styling class: week 9, post 1

This blog post is actually coming a week late, but I'm definitely excited to be back and blogging again.  We've gotten into the analyzing trends part of the class, which is always fun for me, because I love discovering and trying new trends - often to the expense of my bank account (no pun originally intended?).

As much as I love reading blogs, I wish I had the money to invest in magazines.  In fact, I do plan on starting a bookshelf just for fashion magazines once I get my own apartment (which is soon!).  I love the tutorials, the spreads, not to mention the glossy sheets gliding over your fingers when you flip through them.  Some of my favorite U.S. magazines include InStyle and Lucky, though the offbeat Nylon and the high fashion Vogue can be just as inspirational.

Thanks to Deanne, I've got my hands on these amazing online scans of Korean and Japanese magazines, so I've been downloading and browsing through old issues of Ceci, Vogue Girl, and Elle Girl the past few days.  One of my favorite spreads is from the September 2010 issue of Vogue Girl Korea:

I can totally see myself wearing each one of those outfits above.  So cute. :)  These spreads are a bit more practical than the ones you'd see in Vogue or Bazaar, but that's exactly what I like about them - easily replicable but aware of trends at the same time.

Of course, my daily reads are a huge source of inspiration as well.  Many of my favorite bloggers have their own defined style, and I feel that when what they usually wear comes back in fashion again, they suddenly get labelled a "trendsetter".  Of course, there are times when they try out certain trends, but I feel like they make the trend, and the trend does not make them.  That's perhaps what I perceive a trendsetter to be, and not what is used colloquially.

For example, Susie Bubble takes the bib necklace trend that was wildly popular last summer to another level. Her geometric necklace totally complements the shoes, and she keeps the rest of the palette pretty clean to draw focus on the unique piece (which is not often the case with her).  Her way of wearing it is very different from how celebrities would normally do it, as it draws attention to the trendy piece itself, instead of making it an accessory to the rest of the outfit.  I often look to her and other bloggers for tips on highlighting certain trends and not making the trend cliche.