Trends vs. Timeless: Balancing Fashion Fads With Classic Pieces

There is absolutely no reason you shouldn’t enjoy being part of the fun of fads and trends. They’re part of fashion and often bring new ideas and fresh horses to your established personal style. But like the balance between style and comfort, there’s a balance between timelessness and trends. Style isn’t a season. Style is the distinction between fashion victim and fashion leader. Let’s find out how to balance fashion fads with timeless style that never lets you down.

Grounded Tenniscore

This spring/summer, the tenniscore look is big news, but it’s to be handled with care. If people are whispering, “Tennis, anyone?” as you bound athletically down the street, you’ve gone too far.

To wear the trend, try a wicking, sleeveless polo shirt with fleece sweat shorts to take the trend down a notch. Wear the look with an all-white tennis shoe, a la Zendaya, a major tenniscore proponent. Grounded tenniscore is about the free courts at the park, not their manicured cousins at the Country Club. So, Zendaya can keep her tennis ball heels.

Pump Up the Volume

The voluminous white dress will walk with us through Spring and Summer 2024. Just remember, white is a difficult color to wear, especially if you have children (a mucky hand print is not an accessory), so try that diaphanous number in a more forgiving color. 

And give your look a further hit of trendy style with this season’s capri pants and a pair of on-point ballet flats. A short dress worn with capris is a style statement with a resonance that anyone can enjoy wearing this season. Vintage-inspired clothing pieces promise many happy years of wear when deployed intentionally.

Your Best Face Forward

This season sees the return of the matte lip. So, bust out that lip balm, blot, and apply that MAC Russian Red you’ve reserved in the refrigerator, awaiting a matte lip comeback.

Some of this year’s face-forward fads are for those who enjoy having a little fun with their makeup looks. One of these is colored mascara. Fest-goers can look forward to vibrant shades of blue and purple to match their show-stealing outfits and holographic eyeshadow (because that’s hot in 2024 too). Everyone else should keep their eyes peeled for the “wet skin” look.

When Fashion Goes Low?

Yes! This is about the waistbands on pants! One minute, they’re slung down low enough to accidentally moon the world. The next they’re up under your armpits! And that’s where they are right now. What gives? And what should you do about these restless waistbands?

What you should do about them is get off the merry-go-round of fashion’s waistband binary. Moderation is the key to all happiness and so it is with your jeans, your cargos, and your formal business slacks. Choose mid-rise. I’m going to go even further and say that you should ignore extremes of volume (skinny/voluminous), especially when you’re spending a lot of money on a clothing item. A relaxed yet tailored fit is never the wrong choice. In this area, it’s perfectly appropriate to ignore the trends entirely and stick to a classic look.

Boho Crochet

Because you’re a savvy fashionista, you still have those crochet pieces in your closet, aware that they’ll rotate back to being the trend of the moment eventually! And “eventually” is right now.

Pull out that crochet dress, those granny square shorts, that open crochet beach top you love and can’t wait to wear again. Summer 2024 is your moment to rock your Boho crochet like you never have before. This year, pair that top with flowing pants, wearing your crochet bikini underneath to subtly signal your trendiness. Or, do the crochet bag with your tenniscore or voluminous mini-dress and capri pants. Crochet may not always be a hot trend but you know it will be again, so pull it out this summer and rock it hard!

Own the Trends

Trends are made to be played with. Blend them with classics and vintage pieces to bring any fad a touch of serious fashion savvy. When you’re a woman of style, there is no trend you can’t tame for your purposes. 

In the end, balance is a state of personal style that speaks to the world of fads and fashion from a comfortable place of self-assured confidence. Own the trends. That’s the natural order of fashion!