Trend, Fashion and Style-distinctions

The 'neighbor' kid... watching me through the window

It is friday morning and the sun is shining. We are expected to have a warm day today... 50's , so warm for November.  One of the 'neighbor kids' is in the tree watching me through the living room window as I write this.. They are so funny here... they work with a sense of play...

Bookcases sorted, new clock, painted table and torchiere 

The living room has shaped up nicely. (except the drapery rod has bent from the weight of these draperies, so I have to order the custom cut to measure rod after all) The Bookcase was rearranged yesterday. The books neatly stacked and sorted. They were just thrown up there in the unpacking and it was like walking past a messy closet that had no door. I still haven't found my scallop shell bookends.. they may still be in the garage. There are a lot of accessories, well, not a LOT but some things that express my style are not out. There is just no room and the thought of repacking in a few months is not appealing..

Things have quieted down a bit and a new routine is evolving. It is time to observe and assess what my core style is. Then express it and brand it in a meaningful way. That is my goal to brand myself.

The next few months, I will be assessing my wardrobe, the colors, the shapes, how I use texture.. that is an element that I am looking at with more awareness and discrimination now. I will be looking at the color intensity of what I like to wear and am attracted to and the personal energy levels that I am experiencing at the time. I will also be assessing my fabric stash. You can count on future posts about that.

Now, let's distinguish for the purpose of this post a trend, fashion and style. These are my perceptions and connotations of what the words mean. These are brief and can be whole topics in and of themselves.


Fashion is the arena or industry by which we accessorize ourselves. Since public nudity is frowned upon, we need to wear clothes. Fortunately, that is an area that we can really express ourselves. There is so much out there, from high-end-runway-designer, Ready to Wear, Vintage, Consignment-Thrift, personal creation (make it yourself) and a combination of it all.

Style is how YOU put all of the elements together and MAKE IT YOUR OWN! It is not copying someone else's style. I like to glean things from someone else's style, but I put my own unique spin on it. I used to think I was doing it or making it 'better,  but that is not the case. I am simply integrating what I find appealing in another to enhance my own style, not at the others expense.. but rather as a compliment to their expression.

A Trend is when there is a great following of people who have not yet defined style for themselves and they follow some one else's style. Following a designer, a magazine, a character in a movie, an iconic figure. They all have style. It has been created, this balance of elements. There is a style of decorating, a style of design, a style of dressing, a style of speaking, a style of ... anything.

Trends are fascinating to me and this is a VERY simplified definition that is more about differentiating the context of the three. I will write about this in the future and share the vibrant thread of how it assists me in distinguishing my own style.


Well it is off to the sewing room...