But my interpipe connections took a holiday, and even now they're a bit flighty, so it is with crossed fingers that I hope this gets posted.I'm not really very good at spotting trends, or figuring out what the look of just now is except to say so when I'm getting a bit sick of it. Added to which, trends aren't exactly the easiest things for everyone, so the staying power of this one should be no surprise, given that anyone with a pair of scissors, a mirror and something of a distaste for the sight of their foreheads can manage it.
If the pictures above didn't make it absolutely obvious, I'm talking about the heavy, blunt fringe. I know we all love 'em (most fashion bloggers who post pictures of themselves seem to have them- can't say we don't know a good thing when we see it), but it wasn't till a conversation in a bookstore the day before yesterday, the subject of which somehow turned around to how we don't really know that the look of a decade is actually the look of that decade till it's over, that something was said about the defining points of contemporary fashion (which, given that we're in the moment, is a bit hard to figure out till later). I was expecting him to name something clothes-related, but to be honest, it was with a good deal of pleasure that I heard the words..."fringes,I think."
It's not exactly as ubiquitous a look as we'd like to believe, but the number of streetstyle pictures that feature them seem to bear out his observation- I certainly recall the 90s as a decade of bare foreheads and slicked-back hair. And honestly, fringes as a hair trend are so, so much better than the horror that was 80s feathered hair. Added to which, the point of never figuring out what the look of a particular time (particularly tough now, especially given that this particular decade, design has gone and referenced every decade of the century) is until hindsight tells us so...makes me wonder what we see it as.
7 comments:
Interesting post. I often wonder what the definitive looks of this decade will be. I wonder what trends will make us cringe to look back on!?
Re. long, heavy fringes, I love em, although I can't seem to pull them off! :( I do have a thing for shorter fringes though..
I think that's so true about trends and hindsight. And what do you mean you don't like '80s feathered hair! I'm shocked. I bet Ice-T thinks that's a hot look.
Good call tho, like you said, it'll be hard to know until this decade is over.
I remember being surprised when I saw old 90210 episodes years later and realized how preppy some of the 90s styles were (especially at the beginning) given how much grunge gets remembered as defining that decade.
Yeah some '90s hairstyles totally surprise me when I see them today. I think what may become definitive, though, is hip-hop culture and clothing (bling!)
Hey Floppy, I know this isn't the place, but you have to check out these two links:
http://kissnblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/there-be-dragons.html
http://www.maphist.nl/extra/herebedragons.html
Yohan too, for that matter. And anyone vaguely interested in the "Hic Sunt A Fashionoholic" subtitle of this blog...
Kate: I'd place a bet on Uggs, though strictly speaking that lasted only a year.
Wendy: It's true, I'll never be a fan of 80s hair. Plus, it does no favours to the foofy of hair (like me).
Ambika: I didn't really catch 90210, but the wardrobe on the early seasons of some shows that came later in the decade and lasted some way into this one still leave me a bit surprised. They don't look horrendous to me, though.
And bling? Oh god, please NO. I will personally shoot anyone who tries to sell me that idea- I've had it up to here with the music videos.
at first i thought of "ironic" as a possible contender, but in reality that's really still just a subculture. maybe "casual cool": a decently-fitting pair of jeans, comfy non-descript top, blah blah blah. just really basic, unoffensive looks that are not highly stylized. perhaps the differences between the basics of the past and the basics of present are that fits are more flattering now and and that modern pieces are far more expensive.
or is that look more of a US thing...?
regarding fringe, i generally prefer my bangs short. once they start covering my eyebrows, i usually whip out the scissors.
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