How do you avoid that uniform look that is in every magazine ?

[m.j.]

since, every secong word here is trend, i have to ask you what makes your style personal... style is more than just clothes and fashion editorials. i am sure that all of you know that, but some may get lost in this whole trend hysteria. style is the way you walk, talk, flirt, hold cigaret...
so why do you think that you style is not just copycat?

 

[just_me]

hmm.. an interesting question I used to have a strict sense of style, i knew always what I wanted.. but now I seem to get influenced by everything around me.. people actually look really good around me and I can't help but wanting to go out and buy exactly what they want.

I hope that when people see me they won't think I'm a copycat but I can't be sure. all the places I have been there are always people with similar dress sense

 

[joie]

While I think most people, including myself, are somewhat influenced by what happens around them (not just fashion but music, literature, language, even where to go for breakfast!), because I am very sure about my fashion likes and dislikes, I have found it relatively easy to develop my style. I don't mind trends but I won't wear something based on a trend if I don't like it or it's not flattering (eg skinny jeans). Nor would I not wear something because it becomes a trend for a moment (eg polka dots). Life is too short to get hung up on wearing or not wearing something because it is or isn't a trend and what other people would think of your image if you wore something either fashionable or not (and there are a lot of people like this out there; how many times have you heard someone say, "oh I've liked [trend item] for so long and worn it for years, but I won't wear it now because EVERYONE is wearing it and I don't want to look like a sheep!"). I know what suits me and what doesn't and regardless of where I shop that is my reasoning behind what I buy and wear.

Most of the clothes in the shops are trend-based, even if it's just in the cut of a pair of basic black trousers, so it is hard to avoid trends to the point of exclusion unless you do all your shopping on eBay or at secondhand stores.

I think that if you are confident enough in yourself and you have a distinct sense of who you are, then that comes across in the way you present yourself. I don't think trends are as much of a problem as the people wearing them. You should wear the clothes, not let the clothes wear you, and that is where a lot of people go wrong (thinking of your average teenage or youngish fashion victim here).

 

[brokenenglish]

I want to say there is already a thread for this...called Personal Style.....

 

[m.j.]

I want to say there is already a thread for this...called Personal Style.....

well, no. i posted a question, so this is far less general thread than personal style.
and i am glad that you are honest about how much trends do affect our styles. and also, it is like how do you avoid that uniform look that is in every magazine. and this thread is not here so people would describe their styles, but to make you think.
also, this whole trend hysteria makes people unsecure about their styles, which u can see from threads that have yay or nay in the title.

 

[brokenenglish]

^ I don't think that is always the case with the yay or nay threads....
I am just a very indecisive person- so I can relate to wanting lots of opinions on things.

 

[softgrey]

how do you avoid that uniform look that is in every magazine.

this is a very good topic of conversation...
i think that would be a better title for the thread and actually get more responses...
shall we change it?...

 

[m.j.]

well, softgrey, u have my blessing to change the title.
i would live to see other people's opinions.

 

[As You Like It]

I don't read the magazines for starters.

I also don't "buy a wardrobe" every season or every year. I buy individual items of clothing from time to time, as something appeals to me when I have the money to buy it. I'm very particular in my purchase because I don't have a lot of money to spend, so I have to consider if a garment will go with other items in my wardrobe, if it will be becoming, and if it will go out of style quickly.

I mix decades/eras/styles a lot. On a day last week, I wore a blouse from the 1950s, a blazer from the 1970s, and a pair of new-ish trousers which were a plain, straight-legged style. I wore a scarf which toned with the jacket to hold back my hair and a simple beaded necklace I made a couple of years ago.

I avoid major trends that will be dated in a brief period of time.

I've become very strict about wearing only those things which flatter me and are comfortable. Comfortable as in fits easily and comfortable in that I feel confident and "correct" for the occasion.

 

[m.j.]

i hate when something i loved for years becomes like global trend... like ankle boots and wide jeans. and red colour. about 3 yrs ago i had major problems finding red ankle boots, now all belgrade girls wear them...
globalisation sucks!!!

 

[baRose]

For the most part, I avoid trends. I wear what flatters me, my body type, height, age, weather, occasion, occupation/industry (work clothes) and personal style. I may wear certain items that are in style, but only if its flatters me and something that wont make me look dated a year from now (ie wide legged pants/jeans).

During the whole tent/emprie/tapize/maternity top/dress craze, I had no part of it. For an hourglass figure with a D-cup, it would only make me look fat and/or pregnant. I avoided that look like the plague.

