The holidays have finally come to an end, which means it’s time to get dressed and start acting like a functioning adult again. During the holiday break, I took a much needed pause on content in order to rethink my strategy for the new year. What kind of content do I want to write about, how do I want to structure things, and what new topics can I explore? These are questions that have been running through my mind as I try to figure out a way to take the blog to the next level.
The truth is, I’m still figuring it out, but I can tell you that there will be some really good bonus content for all of my paid subscribers — for example, I will be sharing my personal store list that I’ve been working on for over a year. This list features about 100 stores already, which come with website links, descriptions of what the store is good for, where the store is based, physical store information if any, and other great stuff that will help any online shopper in need. I hope to have this list live for all of my paid subs in the coming weeks!
Additionally, what I wanted to start doing more this year is expanding my personal archive. Specifically through books, magazines, catalogs, and even the clothes themselves. Being in the digital era is great because we get instant access to so much good content, but something about having that information in physical format makes it that much more enjoyable.
I hope to turn my personal archive into a tool that I can use to not only teach myself but also to create exclusive content for all of my readers — ideally, this would mean that we can create a space within the newsletter that discusses books, magazines, or whatever can come to mind—more on this later.
And lastly, something that I want to do more of is to create conversations with industry professionals that will hopefully be turned into newsletters. Interviews are something I am not that good at—being able to structure a conversation well and then turn that into a written piece is a skill that I need to polish, and hopefully, this year will be the year for that—more on this later as well.
These ideas may seem vague, and that’s because they are, but writing them down helps me turn them into reality, so stay tuned as I figure out what’s what in the new year and hopefully deliver even better content in the near future — I think an important part of this is the reader’s contribution, so if there are topics or questions that you need answers to please drop me a line and I will do my best to cover everything I can!
With all that being said, it’s time for us to discuss 2023. This past year was filled with trends that are hard to keep track of. Some of them were good, and some were really bad, but what decides a good or bad trend — I think the answer will always be personal taste/opinion.
For many, a new start to the year means saying goodbye to old habits, picking up new habits, or not changing at all because who cares. With fashion specifically, we all have our opinions, and while our opinions may differ from one another, I welcome those who are brave enough to start an internet war in the form of the recent internet hype called the In and Out list — for the uncultured, these are bullet point lists that highlight things/topics/trends that are either in or out in 2023 as shared by random people, including myself, on the internet.
I actually already made my own set of lists not that long ago, but instead of the classic In or Out format, I changed to just things I want to see more of, and things I don’t really care about so let’s move on when we get to the new year. I blasted these lists rather early, and after some careful thinking, I decided it would be fun to expand on things I want to see more of only.
I decided to skip out on things I don’t want to see because over the holiday I came to the conclusion that my personal opinion on trends that I dislike is just my personal opinion, and that ultimately my complaining online isn’t going to get us anywhere. What I’m trying to say is, I think it’s time to let the people have their little trends without having the need to hate on all of them, but who knows maybe I’ll be back to hating before you know it.
Things I Want To See More Of:
Blogs - “Blogging is dead.” is something that I keep hearing but when I ask myself why that is I can’t seem to come up with a proper answer. In a world filled with 10-second videos and 280-character opinions, it seems like there hasn’t been a better time to start a blog. People want to hear opinions, that’s what drives conversation and from what I’ve seen in my DM requests, people want to know how to start their own blog — which tells me there is a want for blogging to make its comeback!
Gatekeeping - You might think SNL is anti-gatekeeping but you would be wrong. There are a lot of things I keep to myself, and while that may be wrong it feels necessary. It’s ok not to tell the world what you’re wearing or what you’re interested in. This idea is mainly towards the tiktok fashion community who is addicted to spamming the “can I get an ID on _____” question in every single video there is. It’s ok not to know!!
Zip Hoodies - There’s been a lot of discourse around this item. It seems like the fashion community is divided when it comes to them, people either love them or hate them, there is no in-between. But this essential layering item is perfect in many ways, so it surprises me to see how many are really against it.
