Let’s pull back the fashion veil if you will and look at trends with a fresh pair of eyes. As the times have changed and consumers are becoming more conscious about their purchases, they are succumbing less and less to the trend cycle. Is it possible that we can release ourselves of its grips altogether?
Absolutely, yes! The truth about trends is that you absolutely don’t have to buy into them! But that doesn’t mean you have to disregard them if you find them exciting. Styling with trends can be fun, playful, help you feel inspired, and offer you new ways to express yourself—but on your terms!
That’s what really shines through for me when I speak to what is on trend. This idea reminds me of one of the sections in my book, You are the Style! An Every Girls’ Guide to Getting Dressed, Building Confidence and Shining from the Inside Out. It is perfectly titled, “Lead with what electrifies you”. If we shopped and styled with that mantra in mind, we would give ourselves freedom to shop trends that inspired us, while never staying on the hamster wheel of fashion.
Prepare yourself & your closet for changing seasons
The change of seasons—with changes in weather, not to mention new trends—tends to feel overwhelming when we look at our closets. We want new fall items but can feel bogged down by the sheer amount of pieces already in our closet, especially the ones we aren’t even wearing or worse yet, the ones that don’t fit anymore. Our auto solution would be to buy new clothes adding to the closet overwhelm in the long run. So before you shop let’s do an easy and intentional clean out to set the stage for a closet that inspires you to get dressed and feel good.
First, it’s important to assess your clothes to make sure they still work for you—and make you feel your best. To do that, answer these questions when reviewing your closet:
- Do you love it?
- Does it fit?
- Is it in good condition?
- Do you feel AMAZING in it?
For an item to stay in your closet, you must answer YES to all of these. Especially the last one. You want clothes that make you feel amazing!
Next, look to fashion trends to help you get creative with what you already own. You can reinvent what you already have by styling them in a fun new way. Try tucking a shirt in, layering it, or adding a belt for extra flair. Sometimes it’s the smallest of details that can really make a big impact in the overall image of your look. Especially when it comes to incorporating the trends in. So many trends come back every season which can make styling in a trend forward way easy and instantly seasonal.
Set up your style for success
Once you’ve gotten rid of what no longer serves you, I recommend putting what you’ve kept and those seasonal pieces front and center in your closet. That way you can always pick right from them instead of digging for them and forgetting you even own them.
This is one of the leading causes of style paralysis! When you can’t see or find what you own, it becomes impossible to get dressed to feel your best. When your clothes are right there for you to see, acknowledge and pull from—not only does it encourage you to make more conscious choices, but it also gives you more opportunities to wear the clothes you love instead of saving them for an occasion.
Before you organize your clothes back into your closet, start putting ideas together, mixing and matching tops and bottoms, jackets and dresses, leggings and sweaters. Whatever combination that is for you, play with colors, textures and get familiar with some or the cool things you can do with your wardrobe. That means looking to trends for inspiration, style icons, or just being creative on your own and seeing what you come up with. That’s my personal favorite.
You can then organize your pieces within that front section of your closet. Whether you like to style in color order, color and item, in outfits, or separated by fashion vs. basics, you have permission to organize your closet in any way that not only makes sense for you, but also makes it easy to see and grab your clothes. Most importantly however you put your closet together it should make you feel happy.
Working with timeless trends
One of my favorite observations after my years as a fashion designer, personal stylist, and style forecaster for a mall, is I have literally seen every single trend there is to think of—and there are some trends that no matter what year always make an appearance one way or another in fashion.
As Fall is just around the corner everything from plaid to tweed, velvet, lace and animal prints, jewel tones, metallics, pearls, faux fur and fringe are showing up—from the runways to the real way. From catwalk to sidewalk you can always have faith that these trends never go out of style. I call them the “timeless trends”, and they are your first step to making the most of your current wardrobe as you transition to fall—without having to purchase all new clothes. Because there are so many and they always come back every season, you most likely have them in your closet!
Reusing old items in a new way is a styling technique that can benefit everyone! It’s not just helpful for you to help you feel inspired, it’s sustainable as it creates less waste. It’s also helpful for your wallet! Then you can use your shopping budget for a fresh pair of boots or a cool new coat instead.
When it comes to shopping for new pieces you can now be more informed and more conscious about what you choose. Whether it’s a more fashion forward trend or something that comes back again and again—if you love it, it will always be in style. I recommend choosing one or two new trends to pepper into your existing wardrobe each season. Not because you are “buying into it” but because it’s fun! Plus when you limit it to one or two, you spend a fortune trying to completely overhaul for the season.
Do we have to follow trends?
With all that said, I’m going to let you in on a stylist’s secret about seasonal trends: If you are cozy and layered up and you feel fabulous in it, then you have a winner. Why accept anything else for your style? You don’t have to follow trends unless they work for you.
In my 20 years in the fashion industry there is one thing that always rings true: What goes around comes around again. Trends cycle moves quickly—which is great news because you most likely own a currently trendy item or two already in your wardrobe. You can be trendy without even trying.
Trends may move fast but what remains constant is YOU. If trends aren’t your thing, you don’t have to wear them. Wear what makes you feel like you. If you love trends, have fun with them! No matter how you style, live out loud because that style from within will always shine when you wear what you love.
Confidence is always on trend!
