goldenpig

40 Comments

• Mirp replied 12 years ago

  Remember all trends come back; so if you have the storage keep it :)

  I have and wear things over 5 years old and if I feel great in it I don't get (or notice) comments about the items being dated.

• lyn* replied 12 years ago

  I am starting to own things that are > 5 yr old and I find that most of them, like you commented, are getting dated ... I guess it means we get to have more fun than the boys ;)

• Laura replied 12 years ago

  Yes, agreed! This is why it's good to keep a small-ish wardrobe and update seasonally with some key pieces that ensure your wardrobe is looking fresh.

• Makrame replied 12 years ago

  I actually think that many women are wearing the same styles they were wearing 5-10 years ago. I know quite a few who seem to be wearing more or less a "uniform" that does not really reflect up-to-date fashion.

  On the other hand, I do see some men wear different (more modern-looking) clothes, such as slim-cut jeans and such. I will admit that I dislike the look of highly "fashionable" clothing on men and prefer more somewhat classic cuts of denim or suits.

  I think it is more a question of how many women vs. men actually keep track of current fashion trends. I also have quite a few items in my wardrobe that are five-plus years old - some of these probably look dated but if they fit well, the "dated" aspect does not really make much difference for most people.

• Meredith1953 replied 12 years ago

  I agree with Laura about keeping a wardrobe small and manageable.

  The reality is that the dizzying pace at which women's fashion moves makes it impossible for anyone without the income of Midas to keep up. That is just the way trends work. I personally don't follow fashion forward trends much.

  My budget doesn't allow for it. By the time I adopt a trend (I'm looking at you skinnies) the trend is actually very main stream and has been around for a number of years. I like adopting the newer color palettes but I can do that pretty economically by just adding a current looking scarf or one of two pieces.

  I rarely try to sport super trendy silhouettes. I have a lot of older stuff that I just keep trying to re-mix with a couple of newer pieces to try to make the look more "current".

• Laura replied 12 years ago

  I should say, having a small-ish (compared to some, my wardrobe might be large?) is what works for me. Others like having larger wardrobes and that's what works for them! It can feel hard to keep up but adding some items in new colors/silhouettes and a new pair of shoes can work wonders every season.

• anne replied 12 years ago

  It annoys me too, especially when things I still like go out of fashion!

  I agree that it helps to have a smallish wardrobe. I think a lot about this now - how often will I wear this? how long will it last? Not that things always turn out the way you expect of course, but it is a start.

  I am still wearing a few items from 10+ years ago. They fit me and are flattering. (great ratings from Angie too!) They don't scream their age though I wouldn't look cutting edge. I think with the classic element to your style this could work for you. You can always add new accessories or shoes to keep it looking more current.

• Sarah A replied 12 years ago

  I dont have any answers, but this is a really interesting conversation topic. I am hoping to get more than a few years lout of a lot of my clothes so I am playing up the classic sense of style i feel comfortable with.

• Transcona Shannon replied 12 years ago

  I think that part of the reason women's fashion changes so rapidly is because the retail world knows that's where they make their money - women spend far more than men on fashion and style. Therefore they push changes in style upon women knowing full well we will not want to look outdated and will buy, buy, buy the new stuff we see in magazines, in commercials and in store windows.

  That having been said, I'm full blown loving retro style and am actually buying stuff from the 1960's....hmmmm...what does that say about me?

• Beth Ann replied 12 years ago

  I think Angie often talks about "reworking" a wardrobe, versus "refreshing." It seems to be, Natalie, that you have just moved from a "reworking" phase to a "refreshing" phase. Rotating a few items out every season and replacing them with newer styles while remixing and accessorizing the rest should keep you feeling fresh! I have a very limited budget and a 1,000 sq foot house that has to fit 4 (and dog)! I have to admit however, that I am no minimalist. I like to have choices and variety. I'm focusing on more "mixing" items and fewer stand alone knockout pieces to help my budget and creative temperament both be satisfied.

