Trends and Personal Style: A Fine Line

     All runway photos: style.com, Others: We Heart It

     As an insatiable consumer of all things magazine and a blogger, I tend to keep a very close eye on trends. My favorite issues of magazines have always been the September and March issues (with more of an inclination towards March. I like warm weather fashion better, typically). The constant barrage of stories such as "500 pages of Spring Fashion: What to Wear, What to Buy & What to Skip" (Instyle March 2011), it is hard not to be influenced by the changing looks that taste-makers present every season.

     However, the heavy intake of magazines is making my head spin lately. While I love to use the products featured on the glossy pages for collages that suit my personal style more, I just can't stop pondering the idea of trends in general. It feels like I was finally learning to suit the 1950s/60s feminine style to my own look when FLASH the 1970s are what is big for Spring. An evolution of style that took a decade or more was glossed over between the Fall 2010 and S/S 2011 runway shows. To me, this slightly debases to social reasons behind why trends are what they are. The meaning behind clothing is what makes it interesting and more than just a superficial art form, as many may think.

     Trends are not all evil, of course. Sometimes they can give just the right confidence boost to finally use that cool colored dye you've had (ombre/ pastel hair trends, anyone?) or break out of your rut and wear bright, cheerful colors.If a trend suits my personal style, I love to adopt and adapt. But as I flip through the pages of my beloved March issues, I really have to ask myself: Do I like this trend because I'm being bombarded with it or do I like it because it suits me?

     Stay tuned for my next edition of "Trends and Personal Style": Trends and the Style Blogger