September 28th, 2018
Fashion Trends
Fashion trends change all the time, and sometimes it's shocking, even disappointing, to suddenly realize that some of your cool stuff looks old and out-dated. Apparel is definitely no exception, but it really shouldn't matter too much anyways, Right? After all, it was your parents that taught you to just "be yourself!" So whether you want to change the way you look or not, it might be fun to just go for it anyway. It's your choice to either conform, slightly modify your wardrobe, or completely reinvent yourself. Yes, with all the online shopping sites there are to choose from, its fun and easy to be who you want to be.
Consumer Awareness
When you're trying to predict fashion trends, it helps to see the future a little more clearly when you're keeping up with the latest consumer habits, opinions, reviews and commentary. When you're well-informed, you're essentially increasing your own awareness. But it's more than awareness, it's a process of becoming who you want to be, and nothing helps you to be who you want to be than the clothes on your body.
Events
Events are also a good indicator of what consumers are interested in. Fashion events can happen in the form of speaking engagements, pageants and expos'. They offer entertainment, displays and information. Events provide more than just an indication of what's currently happening, but they help give you a glimpse of the future through attitudes, pose, expression and body language. People who aren't afraid to break the rules bring new brands to light with the element of surprise.
Although fashion is really just a frame of mind, it can include many aspects of life, such as jewelry and interior decorating. The clothing industry is also a big part of it, and it can come into focus suddenly from a Hollywood movie, a new musical emergence, a well-known person with a personal brand, or even an unexplained wave of energy that suddenly emerges from the consumer market.
Forecasting
Forecasting isn't easy. Why? Because it involves events and trends that take place only in the future, and the future hasn't happened yet. So nobody really knows what will happen. But looking to the past and understanding where we've come from will help us to better understand where we are going. Yes, the fashion timeline is a history lesson, and also a source of prediction. Just take a small journey back through the past century and you'll learn a few things about the fashion trends that characterized where women are today.
There are other more legitimate economic factors that can help us to forecast the future. Several of those factors include the strength of the dollar, employment numbers, the costs of raw materials, and industrial production, to name just a few.
A return to elegance..
One aspect of forecasting fashion trends involves keeping an eye on the economy. More specifically, managing your pocketbook and dealing with rising prices. Fortunately, when consumers pay more in the retail clothing stores, they have the option of shopping for clothes at the dollar stores, second-hand stores and pawn shops. Returning to elegance means buying used clothes that are in need of some TLC and using your own imagination to make them better. Used clothing might need to have a seam fixed, a hole patched, or a tear mended. You can add your own style of being graceful and stylish when taking something that was once owned by someone else and making it all your own. When you're all done, you can be proud of the manner of your style to make something new again (a least in your mind). The quality of being pleasingly ingenious and simple will give you pleasure.
More unassuming indicators you might like to know..
- Train Cars - The number of train cars being pulled by a locomotive. Many supplies, materials and equipment are transported by train car.
- Lear Jets - The sale of super high-end Lear jets.
- Streaming Services - The popularity of streaming services suggests that viewing time increases up to 61% during disruptive events and tough market conditions.
- Chinese Zodiac - The Chinese zodiac indicator is used by those who follow the Chinese zodiac believe that this is a way to predict good or bad things to come.
- Canned Foods - During hard times, consumers tend to buy more canned foods and budget lines in an attempt to save money.
- Sports & Pornography Magazines -
- Alcohol Sales -
Traditional Economic Indicators
Using traditional economic indicators will help you to assess the current and future health of the economy. Two main types of economic indicators you can consider:
- Leading indicators - which forecast where an economy might be heading. These include the yield curve, interest rates and share prices.
- Lagging indicators - which reflect historical performance and only change after a trend has been established. These include gross domestic product (GDP), inflation and employment figures.
Keeping Up
When there's need for a change, designers and retailers must be quick to get on top of new ideas at the risk of falling behind. Although apparel doesn't necessarily change in a predictable pattern, small business owners must still know what to display on their manikins and what to hang on the racks in the front window. Like any other business, they must give shoppers what they want.
If you keep up with fashion trends, it matters who and where you are. For instance, if you're a young girl in high school, then it's just a matter if noticing a pattern when you attend class. What are your friends wearing? What is your best friend advising you on what to wear in class tomorrow? What kind of remarks are you receiving from other students when you wear something new? Yes, the same is true for professional women in the work place.
Throughout history, fashion has been influenced by politics, entertainment, war, social conciousness and more. Although men's fashion has changed, women's fashion has changed much more. And not only have women's clothing styles changed over the decades but also their hairstyles, jewelry, shoes and hats.
The U.S. is a place where a lot of fashion comes to fruition. Where else can you look the way you want? Where you want? And even break all the fashion rules if you want? Yes, the land of opportunity guarantees you the right to express yourself, and a timeline of the most versatile changes in the consumer market for woman's apparel is our resolve.
Fashion & New Technology
There's no end to technology. With apparel for every occasion you can think of, there's an endless supply of new ideas when it comes to designing something different. In today's world of diverse consumer habits, even the technology industry has crossed over into the industry of fabric materials. Take the startup Modern Meadow for example, as they are using bio-printing (a new innovation in 3D printing) to create a synthetic man-made version of simulated leather. This will allow for the substitution of harvesting real animal leather with a viable, usable and attractive leather fabric.