Do you follow trends?
- Thread starter Megacherv
- Start date
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.AgentNein said:
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:
Totenkopf said:
Seems a bit trendy, no? As though perhaps not being trendy is almost a way to be trendy...Monocle Man said:
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.
I rarely follow any trends and when I do, it's usually coincidence.
Examples
-Symphonic and Power Metal have never been mainstream in the US
-I don't use Facebook or Myspace
-I'm a non-obsessive Anime Fan
-I've been eating Pocky well before becoming an Anime fan
-I rarely use my Youtube account (and never for posting personal stuff)
-I have a very twisted sense of humor (in a good way)
-I don't play online multiplayer on my 360
-I don't follow any organized religion
-I don't consider myself Aethist
-I don't associate with any political party or group
-I'm a male college student to can cook well and enjoys it
etc...
Besides, trends are boring. Being an individual is far more exciting and makes life just that extra bit more interesting.
Examples
-Symphonic and Power Metal have never been mainstream in the US
-I don't use Facebook or Myspace
-I'm a non-obsessive Anime Fan
-I've been eating Pocky well before becoming an Anime fan
-I rarely use my Youtube account (and never for posting personal stuff)
-I have a very twisted sense of humor (in a good way)
-I don't play online multiplayer on my 360
-I don't follow any organized religion
-I don't consider myself Aethist
-I don't associate with any political party or group
-I'm a male college student to can cook well and enjoys it
etc...
Besides, trends are boring. Being an individual is far more exciting and makes life just that extra bit more interesting.
I find absolutely nothing wrong with trends. The attempt to belong to an identifiable group to allow yourself a feeling of worth, illusory or otherwise, is something that I think we all, as humans, share. I don't actively follow trends but I know I could easily be lumped in with some, which is cool.
Live how you want, whether it's trendy or not.
Live how you want, whether it's trendy or not.
Well... i like stuff that i uhhh... like. Whether it's deemed 'trendy' or not by others makes no difference.
Only if I like it, a trend is like any interest except popular.
And there's nothing more annoying than someone that goes against popularity for the sake of doing so, it's even more annoying than those people that live by it....-_-
And there's nothing more annoying than someone that goes against popularity for the sake of doing so, it's even more annoying than those people that live by it....-_-
I like to think that I don't. In terms of gaming, for instance, I play what I think is fun, and this tends to be stuff most people haven't heard of (like Torchlight, for instance.)
For clothing, well, I don't try to look like everyone else, I wear what's comfortable and readily available.
For clothing, well, I don't try to look like everyone else, I wear what's comfortable and readily available.
Just because there are certain parts similar does not mean it is completely the same.ellimist337 said:
You are accusing us of being nazis because we, just like nazis, must breathe to stay alive.
Someone who follows a trend is someone who changes his ways to fit in with that trend. If, by chance, your ideals you've been having for years have been shaped into a new trend and you're not doing anything about it, then you're not following it, you just stay the same.
Wow, there's a lot of me in your post.Sakurazaki1023 said:
I'd posit that everyone is following some sort of trend at the moment, whether they'll admit it or even realize it or not. For example: Who on here has a current generation system? The latest CoD or Battlefield? Owns an ipod or other MP3 player?
Everyone follows trends in some way.
those most adament about not following are just the ones who will never admit it
Or going through a quasi-revolutionary phase.
those most adament about not following are just the ones who will never admit it
Or going through a quasi-revolutionary phase.
I would only comment to say that you're more likely to receive service at a gas station, restaurant, or similar establishment if you wore shoes and a shirt with those jeans and didn't only wear jeans.Megacherv said:
OK, for clarity, I'm calling nobody here a hipster, merely pointing out that in proclaiming your wont and propensity to oppose trends, you conform to another trend. It was for the purposes of making a point about it being impossible not to follow trends because in trying not to follow trends, you follow different trends. For another reference to this, reread my initial post in which I pointed this characteristic out in counter-establishment groups like "goths." I never said you were a goth, yet you share characteristics with them.Monocle Man said:
Also, breathing is a bad example. It's a necessity, not a trend. If you started goose-stepping, wearing anarchic symbols, or spewing anti-Semitic rhetoric, then you'd be following Nazi trends.
As for your second statement, let's stick with the jeans analogy. By wearing jeans, you're fitting in with a trend (which existed pre-you, unless of course you were growing up before the 1950's, in which case I applaud you for making an effort to keep up with technology and adapt as many your age have not). You don't have to change anything you're doing to be following a trend. Just because you did it before you knew what the word "trend" meant doesn't make it not a trend. It just means your parents bought you jeans when you were little (because, again, it's the norm and you've continued to wear them as you've gotten older.
Imagine for a moment that you appear, suddenly, for the first time in your life at age 20. You're fully grown and can care for yourself, but you know nothing beyond basic survival. You are alone in your "world" and there are no outside parties to influence your decision-making. You have a shack that provides modest shelter, and you need to start surviving and making life better for yourself. You have at your disposal a pair of shorts, a pair of sweats, a pair of coveralls, a pair of tights, and a pair of jeans. Which would you wear? Never the tights; they aren't practical. Shorts sometimes but only when it's hot. When it's cold out or when you sleep? Probably the sweats. Probably the jeans when you needed to work, right? Improving your shelter, farming, building things; what have you. If you needed better protection, you'd wear the coveralls. But for pure comfort and convenience of use, the sweats or the shorts most of the time.
Now let's look at the real you. How often are you farming? Building houses? Other manual labor? Not often, I'd wager, at least for the vast majority of people. But how often do you choose jeans over shorts/sweats/pajama pants? Fairly often. So why? Because it's accepted. It's a norm. It's a trend. That's all I'm saying.