• ManidipaM replied 12 years ago

  Umm, I sometimes still wear very dated things for the same reason you describe. But while I'm often rather sheepish and apologetic about them, other people actually *don't* seem to remark on it --- especially not if you mix in a couple of newer pieces. That seems to reassure most people that you haven't 'let yourself go' or 'given up on yourself'.

  Of course, it might be easier to achieve this when your clothes don't reference too many extremes, and have close-to-classic cuts. As Meredith suggests, waiting till the trend is mainstream can also help with that --- the 'extreme' is usually filtered out by then.

  Both my high-waisted skirts and my drop-waisted dresses are history, but skirts that actually sit on the natual waist or within an inch of the belly button either way? I still have one at least a decade old.

  I also recently pulled out and let out my green suit jacket from 7 years ago --- collar-less, so no lapel issues; neutral muted moss green, so maybe not up-to-date but not precisely 'last season' either; plain unembellished sleeves and no pockets, so clean silhouette. I'm biased, I'm sure, but I find it works fine for me. If anything, it feels more 'modern' because I no longer have the matching pants (no amount of letting out would help with the waist) and am pairing it with jeans and casual cotton pants!

  More to your point: Yes, I agree the gender divide is (yet again and always) unfair and inconvenient. But isn't it up to *us* to challenge it?

  I for one will not, for economic and ethical reasons, give up on a garment I love that is in good condition and fits well... just because it is 'so last season!'

• replied 12 years ago

  I avoid extremes and manage to keep my wardrobe looking current. However, like ManidipaM, I won't get rid of something just because it's "so last season." That's just plain stupid, IMO.

  Most women get bored with their clothing styles and want a change from time to time. That's okay. What annoys me more is that men can walk into the store and chose the precise inseam length for their pants, as well as the precise neck and sleeve measurements for their shirts. Why can't retailers do that for women--at least for pants?

• replied 12 years ago

  I think once you figure out your own personal style, your wardrobe doesn't turn over as much since you are not as tempted by whatever current trend drifts along. You are able to evaluate a trend and either figure out how it fits with you or let it float on by. Also, if you have figured out your style, you can refine your wardrobe inventory so it would be smaller, not having a little bit of everything.

• Diana replied 12 years ago

  I definitely have and wear pieces that are over five years old. I think I get away with it because I have a very varied wardrobe and an eclectic style so it's easier to remix older things in a more current or fresh way. There are also things that I wait for and snap up when they come back around so I'll have them for the lean years ahead. Right now it's oxfords and granny boots. Florals soon, too.
  The only things I get rd of when they are "out of style" are super trendy pieces that I picked up just to try and that do not suit me anyway.

• mrseccentric replied 12 years ago

  as has been said, i also stick to a smaller wardrobe, and sprinkle in newer pieces a couple/few times a year. Adding current trends helps to update a look (colors, patterns, textures, silhouettes, fabrics). It also helps to have a number of classic items, as they don't date as easily.

  Being able to mix things up will also extend the life of your clothing. If you wear trends straight through as they are shown on mannequins and in ads, you're going to be very tightly tied to a specific time. If you use accessories and single items to 'tip the hat' to trends and keep your focus on wearing only what you like, what contributes to your own personal style, and what flatters your physique you will find that you can keep wearing your clothes, fabulously, for years.

  The trick is to always keep your eye on what works for YOU - adapt the trends to your style, not the other way around. This way you create a unique and timeless look, one less tied to trends and fads.

  Very interesting topic - i'm looking forward to more comments! steph

• rachylou replied 12 years ago

  Hmm. It's true and it's a pain. Probably to do with the fact that women do most of the shopping, so everything is aimed at them.

  Also true that things come around again - so if you can store things, you'll be able to take them out again and be au courant.

  But you know, I feel I've got quite a lot that's old and still fashion forward. This may be, however, because I buy slightly unconventional things... not too off... just very *me* things... and wear them in different ways as time goes on. Maybe you'll find this is true as time goes by too...

• Laurinda replied 12 years ago

  I hear ya GP.

  Much as I enjoy seeing the new fashions, part of me recoils at the push to buy/consume/use more resources because something like a dropped shoulder is declared IN or OUT of style this season.

  I guess that would be an argument in favor of a small wardrobe that gets well used.

