Forget seasons, become a fashionista recessionista
SAN ANTONIO — Fashion, at times, can be as bewildering as it is beguiling.
How else to explain why fashion designers and department stores seem to operate on a calendar that has nothing to do with the rest of us.
For example, when women are sweltering in summer's heat, stores are hawking winter coats, fur-trimmed no less. While your teeth are clattering in the cold, mannequins are nearly naked in sexy swimsuits.
Granted, the fashion business is always ahead of real life. Used to be that was OK with shoppers; women once were accustomed to planning their wardrobes far in advance, months before they ever intended to wear them. Just ask Grandma.
Today, that's not the way women (and men) shop. They don't spend and then squirrel away their finds for later. In 2008, they buy now because they want to wear now — and that behavior is having an influential impact on fashion, perhaps changing it forever.
That's good news for consumers because finally designers are giving shoppers what they want: instant gratification. It's no surprise that some clothes, especially those made of lightweight and sheer fabric, are wearable year round.
The designs, well suited for the heat index do double duty when layered for the deep freeze and are wearable not only in places such as San Francisco and New York, but everywhere in between.
Confused? Don't be. Instead, become a fashionista recessionista.
Take matters (that pre-fall summery dress meant for winter) into your own hands and create your own fashion calendar by shopping cleverly and stretching those dollars and purchases into trans-season styles.
Buy now and wear now — and later — by transforming today's outfit into next season's with the addition of another item or new accessories. Buy a great bare-shouldered or low-neckline dress or top or lightweight cardigan today and wear it now.
Then recycle it by adding a shrug or toss it over skinny pants or jeans and wear it later when the temps plunge. Now, you're beating the fashion calendar. And because so much clothing has become SO adaptable, there really are no new fashion rules to follow.
As for the old ones, break them. Everyone else has.
