keeping up appearances, is it all worth it???

Are you up to date with the latest fashion trends? What is fashion anyway? People seem to conform to these rules like puppets, and those that don’t tend to either step outside the ‘norm’ and dress however they like and others seem to go with comfort rather than style, such as the ’pyjamawear’, where women have embraced slouchy ‘comfort dressing’, baggy boyfriend jeans, clompy UGG boots, layered t-shirts and snug hoodies because they are comfortable. But there is definitely a gulf between what designers think women should wear and what men prefer women to wear. This is probably due to the fact that fashion is dominated by gay male designers who don’t care what straight men will find attractive!
Is it more style and trends that you would rather conform to than comfort? The current fashion trends are either the 80's look or the 60's throwback! Many young girls are currently wearing the leggings under the skirt once again, and the shirt that hangs off one shoulder. It appears that the current fashion trend simply has no trend at all, everything is just a circulation. The torn jeans are in every clothing store. It’s virtually all you can find. Is it the big afro hair next? Will people conform to this as well?
Women who follow fashion have so much choice, they also have to dress for the seasons in order to conform to 'the rules' which means wearing boots and ‘sensible’ shoes in winter and maybe wearing pretty flat ballerina pumps for the office. In summer it’s dainty and elegant shoes that ‘work’ with floaty summer dresses and practical sandals for weekend wear and sexy strappy numbers for the girl’s night out on the town. Every time the fashion changes we need to ‘update the look’, this needs to fit in with the season- wedges, stilettos, ballerinas, espradilles and platforms.
All the crazy clothes that grace the front pages of newspapers and magazines, (inflatable rubber boiler suits, gigantic flying saucer hats, gold tin man leggings etc) are just that-front page fodder. True- publicity hungry reality TV stars and someone like Bjork will occasionally sport them on a red carpet but outrageous catwalk clothes are usually just the designer’s way to secure publicity. No one, let alone the girl next door looks like a catwalk model. But that doesn’t mean that real women are not allowed to wear fashion. Clothes are displayed on willowy waifs because designers think that’s how their clothes look best, but fashion houses are becoming increasingly commercial and more aware that it is the real women that buy their clothes. The more severe looks on the catwalk are often an extreme example of what one day will filter out onto the high street, by of which time will have diluted and modified to suit most women.
Even sportswear is becoming more about ‘luxury’ and ‘what looks good’, rather than the comfort factor, with all in one shorts and vests, zip up parka style fluorescent fitted jackets with skinny trousers and shorter than short skirts!
When it comes to fashion it’s a nonstop universe of change. Some trends seem ridiculous and others out of date, whilst others re-emerge with flying colours. Whether you like it or not, fashion will probably stay around for a very long time. If you choose to follow these fashions you may want to check the latest trends or should I say fashion reruns before picking your wardrobe. Is it always going to be about 'the look' that is accepted, rather than the comfort factor?? Are there always going to be these rules around 'the seasons' and will they ever invent a style that hasn't been out before, or is it just going to be rerun after rerun??