How to know what's in fashion

[WaitingForSunnyDays]

I'm really not very aware of what's on trend, and, to be honest, not usually hugely bothered but I've decided I'd like to have a bit of an idea. I suppose what I'm really looking for is a very simple place to see if it's skinny jeans or wide legged, tucked in tops or baggy cropped tops, statement necklaces or subtle silver chains, etc. I don't want to have to read a whole magazine every week, or follow a dozen people on Instagram. Can anyone recommend somewhere I can find a kind of "current fashion summary"?!

I subscribe to Grazia and Red magazines (have done for years and years and still like a physical magazine, but it does help that I am paying a lot less per issue because they are stupidly expensive now) and also to the digital magazine Who, What, Wear which sends out an email every day. WWW are very focussed on "looking expensive" and "looking French" but overall I like their content.

Instagram I love, but I think you really need to "curate your feed" if you are using it as proper shopping/fashion inspiration and only follow people who are similar shapes/ages/budgets to you. My feed is a mish-mash of accounts and no real theme to it, and that's fine for me, but if you really want it as a fashion finder then there's no point following a load of 20-something size 8s if you are in your 40s and a size 14. I also really like TikTok although the endless "hauls" from cheap high street retailers can be overwhelming - I enjoy watching them but am able to filter them out too.

Agree with pp about getting out and about and seeing people/seeing what's in shop windows too. I'm a lecturer and will often spot a student in eg a great coat that comes from somewhere off my radar if I ask where she got it. I find the students a good indicator of trends too actually - for example very few of ours are in skinny jeans now, it's wider legs, and also a lot of sports leggings worn with chunky socks and trainers or short Ugg boots.

If you're in the over 35 age bracket I recommend The Times fashion section every Wednesday. The writers don't always agree with each other but the focus is always on wearability. The fashion editor Anna Murphy is absolutely brilliant.

I think we have to separate what's 'in fashion' (short-term trends, and what teens are wearing) from what's 'in style', longer term, which is probably more what the OP wants to know. Shapes and silhouettes have changed significantly in the last few years, so just buying whatever catches your eye and trying to combine it is difficult if you haven't been following along.

Shops stock all sorts of tat, but that doesn't mean it's stylish, so I just find rhem confusing unless I go in with a clear idea of what I want. Sorry OP, not quite a summary, but you could watch a few YouTube vids on what's in style for 2023, there's lots made for/by women of various ages and some are pretty amusing - far more enjoyable than trawling through fashion magazines anyway!

Thank you all. I'd lost track of this thread so just caught up with all the replies. I'm late 50s, unfortunately just crept up to a size 16 while I wasn't looking, and pear shaped. The Times fashion supplement sounds like a good shout for me, and I'll see what magazines are in my Kindle subscription! I can't remember the last time I went in a coffee shop as I work from home and I don't really live in an area of high fashion! But, I'll try to keep my eyes more open when I'm out and about anywhere more exciting than the supermarket or the garden centre and see what others are wearing.

Edited to add: yes, I think "stylish" is probably the word I should have used, rather than fashionable. Maybe in my teens/twenties I'd have bought clothes that lasted 5 minutes but now my wardrobe is more 10+ years!

I follow people on Instagram for ideas. I'm early 50s but follow people like 40notfrumpy, 40plusnotgivingupyet - they're all nearly 50 now anyway. Then I get suggested people to follow and can refine my selections to include (for me) shorter women's accounts, those that aren't spending £££ on their outfits, those that show how they use 1 item of clothing to style different looks. I really enjoy getting new ideas!

Agree with Sunday Times Style, can also follow on Insta. Can also follow Marie Claire/Glamour

I have a small frame. a long body, and short legs. Nothing could persuade me to drape myframe in baggy trousers and/or a short top.

So …?

I'm not doing it right now as I'm having a no-buy 2024, but you follow people on instagram! A lot of the street style accounts are really good because they show what normal people are buying. I quite like Wears My Money - she's late 40s early 50s. Wardrobe Icons too. Also people watch when you're out and about and copy looks you like! Some magazines too - I like the weekend magazines, Grazia too. Then read the threads on here and click through to some of the links.

I like the Look Books from retailers, so I go onto Me & Em for example and look at their monthly styling brochure, alongside sites such as Net a Porter for their editorial. I don't purchase from the sites, but do get ideas as to how to style items already in my wardrobe, or tips on using accessories, which I have got more into lately. I also subscribe monthly to Readly and that gives me access to all magazines, including those overseas. My favourites are Red, Grazia, Hello Fashion and Harper's Bazaar to name a few. If you want to try out a subscription for a month, you can use this link and it saves me a fortune and very enjoyable over a cup of tea to flick over the adverts quickly and get to the stuff that interests me. get.readly.com/WVhWMTRfNkJad0FXVDJVaDpjbVZtWlhKZllWOW1jbWxsYm1RPQ==

As someone who works in fashion, what's on fashion changes all the time, and it's so easy to get confused.
First, figure out, what's your style, what you really like, have a look at your wardrobe and pull out those pieces that really define your style and that makes you feel comfortable.
Then find the right kind of inspiration for you, your style and lifestyle, you can look at Pinterest, social media, etc, but be aware to unfollow people who don't align with your style values.
Working with a personal stylist can help massively if you are still struggling! If you need a recommendation let me know.

