!
Related Posts:
Real Fashion for Real People! Fabulously Broke Wears the Shirt Dress
Fabulously Broke in the City submitted this great shirtdress look:
Personal style idiom: Classic modern feminine with subtle twists to give it some individuality, with a hint of rocker chick at times
Lifestyle segment: Social (although I would have long loose hair instead of having it up)
Dress: It’s a teal button-up shirtdress from H&M for $29.50. Wish I had bought a size or two larger, because I forgot to account for sitting down and not realizing the buttons would be popping open so easily! 
(Don’t worry, I use safety pins)
Necklace: Aldo I think, and was definitely under $15. It’s a bunch of chains strung together and held by a single circle. I like the “toughness” of it, while still being feminine.
Pin: This is to hold the waist-tie together so it adds something to the outfit, and ties in the necklace, and also so the tie doesn’t come undone. It came in a set of 4 other pins (fleur-de-lis, English lion and an English coat of arms from Aldo for $10.
Boots: Nine West, last summer, I think they were on sale for $79.99. I’ve used them many many many times with many different outfits, and are worth every penny, especially since I take them in for regular repairs to keep them going.
Thanks for playing, FB!
Related Posts:
Teen Style Tuesday: Can an Older Teen Dress Too Young?
Polia left this nice comment on my Family Camp post:
I like your daughter’s daring mix of prints, although I would never, ever guess that she was nearly 18 based on that outfit. Do you think it’s possible to dress too young when you are in your late teens? Or does anything go, as long as it is suitably modest?
My answer:
Overall, I think most “rules” are specific to the individual idiom, or at least to the style personality. Meaning that, while this outfit might look young on most people, certain individuals could wear it even in their old age and look perfectly normal. Because it suits their idiom.
The only rules I think are generally applicable to everyone are: face as focal point, feeling like yourself in your clothes, being able to move and function and, of course, modesty.
But that all doesn’t really answer your question. I’d love to hear from others on it.
Your thoughts?
Later, as my hero and I were out for the evening stroll, I asked him the random question,
“what do you think of the faux hawk?”
To which he answered, after first ascertaining that I indeed meant the hairstyle emulating a mohawk without shaving the head,
“it’s fine, if you’re nine”
Although most of the pictures I found online don’t look bad, in person almost everyone who wears it does (look bad, that is). Why is it that so many guy trends are basically unattractive? Sagging, for instance.
When I related the above conversation to my daughter (the tie-dye one), she shot back positively,
“nine year old boys don’t have hairstyles”
To which I replied,
“of course they do, their moms do them”
Which she thought was about the most pathetic thing ever!
So here’s another question: at what age should a young person have responsibility for their own hairstyle? Feel free to comment on the faux hawk as well. 
Related Posts:
Real Fashion for Real People! Icy’s Formal Work Outfit
One of the things I love about blogging is getting a more global point of view. Like remembering that, just because it’s 100 degrees here, doesn’t mean that’s the case everywhere. Elsewhere, like Australia where Icy is, it’s winter.
(BTW, did you know that in Australia the best coffee is made with a plunger?!?!?)
On to Icy’s Real Fashion for Real People entry:
Personal Style: Somewhere between Alternative and Contemporary.
Lifestyle: Work formal (what I call “business”).
What follows is Icy’s description of each piece. On her own blog, she posted a few additional thoughts about the way the pieces go together.
Bottom: My best black high-waisted pants from Cue.
Top: Maroon and black striped shirt from Ojay, black vest from Target, maroon tie from Rivers.
Shoes: Black cowperson boots made somewhere in Georgia (the Baltic state rather than the United one). cowperson? lol
Thanks so much to Icy for participating! You’re too clever!
Related Posts:
Saturday Sale July 14th!
Today, July 14th, is the July Shoes.com Saturday Sale! Save up to 60%!
Also, shoes.com announces the addition of the Carlos Santana Shoes website, powered by shoes.com:
Happy Shopping!
Related Posts:
The First Ever Carnival of Modesty
Welcome to the first ever edition of The Carnival of Modesty!
