When a close friend recently asked why shoulder pads were back in style the response raised some new feelings towards the world of fashion.
Shoulder pads were terrible in the '80s, and for the most part are still pretty bad. They make women look larger than they are which, is what very few women want these days. So why is it that a trend that makes women look like linebackers would be making a comeback? Simple: because fashion works in cycles.
How the Cycle Works
This idea of industry manipulation was first presented to me while taking a course in fashion styling at Ryerson University last spring. The professor, a stylist herself, explained that designers need to make money and that’s the bottom line. Without new trends people wouldn’t need to shop.
Many women who consider themselves fashionable, or up to date with what’s new, go out each season to assess what's needed in order to keep her wardrobe relevant. And it’s for that reason that designers are constantly going back in time for inspiration. Each season a new (yet old) era is tapped and we see a few small changes to looks that have all walked down the catwalks before.
For the last few seasons skinny jeans and leggings have been the must have items. Don’t be surprised when suddenly every editor and fashionista is over it and onto wide legged pants. The cycles are put in place to ensure that just when you think you’ve gotten hold of what’s fashionable, it’s changed.
When your mother says she wishes she’d never thrown her old clothes away it’s because she shouldn’t have. The clothes you own and love today will at some point in your lifetime become “in” again.
They Need You!
Stores need customers and they need them often. Making you think what you already own is uncool hits women hard, and few have the courage not to conform.
Most of us will never own haute couture; never spend thousands on the newest shoe, so to feel like we are a part of it in some small way is all we have. Our few hundred dollars every few months (for some, every few days) may not seem like much but at the end of the day it affords the more expensive, less accessible lines for some of the fashion world’s biggest houses.
Bring Home the Bacon
Sunglasses, underwear, and makeup are the meat and potatoes for many lines like Chanel, Dior and Prada. Someone who may not be able to spend $10,000 on a jacket may be able to afford $300 on the newest frames, giving them a small piece of a much bigger dream. Though the average woman can’t afford the strap off one of these looks, we still tune in each season, mouths drooling, waiting for them to tell us what to buy next.
One season it’s flats, the next it’s heels. High hemlines for spring often mean long lengths for fall. It’s cyclical so be wise in your decisions. Ensure you don’t go too trend crazy each season. It’s all a game and we the pawns being pushed and pulled to ensure they get our dollars.
The next time you see a shoulder pad walking down the street figure out what it says to you. Does it say, “I’m cutting edge” or does it have “Sucker” written all over it?
Robyn Shanks - My name is Robyn Shanks, I graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto with a degree in journalism in 2007. I've travelled to Europe ...