 

[softgrey]

one thing i realized is that shopping 'off season' helps keep me from being brainwashed by all the trends that are everywhere at the beginning of each season...

being faced with a big mish mosh of stuff means that i have to decide for myself what is good and bad...basically wading through all the crap and editing out the winners...
this means i have to keep my wits about me and it sharpens my senses...
it's a good way to excercise your style muscle...

so i highly recommend it...


*plus...
if i find something from a previous season and i would still wear it this season without hesitation...
it only proves that it will be a good investment because i will wear it for years to come regardless of trends...

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I was thinking pretty much what baRose said ... if you don't look like a model and you want to look good, you are probably not going to wear the cover of Lucky every day

So I dress for my body, and I also have an unwritten rule that I only wear one, at most two, items from a designer/label at a time (and if it's two, preferably one is my shoes). That ensures that what I'm wearing is my idea, no one else's, and also that I cannot possibly meet myself on the street. I also almost always wear separates, never a suit, almost never a dress.

Something else I like to do is shop for basics in stores that cool people would not be caught dead in I have some great sweaters from Talbots, but because I never wear a label head to toe, you would never know it B) I love to go to those stores everyone makes fun of, and scoop up the best 1% of everything they have.

In fact, I never ever like everything from any store or any label, so picking and choosing seems very natural to me.

I cannot tell you how rare it is for me to see anyone wearing anything I have, and not once have I ever had the same outfit as someone else.

 

[Libbiism]

For the most part, I avoid trends. I wear what flatters me, my body type, height, age, weather, occasion, occupation/industry (work clothes) and personal style. I may wear certain items that are in style, but only if its flatters me and something that wont make me look dated a year from now (ie wide legged pants/jeans).

^^^ i totally agree. I just dress according to what catches my eye in shops,and what suits me etc.
If i do follow trends from magazine though,i tend to add a personal touch,like a brooch or a scarf or something.B)

 

[britishkiller]

I have to admit it's easier here in Italy...

People don't pick the "international" trends... They have more a specific streetstyle. I can only see influences from italian designers like D&G, Cavalli (tackyyyyyyyyyy... But I find italian streetstyle in general tacky).

So, as I don't like the "local" look, but I have mine and for trends I'm more influenced by international ones, I'm considered quite original. Sometimes it's strange...

The streetstyle here only picks MAJOR international trends (like, slowly, skinny jeans.... oversized shades...).

In a sense, I'm lucky . In another one, not, because it's so much more difficult to find what I want .

 

[modela]

I do have to admit that i do pay attention to whats hot or not .But i mostly tend to look at those just for fun and rarely aply that to my own style.I have a bodytype that is not shown in those magazines and therefore alot of the clothes dont suit me.Im short so im addicted to high heels and im not to keen on the flats/ballerina trend.I only wear those if i am at home.the only trend that im following right now are the a-line dresses ,they are extremely flattering to me and comfy.But alot of people dont get highfashion or lets say fashion in general.Stores like H&M/ZARA/MANGO dictate what the trends are today and thats why everybody looks the same today.The best way for me to seperate myself from the rest is my makeup and the way i wear my hair and my chanel(YES!!) readingglasses

 

[melt977]

definetely off-topic, but am I the only who finds your username rather..... disturbing... britishkiller??? and I'm not even british... why all this hatred?

 

[just_me]

Even if someone wear something a bit trendy.. like say.. jodhpurs how can you tell that is their personal style and that they are not just clones?

I like to think i have my own personal twist on things and that my personality shows through.. so I often style and tweak and tweak.. maybe the shirt tucked in ad a belt.. something that is me. Also, i get very wary when I get compliments from someone overtly trendy... kind of like... am I dressing like them?

Agree about the sername but I don't and hope is not meant to be taken literally.

 

[brokenenglish]

Even if someone wear something a bit trendy.. like say.. jodhpurs how can you tell that is their personal style and that they are not just clones?

I think it is all in how one wears it.
If you are just wearing something b/c it's trendy...
and not b/c you really like it...
I don't think you'll be... and therefore look...comfortable.
If you do that that you look silly for not only following the trend but not pulling it off.

Also the rest of the outfit is a good clue...
If they are taking the trendy item and putting their own spin on it.....
like you said you often do....
then it's most likely their own style.

As far as avoiding the trendy uniform look I just say as far as trends and "it" items go just pace yourself- one thing like that at a time.
Trends are like appetites and there is always another one coming 'round.

 

[melt977]

Even if someone wear something a bit trendy.. like say.. jodhpurs how can you tell that is their personal style and that they are not just clones?

If they wear it exactly as shown on the catwal, or sported by some celebrity, then they most probaly are "cloning"....

if they infuse it in their personal wardrobe in a way that you may not even notice that they are wearing a trendy item, then they are not...

even better, if they pull it off in a completely different way than what you've come to expect to see it styled, then they are most probably not cloning...