Current Fashion Trends
Northern hemisphere fashions (North America, UK, Europe and so on)
Southern hemisphere fashions (Australia, NZ and so on)
You don't have to be trendy to be stylish. And there is certainly no need to slavishly follow a current fashion trend look -- in fact it's preferable not to! However, to keep your look contemporary it is important to incorporate at least 1 or 2 current fashion trends into your outfits. And, it can be fun to update your look, especially when you're armed with a few guidelines to make the styles you like work for you.
The most cost effective way to update an outfit is by adding one or more current fashion accessory. For example, adding a new pair of shoes or boots in a current style perhaps combined with a contemporary necklace or scarf and earrings can totally transform an outfit you already have and give it a new lease of life.
Fashion Trends Today
It used to be that a fashion trend would last a decade. Look at the 50s and 60s. Now it seems the latest fashion trends barely last a season.
However, I find on closer inspection it's not as bad as it seems. Often the main fashion trends stay the same for a few seasons in a row with minor trends coming and going more quickly. And with the more frequent changes older styles come back into fashion again more quickly!
The good news is that today's fashion trends combine into many 'looks'. And there are a number of styles for each style trend, for example when the latest pant style is skinny leg, wide, straight legs have also been in vogue. So it's usually possible to find at least one look that suits your body shape and your style personality.
Plan Your Wardrobe for the New Season
It can be confusing (and expensive) hitting the shops at the start of a new season without a plan. If you do you may well end up with items that are too similar to what you already have, or that don't go with anything else. Shopping is more productive, more fun and costs less when you have a plan that you (largely) follow. At the start of a new season it's a good idea to...
- Clear out your wardrobe
- Audit
your wardrobe -- even if you don't do a full clear out, at
the very least audit your wardrobe for gaps...
- What items do you need to purchase for the coming or current season?
- What is looking worn and needs replacing?
- What item do you find yourself wishing you had as you get ready to go out for a daily activity or a special occasion? Make a list of things to buy.
- Research the current season's trends...
- What hot new trends excite you?
- Will it suit you and your lifestyle needs?
- Does it suit your body shape, your coloring and your personality?
- Now go shopping. Have fun!
Making Current Fashion Trends for You
If you really like a particular fashion trend but it really isn't the most flattering look for you it helps if you can understand what it is about the style that isn't working. After all, when we buy clothing off-the-rack we probably will have to make some compromise. What's not working, is it...
- The silhouette of the garment?
- The length of a top, jacket, skirt, pants and so on?
- The shape of the neckline?
- The color?
- The pattern?
- An internal design line?
Understanding what it is that isn't working may allow you to minimize that element...
- If the silhouette is wrong for your horizontal body shape can it be altered?
- If the length is wrong for your vertical body shape can it be lengthened or shortened?
- Can the neckline be changed by wearing a camisole underneath or adding a necklace or scarf?
- Can the effect of the color be minimized in the ';vital V' area (the area formed between the outside of your shoulders and the center of your bust)?
- Is the scale of the pattern wrong for your body scale?
- Or is the color contrast of the pattern not the best for your coloring? Does the garment come in another pattern or color combination? Can you minimize the pattern in the 'vital V' area (as above)?
- Is the color contrast of an internal design element low enough that the unflattering design element is minimized? Or can it be disguised, for example by wearing something such as a waistcoat over the garment?
Using these general guidelines checkout the current fashion trends below.
Latest Female Fashion Trends
Women's Current Fashion Trends in the Northern Hemisphere
Although I now live in Sydney, Australia, I visit the UK once a year to visit family and friends and often manage to include a European country in that trip. Of course while I'm over there I take the opportunity to trend watch. I also lived in the US for several years and have many favorite American clothes shops that I still look at online. So, my trend watch sources for the northern hemisphere include magazines (both online and offline), online shops, fashion newsletters, online fashion forums and, once a year, visits to UK and sometimes European shops.
Women's Current Fashion Trends in the Southern Hemisphere
It used to be that if you lived in the southern hemisphere fashion trends followed those of the northern hemisphere’s previous season. For example, last season’s northern hemisphere winter trends became the fashions for this southern hemisphere’s winter season. However, southern fashion trends today aren’t that straight forward. The internet and the increasing ease with which we can buy clothes online has changed things.
The internet has made northern hemisphere fashion information and clothes available to everyone in the world at the same time. Shops in Australia selling high end European and American designer labels, for example, have to have the current northern hemisphere styles available as they’re released or be in danger of losing sales to the internet.
However there is also a growing number of great southern hemisphere designers such as Alana Hill, Carla Zampatti, and George Gross who take the current runway trends and interpret them to be relevant for the southern hemisphere season and the local lifestyle.
I live in Sydney, Australia, so my southern hemisphere new fashion trend information comes from my observations of what’s in the shops, what friends are wearing and people watching here in Sydney. These observations are supplemented with my favorite fashion trend resources including magazines and websites.
Related Pages
To make current fashion trends work for you it's best to have a good understanding of the colours, shapes, and styles that work for you. And to put it all together using wardrobe and shopping strategies. I've tried to make it easier for you by breaking into into steps. See this article to find out more:
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About Me
"Your style makeover may require a few tweaks or a total re-think. Using a mix of science and art I show you how to discover your style and look great every day.
Hi, I'm Jane Liddelow, the Personal Image Consultant and Stylist responsible for this site. Find out more about me here."
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