Repeating Outfits -- The New Trend?!

Recently I encountered two separate articles with the same theme: repeating outfits.

The first, from the Telegraph.co.uk is titled Vogue Editor Anna Wintour Wears Same Dress Three Times by Anita Singh. From the article: "It is unthinkable that she would make a fashion faux pas. So when Vogue editor Anna Wintour made her third appearance wearing the same dress in the space of a fortnight, observers could only conclude she was making a style statement."

But the fun doesn't end there. More recently, Derek Blasberg posted at Style.com a little gem titled Hallelujah: It's OK to Wear Things Twice. This fun little piece mentions that Emanuelle Alt, the Paris Vogue stylist was caught wearing the same pair of pants in one week. Quelle Horreur! And then she was seen wearing not only the same pair of shoes in one week, but the exact same pair of shoes that Carine Roitfeld was wearing at the same time! Non!

The somewhat tongue-in-cheek message behind both these articles is that if the big names in fashion are now recycling their outfits, it must mean that it's now trendy to do so. Repeating your outfit has now been officially sanctioned from on high. Yay!

When I read articles like these, my first reaction is to be ever so thankful that I'm not in the spotlight so much as to have every detail of my daily wardrobe documented and criticized. Jiminy Crickets! It's enough to make me want to become a hermit and live on a desert island.

But then I also muse on the sheer ridiculousness of the whole idea of never repeating an outfit. Since when is it not ok to wear an outfit more than once? I get it that these women in question are in the public eye constantly, in a way that few people ever have to deal with, and in an industry that absolutely requires a near-perfect designer wardrobe. Perhaps they are an exception. But even so, what gives us the right to criticize them for opening showing affection for an outfit by wearing it a few times? And why must we conform to their industry standard by editing what we wear in the same way?

And just for a moment, think about men. Are men looked down on as fashion imbeciles for daring to wear a suit more than once? I think not.

The clothing that you wear defines you and helps create your personal brand. While you wouldn't want to wear the same thing day in and day out, I can't think of any reason why wearing clothing that you love and looks great on you over and over again is anything akin to a crime. In fact, I would say that it is a real fashion coup to have built for yourself a wardrobe that you can wear repeatedly and still look amazing every day. This is the ideal... Not wasting time and money and effort worrying about whether or not it's ok to be seen in the same sweater more than once.

Just remember -- no one thinks about you as much or as often as as you think about yourself. And if they do, they are the one with the problem, not you!

Just my 2 cents.

See you next time...same blog time...same blog channel....

(For more information on wardrobe planning, or to sign up for my e-zine, you can visit my website, www.JenniferSkinnerOnline.com)

Trend-Spotting

The newest article up at my website, titled Fashion Trends for Fall 2008 highlights the design trends that I forecast will appear in clothing lines this coming Fall/Winter season. These predictions are based in part on what appeared in fashion shows earlier this year, and also on some sneak peeks into several clothing lines' designs that are all ready to launch when fall clothing hits the stores.

Now you're probably scratching your head in wonderment, especially if you read my blog post Fashion Versus Style up at Wardrobe Planning for Anyone. It was there that I mentioned that I think the hoopla surrounding fashion shows and trend forecasting is rather ridiculous. And I hold to that opinion!

So why am I making predictions of my own?

After ready-to-wear hits the runways, mass-market design teams begin to interpret these new designs and implement them into upcoming seasons' clothing lines. Each brand label interprets the ready-to-wear designs a little differently, which is why there can be such variation amongst styles from label to label. These interpretations are the styles that you will see manifested in the stores that you shop in.

However, just because a style hits the stores, does not mean that it will catch on. Even though the mass-market designers are fairly skilled at disecting prêt-à-porter and figuring out which way the fashion wind will blow, it is anybody's guess which styles will stick and which will not. There is a difference between predicting which styles will manifest in stores and which styles will become truly popular trends. Certainly, the designers would like you to think that simply because they've designed it, it will be popular. But we all know that some things just never catch on, while other things (crocs, anyone?) defy explanation.

I don't think anyone can say with perfect accuracy what people will choose to wear until the trends actually hit the streets. And if you are a trendsetter, you don't need anyone to predict for you: you make your own predictions. So I eschew all of the predictions that attempt to give the "top ten must-haves" for the season before the season is really underway. These lists are, more likely than not, marketing ploys for lemmings.

However, I think it can be quite valuable to have a general sense of what trends the mass-market collections will showcase. If you know the styles, colors, and fabrics you will probably encounter when shopping, you can be better prepared when drawing up your wardrobe plan for the next season.

And that is why I like to offer my clients my forecast of what they can expect to see in stores in the upcoming season.