I’ve been a Vogue subscriber for more than a quarter of a century, though you certainly can’t tell it by looking at me. I enjoy the visuals and generally have a pretty good idea what’s in style, but stick to (my idea of) classics – skirts and sweaters, simple dresses, lots of solid-color turtlenecks in the winter and tees in the summer. And flats – I’m another “thanks, I’m tall enough, and life is too short for uncomfortable shoes” type.
This describes me as well.
For example (speaking of ballet flats), a couple of years ago, I noticed that lots of women around here were wearing ballet flats with jeans. I thought it looked cute. I was at the shoe store, and saw some ballet flats that I liked. They were comfy and inexpensive, so I bought them and wore them with jeans, and hopefully I looked cute too.
It’s not that I bought them because they were “trendy.” It’s more that it wouldn’t have occurred to me to wear ballet flats with jeans unless I had seen other people doing so.
I USED to follow trends, slavishly, when I was younger. Now, I wear only what I like, mostly classic styles with a few cheap-o updated pieces; and it also has to be comfortable. I like skirts and dresses, woven (not knit) tops, own 18 pairs of flats (including ballet flats), a dozen cashmere sweaters that I rescued from thrift stores (they have spoiled me for any other kind of sweater), and I own a lot of pretty vintage items that I just like to look at (if not too costume-y I’ll wear them out in public!). I currently like, in cold weather, gray, several shades of blue and green, and winter white; sometimes it’s impossible to find items in my favorite colors. One year I needed a navy blue skirt. I couldn’t find ANYTHING anywhere navy blue. I did find something that looked like a wide headband in H&M :rolleyes: - luckily I can sew and I made a skirt. I don’t like t-shirts and jeans, I look short and blocky in them, and unless they’re stretch jeans, they’re too uncomfortable to wear on a daily basis. I like to look at fashions on TV and in magazines, but there’s not much out there that I just gotta have.
I can barely dress myself without my wife’s help.
When I was a kid, My Mom and I went to a western-style store (cowboy shit, and whatnot), and all I wanted in the WORLD was for her to buy me red jeans and an electric blue and white checked shirt. I looked like the marquee of a porno theater.
Joe
I never followed trends really but when I thought I should dress a little more fashionably I actually found “Lucky” to be quite helpful. You see a lot of stuff and it’s not all haute couture – they actually show inexpensive clothes and accessories you can get at Target, The Gap, etc. Their little sticker tabs for marking items you like are kind of fun.