Fashion Fad, Trend or Classic?

How do you know what’s a fad, trend or a classic piece?

According to the dictionary, a Fad is; a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group.

A Trend is; style or vogue.

A Classic is; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank.

What should we strive for?  Does it matter?  Take this quiz to get an idea of what your style is… 

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Fads

These are what Forever 21 lives for. I liken these articles of clothing to fast fashion. People want them now and don’t want to pay a lot for them because they’re not sure they’ll stay in style. Things that fall into this category are creepers (shoes), acid wash jeans (yes, they’re coming back), and pouf sleeves. Right now I’m loving a nice pouffy sleeve, but how long will this stay around? I can’t tell you, so I’d go to F21 and buy one there, because I know it’s cheap and if the fad dies a horrible death, I don’t have to feel badly about giving the shirt away.

1. Zara – Printed Pants | 2. Target – Women’s She Believed She Could so She Did Short Sleeve Graphic T-Shirt – Zoe+Liv | 3. ASOS DESIGN – Merciful flat shoes | 4. Nordstrom – Treasure & Bond – Faux Leather Belt Bag | 5. SSO by Danielle – Utility Jumpsuit Denim | 6. Steve Madden – Latch Olive Multi

It could be argued that the printed pants (1) and the graphic t-shirt (2) should be in the trends section, but there are reasons they’re not.  For the printed pants – they’re a wide leg.  I’m not 100% sure the wide leg pant is here to stay, so I’m classifying it as a trend.  As for the graphic t-shirt being a fad rather than a trend is due to the saying.  It’s just overused, so I’m classifying it as a fad.  

Trends

This is my sweet spot.  I love hopping on a trend!  How are trends different from fads?  A fad is something I might only wear once or twice before the fashion gods deem it not cool anymore.  If a fad has stood the test of a few weeks, maybe even a year (GASP!) and is still going strong, that fad has now passed into trend territory.  Recently, a trend I’ve jumped on is the mules trend.  I don’t see that stopping any time soon.  And the animal print/snakeskin print trend.  Animal print has turned into a new neutral according to some fashionistas, and I’m totally down with that.  I love me a good animal print.  

1. Nordstrom Rack – Kenneth Cole New York – Wool Blend Long Coat | 2. Nordstrom – Rails Hunter Plaid Shirt | 3. Zara – Snakeskin Print Straight Leg Pants | 4. Steve Madden – Daisie Bright Multi | 5. Banana Republic – Metallic Pleated Midi Skirt |6. Forever 21 – Leopard Print Scarf |7. Banana Republic – Bi-Stretch Contrast Panel Pencil Skirt | 8. Madewell – Donegal Button-Sleeve Sweater-Dress | 9. Net-A-Porter – Neous – Seven Suede And Elaphe Mules | 10. Nordstrom – Sam Edelman – Ralf Flat

Another thing to think about when you’re getting all caught up in this, do I buy into a fad or trend is how it makes you feel.  I know this is a little odd, but hear me out.  Take the off the shoulder trend…  I watched this for a while, wondering if it would be a fad or a trend.  When it looked like it was a trend because it lasted beyond one season, I decided to go for it.  I bought a couple of them, starting with the less expensive red dress.  As time continued on, there were many more choices, which allowed me to bulk up my collection.  

I do know this — I like the feeling I get when I wear those off the shoulder shirts.  I like that other women complement my choice of clothing, I like the way it makes me feel, it’s like it enhances my confidence, and I think the off the shoulder is a sexy look — when you keep it just that.  

If I’m on the fence about a fad or trend, I’ll browse Forever 21 to see if they have the item.  And then, more importantly, try it on to see how it fits me.  There are a ton of fads I haven’t jumped on because they look utterly horrible on me.  Anything with a high collar and frilly is a terrible look on me.  If I had pics of it, I would totally post them because they would give you all a huge chuckle.  That’s how bad it looks on me!

Classic 

Classics are the clothing items that never go out of style, like a trench coat, or a little black dress.  These can be investment pieces since they never go out of style, your cost per wear is going to even out.  For those that don’t know, the cost might be higher than you’d like to pay, but you know you’ll get a lot of use out of it, so the cost divided by the number of times you wear it brings the price down.  If it’s a Burberry coat, the cost is about 1K.  Now if you wear it every day, $1000/365 days = $2.73.  Thus, the coat is a lot cheaper than you thought it was when you first bought it.  Not everything has to be pricey – the lines just need to be clean.  That means nothing too oversized, no holes, and no ‘burnout’ t-shirts.  

1. LOFT – Double Pocket Utility Blouse | 2. Ann Taylor – V-Neck Bow Blouse | 3. Everlane – The Italian GoWeave Easy Pant | 4. Everlane – The Clean Silk Cami | 5. Net-A-Porter – Jason Wu – Wrap-effect silk-charmeuse dress | 6. Nordstrom – Halogen – Hooded Trench Coat | 7. Steve Madden – Daisie Black Leather | 8. Banana Republic – Bi-Stretch Wrap-Front Pencil Skirt

Why do I have one pencil skirt in the trend and one in the classic sections?  The trend pencil skirt is a color block one that is trendy.  The plain black pencil skirt has been around since 1954 when Christian Dior designed it.  Sticking to one color, and a neutral color at that, is what makes that skirt (number 8) classic.  

So give a fad or a trend a try to see how it makes you feel.  If you see that smile staring back at you from the dressing room mirror, then I say you get it.  There’s nothing better than something that makes you feel so great you smile at yourself.  What do you guys think?  Do you jump on the fad wagon or the trend one?  Does price matter to you?