The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/29255
Laygirl Fashion by Emily Popek Giving in to trends Attrition is defined by Webster as “the act of weakening or exhausting by constant harassment, abuse or attack.” Well, I haven’t been attacked or abused by any jeggings lately, but I do feel exhausted. If fashion trends are fighting a war of attrition, I’m pretty sure I’m losing. It’s funny the way it happens. I’ll see a certain style or trend _ skinny jeans, booties, neon sneakers, whatever _ in a magazine, or online, or walking down the street. And at first, it will seem crazy. I’ll think: “I can never wear that. I don’t even want to wear that. Who wants to wear that?” Fast-forward six months, and I’m scouring stores/the Internet for the very thing I was pooh-poohing when I first saw it. How does this happen? Simple: attrition. Fashion has a way of wearing a person down. When everyone around you, from 10-year-old kids to their schoolteachers, are wearing skinny jeans, it doesn’t seem like an extreme fashion statement. It be- comes the new normal. Suddenly it becomes less about, “Do I like this look?” and more about, “Hey, I need a new pair of jeans.” At first, I found this phenomenon annoying, like I was surren- dering part of my individuality to the hive mind. But the more I think about it, the more I believe it’s just the way style works. It’s normal for taste to evolve, and to slowly get acclimatized to new things. The tricky part is to separate things you’ve just accepted from things you actually like _ things you want to become part of your personal style. I’ve been done in by this many times. It’s exciting to find an on-trend piece at a secondhand store, and my instinct is to snatch it up if it’s anywhere close to my size. Often the realization dawns later that I was never meant to wear such a garment (I’m looking at you, halter tops), so back into the thrift pool the garment goes. And as much as I enjoy keeping up with what’s hot in the world of fashion, I also try to listen to the fashion rebel that sits on my shoulder, reminding me that I don’t have to follow trends. I heard that voice loud and clear while recently perus- ing Urban Outfitter’s offerings for spring and summer. The washed-out colors, muddy prints and ill-defined shapes don’t excite me. But apparently, they’re fashionable. So I’m ignoring the part of my brain that says, “Should I buy a baggy white lace T-shirt?” and listening instead to the part that says, “Wear what you love, and you’ll look great.” Emily F. Popek is, however, think- ing about buying some high-waisted shorts. She is also assistant editor at The Daily Star. And as much as I enjoy keeping up with what’s hot in the world of fash- ion, I also try to listen to the fashion rebel that sits on my shoulder. 8 O-Town Scene April 14, 2011 ‘Red Lanterns’ by Fan Chao Chen ‘Plush Edge’ by Lauren Padilla ‘Absent Color’ by Alexis Gabriel Photos by Zach Bender The SUNY Oneonta Student Fashion Society hosted its spring fashion show April 9 at the Alumni Field House on campus. ‘Pins, Love & Peacocks’ by Kay- leigh Bigford ‘One In a Million You (Vividly Defined)’ by Tiffany Cooper