Fashion trends are a funny thing. They’re not quite predictable, but they’re also not quite random. There’s a kind of pattern to how they rise and fall, and if you know what to look for, you can spot the signs that a trend is either about to take off or die out.
You’ve probably heard of the “life cycle” of a fashion trend, but do you really know what it means?
A fashion trend’s life cycle can be divided into five stages, generally speaking: introduction, rise, peak, decline, and obsolescence. The life cycles of fashion trends today have changed technology and social media have rendered them much shorter and less predictable than in the past. It used to take decades for a new style to go from being considered outrageous or weird to being acceptable—but now that we can see photos of celebrities wearing things instantly on our phones, people are often wearing things before they’re even on store shelves!
And while this can be exciting for people who love to follow trends, it also makes it hard to predict what will come next. Will this dress become a classic? Will it fade away quickly? It’s impossible to say! But at least now you know why you’re trying on so many different things when you go shopping: each one could be the one that becomes your next favorite piece!