• replied 12 years ago

  One thing I've done is quit buying expensive garments that are made to last for decades, as even the classics can look outdated after a while. I still buy well-made garments, but I pay as little as possible (preferably on clearance, but I'm fine if they're just on sale) and am no longer concerned about them lasting more than, say, 5 years or so. I pay as little as possible for trendy items, figuring I'll wear them, enjoy them, and then update my look with something new every couple of years. Lastly, I try not to buy too many clothes, though I know my wardrobe is larger than it could be. At least I'm not filling up more than 1 closet! I routinely cull my wardrobe to get rid of the pieces that I'm sick and tired of or that simply don't work for me. This keeps things manageable and under control.

• Aziraphale replied 12 years ago

  I'm with Laura here. For me a smallish wardrobe works best. That way, clothes get worn (rather than just hanging in my closet and taunting me) and if a beloved item gets worn out, I get to replace it guilt-free -- and by then styles will have changed a bit, so I can update with something that fits the same wardrobe category but is not exactly the same. Does that make sense?

  I'm not knocking large wardrobes though. Some women -- especially ones who enjoy thrifting -- can accumulate a huge amount of fashion, and take great pleasure in mixing and matching new with vintage, trendy with classic, etc. It's almost like a sport!

  Do you feel like fashions are moving so fast you can't keep up? Five years is a long time. You may find by then that some of your current favourites are not as exciting. New things will naturally move in and take their place. For example, I was wearing a sweater dress yesterday which used to be one of my absolute favourites -- I've had it for at least five years -- and while I still like it, I am no longer excited to wear it. It gets worn, but it is now "second string". :-)

• rae replied 12 years ago

  Short answer? Like Shannon, I feel the rapid-cycle fashion mood swings are there to keep us buying. The clothing companies don't stay in business unless they have a steady income, and the way to steady income for them is steady buying from us.

  Long answer...?
  - Women have evolved with much more of a "gatherer" instinct than men - our lizard brains want us constantly browsing for little nibbles that might be useful.

  - Our bodies also change more often (hello, monthly cycle and master cleanse!) and more significantly than male bodies.

  - We are also much more socially trained to be interested in decorating ourselves in a way that sets us apart from other women (possibly another lizard brain, competing-for-quality-mates thing). Since everyone wants to be different, there is more variety in the market. Since there is more variety in the market, there is more margin for error. Since there is more margin for error, we make more purchasing errors and leave ourselves with wardrobe holes...

  Anyway.

  As others have already said, the ideal thing would be to manage the changes and keep them workable. Keep trendy pieces on the cheaper side, and switch those out more often. If the statement pieces look fresh, then the rest of the outfit will feel pulled along, too, because the statement piece draws most of the attention. In other words... it's impossible to redo the entire wardrobe every season, so why try?

• krishnidoux replied 12 years ago

  The expression "So last season" is such a mental prison bar!

• Meredith1953 replied 12 years ago

  I just had to check back in because this is such an interesting thread.
  Eveyrone has such a lot to offer on the subject so I am finding myself re-reading this post and may even copy it and print it. It is THAT important.

  I laughed hard reading Rae's explanation. I have to remember that term "lizard brain"!
  Closet taming is kind of difficult because everyone has a different idea on how much is too much or how little is too little?

  For me, if I can just get it to the point where all regular pieces get loved and worn at least every couple of weeks (combining them in other ways of course) then I wll be really happy! Owning too much is confusing to me. I guess that is why I don't enjoy shopping in large department stores. There is just too much stuff!

• jayne replied 12 years ago

  I so agree with you all who mention the retailers reinventing the wheel to sell. Like them changing colors from one spectrum to a totally new one which leaves the last season purchases as orphans, or, my personal theory, the lack of dresses with sleeves...a great excuse to push cardigans and jackets, etc etc.

  They have studied us (so on RAE) and found how we tick and use every trick to keep those pocket books open...and what really is sad,,,,it is not the MEN who think our clothes are out of style or out of fashion, it is the women who give the look that sends us shopping for something new. We are our own enemy!

