Thursday 7 January 2016

Why I've fallen out of fashion

It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment when I fell in love with fashion, but there is always one moment which sticks in my mind. I was about ten years old and my mum told me that leggings or footless tights were in fashion. Looking back I realise how ahead of the curve she was as it was not until a good year or so later that leggings and footless tights actually became popular. She was really on to something there, now it’s virtually impossible to find a clothes shop on the high street that doesn't sell leggings. Anyway back then- roughly ten years ago- they were virtually non-existent. I looked everywhere, desperate to find a pair and stay ahead of the trends. I finally found a pair that somewhat resembled what I was looking for in Topshop. I say somewhat resembled because they didn't sell leggings on a hanger back then, instead they were packaged like a pair of tights. Nonetheless I bought them, and with Topshop being an adult clothes shop and me being only ten years old, they were way too big for me. However, I made do with yanking up the waist band every five seconds all in an effort to look 'fashionable' and 'trendy'.

Since then I have loved fashion but there have always been trends that I have disliked and decided not to follow. Ponchos and UGG boots spring to mind! Ponchos really were a thing about eight years ago and I'm so glad I never got into those, they really are hideous. UGG boots on the other hand, I severely disliked for a long time, but it was through peer pressure that I eventually bought a pair (not a real pair mind). I'm glad I only bought a pair of cheap high street knock-offs as I only wore them for a few weeks and now all traces of that trend have vanished, never to be seen again- hopefully!

However, these days I find that there are more trends I dislike compared to trends I like- which explains the title of this post. It really makes me wonder what is going on in the fashion industry. Will it get itself back on track and start coming up with trends I like again- or have I fallen off the fashion radar for good? When I go shopping today there are a great number of things I see that I don't like. Firstly, crop tops. I ask the question, how many people in this country can genuinely get away with wearing one of these? With the obesity epidemic on the rise my guess would be not many. So why then is the high street full of shops selling them? I'm not overweight but I know I can't wear a crop top- I just want a top that is of 'normal' length. At this rate, midriff-bearing will become the new 'normal' length. Another trend I hate at the moment is this whole 70's revival thing the shops have got going on. It really frustrates me when I'm in a shop and I catch a glimpse of what looks like a nice top, only to find when I walk over to it that it's got a lace up neckline! What is that about? And it's not just necklines, I've seen tops with lace up sides and sleeves, it just ruins a perfectly good top. I also dislike flared jeans, suede skirts and those fur gilets, they're all just horrific 70's throwbacks.


I've decided these days that my personal style does not always fit in with the latest trends. Yet there is one trend that I welcome with open arms- and that is athleisure wear. I'm not sure if that's the official name for it but that's what I'm going to call it. For those who don't know, athleisure wear can be described as clothing that Instragrammers would call #Fitspo (which I believe is short for 'fitness inspiration', if it's not then I'm going to feel pretty stupid when someone corrects me on it!) Basically clothing that one might wear to the gym or to go for a run or for a yoga class. The high street is going crazy for this trend with all the well-known retailers bringing out their own line of athleisure wear. I love this trend from the cute strappy sports bras to printed running shorts and colourful waistbands on sports leggings. I really wish I did more fitness activities so I could justify buying more of it. I think that fitness gear just has something which regular clothes are lacking, that 'je ne sais quoi' as the French would say. So at a time when I feel deep despair for the fashion industry, athleisure wear will fill that fashion shaped hole in my heart (and wardrobe) until it gets back in shape.