I like watching Street Style videos on YT by Double Vanilla. You see people wearing a mix of high/ low. I also like some of the videos on the Vogue channel ( I think it might be French Vogue) where you see peoples outfits.

The article in this thread might help:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/4999608-great-new-york-times-article-on-current-trends?reply=132731450

The New York Times and The FT are always full of inspiration.

But the Vogue Runway app is where it all starts. If you’re regularly dipping into that you’ll be primed to respond positively to new styles arriving in shops / online.

Op, I'm like you. I'm 41 and all I know is the shapes that suit me. I stick to classics and try to make sure that my accessories, shoes, hair style, and even make up get updated every so often. I didn't know that black khol on the inner rim of the eye was out until I read it on S&B!

I really like
https://www.instagram.com/sophieclarewhite_?igsh=bTRpYzQ4MGw0ZDJz

She's 5ft 4 and size 14 (same as me) and her insta is mostly her shopping and trying on clothes. I find it really useful.

@Higgldy someone better tell that to Claudia Winkleman, who wears kohl all the time (probably not on her day off). Plus skinnies- I absolutely love her styling on the Traitors, but she's in skinnies and thick leggings all day long, plus the odd pair of bootcut/flares. No baggy jeans for Claudia. Admittedly all in black.

In fact, Claudia also wears heels as well as chunky biker boots. Which S and B told us were out of fashion as well...

My approach is different to those on here. I think not what's in fashion, but what's really not in fashion. So, right now, I wouldn't go out in a pale pair of skinny jeans looking like parsnip legs, with a floaty top. I would go out in a pair of black skinnies with a suitable chunky jumper. I bypass all unflattering fashions, and hence get compliments a lot on my style, so I avoid things that don't suit my shape, so all crop tops, crop jumpers, baggy/mum jeans (no waist), all completely unstructured clothing and so on.

I think knowing what to avoid helps, and then helps you pull out the nice things you already own (like I have several wool coats that inexplicably have 'come back into fashion' but I still wore them anyway) and add a couple of more current things.

I look at the students at my work to see overall trends, but I don't try to look like them in any sense, I would not suit baggy jeans or tight sports leggings which are the current two silhouettes.

I'm over 50 if that helps. If you are 30, the advice might be different!

I see you said you are over 50, sorry! I agree with sitting somewhere as well, not the garden centre (I do love gardening but this is not style mecca), like a city centre and just watching the people go by. I do this with my late teen/adult daughters and we see so much stuff we like. Only positive comments allowed for us, looking at how people of different body types, ethnicities, 'vibes' style their clothes.

Baggy is very in right now. Not sloppy though lol. Wide leg trousers are a must

This time of year the shops are full of basics as they are in “transitional” season (coming out of sale but too early for “new season”. So you tend to see lots of basics and filler product, usually a big focus on denim to persuade shoppers to upgrade their basics when there’s nothing overly inspiring on display. Usually find coming into March you have true “new season” spring / summer arriving with the seasons key styles, colours etc. I use Instagram a lot as well as keeping an eye on the high street, get a few pieces that will last (nice coat, trench, new knitwear or jeans) that I can mix and match when proper new seasons trends come in :)

Instagram etc all plugging “mob wife” look as a reaction to all the baggy, neutral styles of the last year so definitely think heels are going to be back in, fitted wrap dresses, blingy jewellery, nice coats and faux fur. The new Sofia Vergara Netflix series Griselda will be good for inspo (silky wrap dresses and blouses with deep v necklines, fitted skirts, heels, big sunglasses).

Right, so one of the mums of the boys my son plays football with is a fashion buyer for a high end European department store. She goes to all of the fashion shows and keeping up with trends is literally her job. I told her about this thread.

She said, if you want to keep up then Vogue is your best bet BUT these days, nothing is off limits and there aren't hard and fast rules like there used to be. Low rise/high rise/wide leg/skinny....there's a place for everything. She said that she herself doesn't follow the trends at all and just wears what she feels comfortable in (which I can confirm!).

So that's from someone in the industry!

No one who shops at the right shops needs to actively and consciously ‘follow trends’. You click on the site and buy what you like - confident the buyers have done the work for you.

Influencers of my age group pop up on my Instagram so I get the gist. They seem to be in wideish cropped jeans, loafers and jumpers.

@RampantIvy
The shops are full of skinny jeans, yet I often see posts on mumsnet that skinnies are out.

Depends which shops you frequent