Modest Resources
Annette Berlin presents How to Tie a Head Scarf posted at Crafter’s Journey, saying,
“A headscarf is the easiest type of hat to make. Just hem a rectangular or triangular piece of fabric and you are finished. Here are some fun ways to wear your new fashion accessory.“
Deborah asked if it was alright to submit something by someone else (which it is) saying,
“Can you submit something that belongs to someone else? I came across this collection of blog goodies last night, all having to do with modesty and new trends toward modesty.“
The collection: A Tremor of Modesty and Restraint; posted at I Speak of Dreams. Deborah also gave me a great tip, setting up a google alert for the topic of modesty; as well as her own submission: Moms for Modesty Link and Libby Lou posted at One Beggar’s Bread.
My Story
Sherri Wilkerson presents Cover me, I’m goin’ in… , a funny story that shows that her children “get” what modesty is all about, at a suburban housewife.
Mary at Home-Steeped Hope shares her journey to modesty–from pastor’s kid to newlywed to a mother of three daughters in The Church’s Influence on Modesty and her thought about the first woman to ever inspire her to modesty in Modesty and the Older Woman, and how it’s made her feel responsible to carry on in her tradition.
What is Modest
The next two articles are from Your Sacred Calling:
- Can Pants be Considered Modest?
- Walking Billboards (She saw a girl and her mom in the store– what does their clothing say about them?)
Our carnival’s organizer, MInTheGap, presents Hey, Check Me Out!, part 2 of his modesty series, wondering,
“Is dressing for attention modest?”
More great entries:
ENFORCED MODESTY posted at Word Around the Net: The effect of immodesty is that it desensitizes men to their spouses’ body– says Naomi Wolf.
Who Defines Feminine Modesty?is a great question by Mollie at true womanhood in the new millennium. With 95 responses.
Why dress modestly? Part 1 posted at Unfurling Flower, is part of a great series talking about Why Dress Modestly.
Two entries from the lovely Anna at Veiled Glory:
- Cosmetics- Modest or Immodest?, submitted by MIn, and
- Culture, Clothing, and Modesty, in which she tries to answer the question regarding the cultural relativity of modesty and how that applies to our Western culture.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of modesty:
Technorati tags:
carnival of modesty, blog carnival.
Related Posts:
Downsize and Declutter
Tricia at bits and bobbins has published a three-part less is more, downsize and declutter your wardrobe project:
- part 1: getting ready
- part 2: the sorting process
- part 3: maintaining the less is more!
At the risk of being mocked out of town, oh wait! - I was going out of town anyway, I find myself thinking perhaps my dream of having each hanger in my closet labeled is not so far-fetched after all.
My dream: having a specific spot for each item labeled by lifestyle segment and part of wardrobe. Empty hangers become my shopping list.
Related Posts:
Susan in Paris
At the recommendation of Charity Grace, I went to JCPenney to hit up their clearance racks today. The only thing I found was inspiration. (Inspiration - YAY!) I walked in, took one look around, and thought, “these colors would be perfect for Susan’s trip to Paris.” I grabbed a cinnabon for lunch and scampered home to scour the affiliate pictures.
Minus the heels, this picture from Bodenusa.com is a good start. While the dress has a nice classic style, and the white pants and sweater also form an appropriate ensemble, what I’m really recommending is the color scheme:
warm browns, from cream to khaki to chocolate
in combination with
warm blues, from robin’s egg blue to aqua to teal, and maybe even a cyan navy
You see, while black is possibly good advice for most, on that topic Susan and I agree: it’s not for everybody. And it’s not much for us.
The pieces:
- a classic style dress would be nice, like the one pictured or a shirtdress or whatever you like, print or solid.
- I would probably take two pairs of what Angie calls 8 hour shoes, at least one of them a full shoe as opposed to a sandal, not athletic shoes.
- although it doesn’t rain much at all in September in Paris, the trench seems a sensible coat option. Scarves and umbrellas are a personal thing (I would take neither).
In addition to the above, choose casual separates for mix and match and you can get away with packing just a few things.
The classic casual uniform template:
- skirt or trousers or dressy bermudas or nice-fitting, dark-wash jeans
- knit tops
- layering pieces, including some that can be doubled up (like a sweater worn under a blazer)
Everything pictured here is from Boden, a UK company, and also on sale.
