I’ll be on your side forever more… That’s what Trends are for- A sixth sense of style

Those who know me, really know me, know that it’s not every day that I walk around giving myself props. In fact, it never happens. Those who don’t know me as well seem to sometimes comment that I seem confident. But I’m not. And I’m not one to “TOOT my own horn”, so to speak, but as my friend would say, “Toot, Toot”. The exception is one small category: Trends. I don’t necessarily think I really excel at any one thing, but when it comes to trends, I have (or seem to think I have) an eye for spotting things before they hit big. Now, I can’t always take Full credit. Many times I admit it was probably due to something I saw, or heard in a flash, or on a page, so I can’t say I “created” or started it, but I can say that I caught on to it predominantly earlier then others. Before you go rolling your eyes, or to those reading who know me, sighing, there she goes again, I have evidence.

Exhibit #1: Around 5 or 6 years ago, I became obsessed with white sunglasses. I needed a pair ASAP, as is usually the case the second I realize I want something. I know this will be hard to remember now, but back then, this was IMPOSSIBLE to find. Nowhere to be found from any store in Nyc. Finally, after scouring, I found a pair of Coach,white sunglasses at Macys for $130.00 and purchased them, immediately wearing them for everyone to see. ‘So, what do you think, ??!” My first reaction was, those look terrible, followed by who wears white  sunglasses and then, you should return those, seriously….. Back then, I actually cared what people thought, and wound up taking my beloved sunglasses back to Macys. A year or 2 later, you could not walk into any store, high end, or forever 21,without finding a pair of white sunglasses… Now, I finally have my own pair that I scooped for about $5.

Exhibit #2: Three years ago, I walked into a vintage store in NYC, called Reminiscence. This used to be a gigantic space off of 14^th and 5^th ave that I used to frequent after school. Now it’s a small store on 23^rd and 6^th. But I still love it, and I probably go about once a month, to see what’s new, (even though they re-stock weekly), and have gotten some amazing finds from there. I have been wearing ties and suspenders for years. Chalk it up to my love for Annie Hall. Many times this was looked at as silly, even though I wasn’t the only one doing it. Now, the menswear movement is so larger then life, it’s spanned not one, two, but now with FALL ‘11, 3 seasons, and shows no sign of slowing.  But a few years back, when I walked into the store, I spotted something new that I wanted. A small,pink bow tie for $3. I bought it right away, threw it on a long silver chain, and started wearing it as a necklace. A few months later, I went back and bought a bigger black one. I wore it with a white tuxedo style halter top and black skinny pants. I absolutely loved the look. Once again, what proved stylish in my eyes did not bode well with the “public”. From, umm nice bowtie, to, are you serving tables tonight, will you be my waiter? But I carried on, and continued pushing my look. Ironically, later when it hit the masses and I was forced to remind everyone who was wearing bow ties and getting made fun of in earlier times, I was still subject to many an eye roll. There she goes again….. But last summer Drew Barrymore was spotted wearing a bowtie with a white shirt, and then slowly, and then quickly, Bow ties were… everywhere, and the sexy menswear look wasn’t one girl getting made fun of, but a huge mass trend. How can I call it a mass trend? Because American Apparel is currently selling bow ties for over $30, and you definitely don’t need to go to a vintage store to get one. (But I would prefer to).

So I’m not saying I started the trend per se, but maybe I’m saying I picked up on it early…. Very early…. Potato potatoe.

And in case you were not tired of hearing me wax poetic on my “eye”, there is the ultimate proof, the one that raised the stakes (stakes of what, and to whom I don’t know), which is somewhat infamous in my old crew of friends. I have mentioned this before, so I wont get back into the whole story, but you can click here to read about how I started the Key trend way before what’s that store again, oh yeah… Tiffanys.

So for all the trend setters out there, it’s not a tangible thing that you can see or hold; it’s all objective. The next time you see something in a window that you were wearing a year ago before anyone, no matter how many eye rolls, call it out and give yourself some props.

Being stylishly confident is not a trend I started… But I’m definitely going to follow it.

So on that note, back in March, when I started randomly watching “penny loafer” items on my Ebay account, feverishly typing words, finding cute brands, and adding things to my ‘watch and wait’ list, I knew that subconsciously there must be a reason; My sixth sense at work. I finally picked and decided on a pair of Cole Haan Nike Air, burnt orange, 3 inch loafer heels. I knew it was warm out, and spring was around the corner, but these were so cute, and would be perfect for fall with cropped jeans, and a knit sweater. Plus I had been long wanting a pair of the Cole Haan Nike Air shoes, desperate  for a pair of cute heels that I can actually prance around the city in, and not have to bag lady it up, hoarding a multitude of dust-bag filled items in my handbag, while flats flopped around on my feet.

$65 later (A mere price to pay for shoes that retail over $200) I had my new shoes in their box. They are patiently resting and waiting at home for their unveiling. And to up the stakes a little bit, perhaps nostalgic for the shoes from my youth; my topsiders and penny loafers, I took out 2 pennies from my wallet, and placed them in the front of each shoe. Now, they’re super authentic!

Back to my subconscious reasoning, it all began to make sense when recently I was looking though the July issue of Bazaar, and flipped back to a certain page. Low, and behold, in big glossy fonts, LOAFERS ARE HOT / EVERYWHERE FOR FALL. High end to low. I chuckled to myself, and I’m not gonna say it, but you can guess what I was thinking, I’m sure. If I had a penny for every time……

 

Walking on air for fall '11