AgentNein said:
ellimist337 said:
AgentNein said:
ellimist337 said:
Everybody follows trends whether they're willing to admit it or not. Do you ever wear blue jeans? Trend. Do you ever wear hooded sweatshirts? Trend. Ever wear a baseball cap? Trend. How do you wear your hair? Bet it follows some trend. Nearly everything is a trend of some kind, even if it's not "trendy" like Hollister clothes or Ray-Bans or something.
Take "goth" for instance. You aren't being unique, different, or unusual. You're following a group trend. Same with the hippy "thing," dressing "hick," "cool," or "geeky." Or any other style.
I think the idea of following a trend is consciously following what's 'hip' at the immediate moment. A trend is essentially 'flavor of the week'. Jeans aren't a trend, because people have been wearing jeans for how many years now?
That's not the definition of a trend though. That's cognitively giving in to peer pressure in terms of clothing, music, etc. A trend is simply a tendency; following a general pattern.
OK, let's stick with the jeans example. I assume you wear jeans when it's too cold to wear shorts, yes?
No, you're right. Technically I was using the term trend as the current style or vogue, which is a legitimate definition of trend, but there are other uses.
But yes, I'll bite. I do wear jeans when it's too cold for shorts, or some sort of pants. May not be jeans.
Thank you. I spent 15 minutes typing this and didn't want to have to lead in with "OK for the sake of arguing with myself." So thank you for humoring me.
Now the question is: why? Comfort? Why not wear a pair of sweats or pajama pants, then? Durability? Coveralls or even heavier pants would probably be a better solution. And if it's really a durability issue, why are there jeans available for purchase that have been purposely weakened (i.e. "distressed")? Some other reason? I'm sure it would be equally as refutable as those others unless that other reason is just that they're popular.
Jeans were popularized by kids in the 50's as just another trend. They were solely work pants before that, specifically used by the US Navy as work pants, factory workers, and coal miners. Much in the way that a "grunge" look would be popular in the 90's, it was popular to dress in the 50's, for lack of a better term, like a coal miner (though it probably helped that in the pre-Vietnam-era the military was much more respected and probably influence the trend as well).
Flash forward to today. Nearly everybody wears jeans at some point. If you work at a blue collar job, they're basically your work uniform. If you work at a white collar job, they're a reward in the form of casual day. If you're super-white collar (think suit and tie every day) then they're weekend wear or something to put on when you get home. But, again, sweats would be just as warm and more comfortable, pajama pants would be more comfortable, coveralls would be more protective, and shorts would allow more room for movement and would be cooler if it was warm.
No, we wear jeans because it's just the thing to do. It's what's expected. It is, for all intents and purposes, a
norm of our society. Trends have a tendency to become so over time. Jeans, having been popularized for non-work-wear for around 60 years now have pretty much reached norm status. That does not, however, preclude it from still being a trend. The OP and some others are correct in asserting that if you follow a trend, it's often not conscious. The most important thing to remember is that "trend" is not synonymous with "trying to be cool" or "peer pressure." If that's the argument then the initial argument needs to be restated and it's not as simple a question as it's made to be.
To further feed the argument is branding. This is less avoidable unless you make your own clothing, a largely outdated practice, but by wearing a brand you also give way to a trend. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm practically a poster boy for brands most days. If I'm at work I'm wearing branded dress pants, shirts, socks, and shoes. If I'm off work, it's a pair of Levi's, a Blackhawks hoodie, an Ohio State hat, a pair of Adidas socks, and a pair of Pumas on my feet. It's just the way it goes. All brands, all something of a trend.
So everybody follows trends. It's more a matter of to what degree and for what reasons. Following trends carries a negative connotation of being bad, but it really shouldn't.
Final thought: being a "hipster" is one of the ultimate trends, and look at this definition (via Urban Dictionary- don't refute this because it's not a scholarly source; it's true):
Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter.
By God, that fits the persona that many responses to this thread have tried to portray! Such as:
Greyfox105 said:
Have you seen the music I listen to?.. I'm definitely not a trend follower
Totenkopf said:
I'm myself and I like it that way
Monocle Man said:
Bah of course not. I set trends.
Seems a bit trendy, no? As though perhaps
not being trendy is almost a way to be trendy...
Apologies if any of this seems incomplete or out of order. I jumped around a bit in my argument whenever thoughts cropped up in my head and I may have missed finishing something. And none of it was in any way a shot at anybody who's posted.
