Best and Worst Fads
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines 'fad' as a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal : craze.
As far back as I can remember, fashion has had all different types of fads. When I was really little, I remember flipping through (and circling) beautiful dresses from Storybook Heirloom. They had the most unbelievable pieces and I would always ask my mom to buy them for me, for church. But, with my dad being a pig farmer, my mom being a stay at home mom, and two brothers in addition to me, there wasn’t always money in the budget for pageant looking dresses. I had a lot of older girl cousins—so, I received a lot of ‘hand me downs’, but I still loved them, all the same. I would get one or two beautiful dresses a year with some slip on Sam and Libby shoes for church, and feel like a million dollars. But, my everyday wear was more along the lines of little pant and shirt sets, chinos, frilly blouses and bolo ties with saddle shoes. Wait, whattttt?! (Mom, why did you do that to me?)
When I was in the fourth grade, denim was the cool thing. I remember having a pixie haircut with mall bangs. I rocked the tar out of The Limited Too, specifically a denim shirt that had snaps in lieu of buttons, green plaid pants, and low top converse sneakers. All my friends wore The Limited Too, too; and we were the coolest chicks in the class. (in a class of 19 other people haha) But, perhaps the best days were when I was in sixth grade and my friends and I lived our best lives…
It was the year of Mall Madness and Clueless and there were many days that my friends and I came to school with our matching skirt and skort sets paired with knee high socks and heeled jelly shoes. Yes, you read that correctly, HEELED jelly shoes! Who DIDN’T have a pair of jellies when they were little? I can sit here and still remember the smell of jelly shoes, can’t you!? Anyways, we all had feather pens, big head bands, and would say things like “whatever” and “as if”. But my cool phase was about to come to a screeching halt as I was getting ready for the big leagues.
By the time I hit high school, I also gained a step sister. She and I were in the same grade. We shared a locker and looked to each other for fashion advice. Looking back at it, when I see pictures, it’s cringeworthy on how bad we actually looked. We began high school with HUGE graphic “Tommy Hilfiger” tees, boots and Silver Tab jeans. Then we moved to low low low rise flared denim, and skin tight shirts. Polos were a big thing, specifically Abercrombie and Fitch polos. And, only the cool kids would layer their polos and leave the collars UP. (I’m dying inside as I think back haha). To add insult to injury, when I was a senior, it was really cool to come to school in a matching velour sweatsuit. I had a “Lucky” one that was baby pink, and it was allllll the rage.
These days, I don’t really contribute to many fads, mainly because I opt for only a few colors: black, grey, white, and taupe; and I like cozy clothes. Please give me all the distressed denims and soft tees—long sleeve or short, it doesn’t matter to me. I appreciate comfortable and confident clothes over fuss and perfection. But with that said, I can always look to Royal and Reese for great fitting distressed denim, and tees that either have graphics or other focal points to get me through daily life and looking not only presentable, but trendy! And, although I’m not looking forward to EVERY fad coming back, (like maybe the jelly shoes?) there are a few that I can’t wait for…What are some of the best and worst fads have you participated in?! Share them with us!