• Meredith1953 replied 12 years ago

  @Jayne,
  In the immortal words of Pogo "we have met the enemy and the enemy is us". You are sooo right. Most men could care less whether our clothing is in style or not.

• krishnidoux replied 12 years ago

  Jayne, what an eye opener. So true. So sad indeed.

• RoseandJoan replied 12 years ago

  I think it is important to remember this is a game that we choose to play. You can opt out. You can choose to SYC/ SYB. But I play the game because it is inspiring and fun. I am not a puppet dancing for an industry pulling my strings.

• Sveta replied 12 years ago

  Why does technology need to change so frequently that men want new electronic toys every year even if the old ones function just fine? Fashion to women is what tech toys for men and businesses exploit this passion / obsession big time.
  I don't want to replace my whole wardrobe every 5 years but I definitely want to refresh it with every season so it feels fresh to me. Sometimes you do not need to buy anything, it may be enough to combine your existing items in different fresh "trendy" ways. I also want to follow a strategy to add 3 new current pieces each season so I can create new looks without adding too much stuff once my "holes" for more classic itms are filled.

• Mo replied 12 years ago

  I agree that this is a buying scheme for profit, but also women do express themselves through clothing much more than the average man.
  The idea of honing in on your own style and making trends work within that construct is what I've decided will work for me. I used to just buy what I liked when I saw it. The end. No plans to integrate it, no defined style to decide if it follows those guidelines.
  YLF has helped me tremendously in wardrobe management. Heck, I didn't even know what that was, let alone have a plan for it, a few years ago. Now I have it figured out that if I replace roughly 'x' number of pieces each season in each category, and purge as I go, my wardrobe will turn over slowly, but completely in 'x' number of years. I will remain current without a huge overhaul every few years. So I may still have a 7 year old shirt, but I will also have 3 brand new 'of the moment' shirts at the same time :)

• christieanne replied 12 years ago

  The world is changing faster than ever and never before have we been bombarded with so many choices, images, options and directions to follow.
  5 years seems so long yet I know I have some things that old or older (not counting intentionally purchased vintage). I also just purged a ton of 5+ yr old items as they no longer suit my lifestyle.

  Just think about all the blogs you might follow or read occasionally (how many bookmarks do you have?). Ads from retailers, lookbooks, magazines, even YLF. Choices everywhere!
  It's a good thing in many ways but the danger is our constant quest for fresh, for more visual excitement, for new-ness. Too many choices have been shown to be overwhelming and exhausting - it's not you Meredith!

  Fashion is fickle. It's always all about the new when it comes to retailers - that is their job :)
  As a discerning consumer and wearer of your closet, it's like you have to be your own editor. Every so often to pull everything out (like MaryK did this month) and edit out the old/ill fitting/ill suited/ etc. before the accumulation becomes overwhelming.
  If you are then mixing in a few new with the "old" on a consistent basis, it should become a more natural process.

• annagybe replied 12 years ago

  What Sveta said, especially as compared to electronics.

• replied 12 years ago

  Man's fashions changes too, but fewer man follow. The business suit, a straight skirt, a button down, a blazer isn't that much changed from 5 years ago. But the fun things do.
  But some items are bit more versatile if well loved. I have 4 dresses and a couple of skirts from 3 /4 years ago that I still love and wear. A sheath, two shirt-dresses( black and orangey corral), a sun dress, a black pencil skirt and a pleated mini. Yeah, since then I bought a couple of flares, some tapered pencils, a zippered LBD. But I COULD have limited myself. I admit, I had moments where they were second fiddle, but now I re-discovered my love for them. Maybe my extensive clothes audit ( I have a spreadsheet with ALL my dresses, pants, jeans, shorts, skirts, tops, button-downs , outerwear and jackets, and shoes) has nudged me in using and remixing more.

• goldenpig replied 12 years ago

  Such great insights in this thread! I love it! We need to figure out a way to get off this crazy fashion carousel without automatically getting a one-way ticket to Frumpsville! Rae, you crack me up with the "lizard brain." That explains a lot! And Jayne, I agree, women dress for other women not for men! I think in general (not talking about our DH's specifically!) men care more about how women look (face, figure, weight) and not so much how they are dressed. Men usually don't remember what other women are wearing (unless they are dressed up to look either sexy or man-repelling!) whereas women often describe each other by what clothes they had on.

