When trends die

When I lived in NYC I was lucky enough to inhabit the Lower East Side in Chinatown before it was overrun by white people. When that happens, the flavor of the neighborhood always changes and rarely for the better. It was still gritty and untouched. This made it great for watching to see what ‘cool’ trends would immerge.

Some of the best examples of how trends start are written about in The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Check it out for further info as he does a far better job then me.

You could walk down the street and see a few teens chillin’ on the corner dressed a certain way and you just knew that in 6 months you’ll see that same outfit at the Gap or American Apparel. I saw some of the best and worst trends during my time in the city. The leggings under skirts trend well before Lindsay Lohan picked it up. The trucker hat phase (please go away). Skinny jeans.



I try very hard to not follow what usually ends up being a 6 month flash in the pan. You also don’t want to look back at pictures and truly say, “What the fuck was I thinking”? Pretty much the entirety of the 80’s falls into this category. I can’t wear skinny jeans because I’m built like a normal human male and trucker hats are the one of dumbest things ever created. I actually like the leggings thing on chicks.

The thing you need to do is be able to spot when a trend is on its way down and don't get on. Usually the best way to know is if Middle America is following a trend, it’s already done. But, there are many other things that tell you the end is near. Here are some sure fire ways to tell if a trend is dead:

If babies/toddlers are wearing the trend (remember Von Dutch?)


The trend starts to get parodied (remember Von Dutch?)


You’re mother and father start wearing it!

In general, when old people try rockin’ the cool kid wears it’s time to move on. Please see the below picture for an example.


This guy was at the bar over the weekend. This dude was weighing in at a solid 350lbs and was well over 50. The little sprite next to him known as Corley was kind enough to get a picture with them so I could prove my point.

This guy has no business wearing a wack-ass Ed Hardy trucker hat for a few reasons. It looks ridiculous, trucker hats stopped being cool in ’03 (6 months after they became cool), he’s OLD and Ed Hardy might be the worst thing to happen to fashion, ever.

Be honest, after you look at this picture, you want to retire your Ed Hardy hat (and hit the gym), don’t you? Of course you do because it looks like shit and this is where the brand is going. You better get off that plane before it careens into a mountain. Keep this look up and you deserve to be on it when it crashes.

My Advice: Don’t chase trends people. Sure, you’ll “fit in” with the crowd but is that really what you want? Take a good hard look before you purchase that piece you saw all the kids on MTV wearing and ask yourself, “Is this really going to last”? Frankly, if a brand/look is clearly a trend, like Ed Hardy or Von Dutch are, it’s best to skip it and continue to dress like an adult.

Please see tomorrow’s post on Why Ed Hardy SUCKS