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Fashion is cyclical but style is eternal, and that’s what we tell ourselves as we step into our churidaar tights from 2011 (we don’t, throw those tights away, now!). But as certain items make it big and stick around, or are cute and practical enough to stick around, we must put that thinking mind to work and decide if they are necessarily for us. Listed below, for you, the trends we’ve seen around for a while, and the ones we see being forecasted for this year, so you can make informed choices about what stays and what goes.
You know the one we mean - the tote that literally says on itself what it is: a tote bag. This of course, is the Marc Jacobs Tote Bag, or rather The Tote Bag. While most of us cannot deny the pull of a good tote, and Marc Jacobs is among the avant-garde classicists, is it really necessary to have, a) a tote bag that has to say what it is, and b) anything with that kind of loud branding, at all? One personally does not see the appeal, but people love a Marc Jacobs tote, so what’re you gonna do.
Our verdict: Chuck
You must be thinking, since when is open-toe something we have to include into ‘trends’? The answer is, have you found yourself diving behind the comfort of pumps, loafers, and brogues for at least the last 10 years, if not more?
Somewhere along the way, the closed-toe options began to make a lot more sense for work or more formal settings, and the open-toe shoes became that vacation you took from being buttoned up all the time.
Although this may sound not-quite-right for a Pakistani audience, the simple fact that we’ve had more and more access to all kinds of footwear styles in the last few years has ensured that we’re not just always rocking pretty chapals or sandals. Apparently this is the year to do so. That does mean that you must be - man or woman - be vigilant about pedicures, because no one wants to see whatever situation you have going on once the feet come out of the invisible socks and slip-ons.
– Pictured: Hobo by Hub
Our verdict: Keep/delay - you’re still going to need the closed-toe options for meetings and such
Each time a trend cycles back, it’s a good idea to think about how you were feeling the last time you wore, smelled, or felt something like that. The last time we found ourselves wearing tulip shalwars, slightly flared culottes or pants, or a straight pant with a proper kameez had to be in the 2006-2009 era. This was smack in the percussor to and the aftermath of the global recession, national political unrest, and an overall sense of what’s going to happen next. As we see the solids and matching separates and sets of the last few years give way to this season’s brightly printed kameez shalwar pant ensembles in retail catalogues, we have to wonder what the turn says about us at the moment. At the same time, if a bright and sunny print on your clothes won’t make you feel better, what will?
– Pictured: Diva by Ego
Our verdict: Keep - but only because prints are definitely prettier this year.
Clinique Happy (pictured) claims that 97% of the people that smell Happy, feel happy! One of the top trends for fragrances this year is clean, citrusy fragrances, and incidentally, fragrances that make the wearer feel better. It would definitely be nice to stop smelling oud and musk so heavily in every single room for a while, and in general, citrus fragrances are a very, very ‘90s thing, and might at least simulate the simpler times if not actually bring them back.
Our verdict: Keep!