  And OMG Sveta, you hit the nail on the head!!! DH is always talking about how the latest SLR or dive camera housing or dive camera light has the latest X Y or Z feature that his current equipment doesn't have and is brighter, better resolution, blah blah blah. He's always keeping tabs on what's new and each time something new comes out he's a little less happy with his current version and has the itch to upgrade. And I'm thinking, "Why does it matter? The one you have works fine!" I guess that's how he feels about me and fashion! Lightbulb moment!

• rachylou replied 12 years ago

  Actually, you know, I feel fashion has kinda been in the doldrums since the turn of the millennium. People tweak little things, but overall I feel we've been looking at the same stuff for over 20 years. You could argue 60 years if you include all the retro revival borrowing, but I won't. Anyways, I don't think we've had a fashion spirit since grunge.

• rae replied 12 years ago

  Good point, Rachylou! Has the Fashion Machine found out that they can change something as small as a lapel style and have us all scrambling to replace all our clothes?

  Sigh, I do miss the spirit of grunge - the clothes as well as the music. Is it me, or do kids these days not know how to rebel? ;)

  ETA: For more on the lizard brain (not just comedy!):
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizard_brain

• taylor replied 12 years ago

  I am old enough to have seen most trends come around at least 2 x if not 3 x.

  I have also wear the same size... so I have either worn them to death at some point or passed on them before....nothing new to me out there so I am not compelled to embrace and sport every new trend because I missed out at some point...they just aren't new to me.
  I figure this pattern mixing and bright floral scene will be short lived, seen it before and mildly participated 20 yrs. ago...I am so over it :)

  But I get the enthusiasm if some trend is new to someone and they are enjoying it for the first time..

• Elly replied 12 years ago

  IDK-- in one way it is a blessing. I think unless you are shopping brands that really cater to women that want to buy the same thing for 30 years at a time, it is hard to buy pieces that look OL. Men tend to make the same fashion mistakes over and over again because they think they can get away with wearing the same clothes (whether they buy a ton at one point in time and never stop wearing them, or they buy the same styles in the same sizes) in the same sizes for 30 years. I think the only men that can get away with the never changing their style and buying the same clothes are those that have the same bodies they did as young men, had impeccable taste for classics without any risks or on the other hand were very into the avant-garte, and have always had an eye for a very tailored fit. Even then there comes a time when the leather jacket just looks dated.

  So, at least women who chose not to opt out of fashion by not buying retail have less chance of looking dated.

• Fruitful replied 12 years ago

  I agree with the points made about fashion change as marketing strategy.

  Personally I have always been pretty unfashionable. As a child it was forced on me, as an adult it's my true inclination. I still get new things and purge old things but for a lot of reasons other than whether they are current or not.

• christieanne replied 12 years ago

  Rae - kids today think they are rebeling! But in my eye they are recycling the 80's (way to make me feel old) and thinking they invented it. Grunge was a combo of recycled 60's and 50's (the plaid shirts - total fifties - I stole tons from my dad's closet) so nothing is ever really new.
  Besides, kids are born practically knowing how to program computers and do things with technology that my generation will never do.

  I just had this conversation yesterday with my mom (72 and aunt - 84) and we were really shaking our heads. All of my grandparents were born near turn of last century - they must have been blown away by all the changes in societal norms, technology, culture and even fashion.

• harryom87 replied 11 years ago

  Actually! this is true, women was very beautiful. So she is want any time change the dresses.

• Greek Goddess replied 11 years ago

  This is an interesting subject to me. I don't usually follow fashions when I buy although I look at what is coming out in the shops for the next season. I have lots of classic clothes in my wardrobe and I just add unusual items to make them look different. I get rid of any clothes that are worn, damaged or just not ''me'' any more at the end and start of each season. I buy lots of clothes when they are on sale, usually out of season and I also buy vintage clothes and accessories. I go for an unusual look to outfits and do not follow trends.