Good Product Photos - As a blogger, I need product photos. Your editorials are great and are crucial to the storytelling of the garment you’re trying to market to me, but please let us not forget about giving us good product photos that we can study!
Fashion Book Discussion - Creating our own conversations about clothes is fun, but being able to connect with people over a shared interest in fashion literature is next level. I want to hear what books you’re reading and hopefully, I can share my favorites as well with you soon.
Unique Hats - Hats with flaps, unusual materials, shapes, and colors are all welcome. Fitted and all of those classics are still a go, but I’d love to see more variety in headwear in general. I think that we are just entering a funky-headwear-zone where more brands are offering crazier styles, and that really excites me!
Bomber Jackets - Nothing much to say here, I think Bomber Jackets are sexy and I want to see more people wearing them.
Style Experimentation - A lot of brands wait around to see what’s trending and then all end up creating the same thing with slight design differences — while that’s ok, I want to see more brands think outside of the box instead of backpacking a TikTok trend just to make a quick buck. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of brands that push the envelope forward, but I want to see even more of this in the new year — take a chance on something and see how it plays out!
More Fun - Sometimes it feels like brands take themselves too seriously, and that’s not a bad thing. More recently I’ve been noticing some brands having fun with their marketing and honestly, it’s been working — a good example of this is Adsum’s Sweater Guide. It’s playful and silly but it works! Life is just better when more people take themselves a bit less seriously.
More Opportunity For Independent Designers - I would love for bigger brands to partner with independent designers even more instead of just ripping them off. Brands come closer, I’m going to let you in on a little secret — the support that independent designers have these days is crazy!! If you give the opportunity to a designer to shine using a bigger platform in the form of a collaboration or whatever, then you best believe their followers will support them and you in the future. A good example that comes to mind is Nicole McLaughlin’s debut shoe with Reebok. Nicole is definitely a known designer at this point, but still, seeing her getting her own shoe model is a great thing for both parties involved and hopefully it’s something we will see more of this year.
Jackets With Fur Collars - I don’t know, but this is HOT right now. It’s one of those things that can be overdone way too quickly if every brand starts doing it, but I think as of right now I’d love to see more jackets with fur collars — if it’s removable that’s a plus! Just check this Our Legacy one as an example.
Product Explanation Infographics - This one is definitely more personal, but I love when a brand goes the extra length to explain the details on specific garments. A good example of this comes from Monitaly — of course the formatting is subject to personal opinion, but I won’t drag any brand for at least trying.
Hender Scheme Collabs - I just need Hender Scheme to have a chance to collaborate on anything because every time they do, the collab turns into gold. A good example of this was their last collab with The North Face, which I wish dropped in North America. Hender Scheme’s attention to detail and their leather goods is something worth looking into, and while many of the items might be seem overpriced, the pieces they craft are well worth the money.
Hand Painted Camo - I think this is due to my recent obsession with C.P. Company and Stone Island, and after doing some deep research and learning about garment dying and hand-painted camo’s, I’ve come to terms that I would love to see this applied to newer garments as well — here is a Stone Island piece that features hand-painted camo as an example. Would it be cool to see brands trying this technique out on their own pieces?
Streetwear-Inspired Overcoats - Men still want to get dressed, but sometimes I wish we had classic takes on menswear pieces through a streetwear lens. I think a good example of this was done recently by 18 EAST — we could say that this is just classic menswear, and maybe it is, but the oversized and casual vibe is what has me interested. I can rock this with a suit or a hoodie if I really wanted to.
Backstory - Believe it or not, people like learning about the history or the backstory of the garment they are about to buy. Sure, there are plenty of people who don’t care, but this isn’t about them. There’s something special about learning about why/how/when/where a garment was made, and I get hyped when I see brands doing that. I hope to see even more brands adopt this in the new year.
Here are two brands that are currently doing it right: Learn about 3sixteen’s New & Improved Heavyweight Tee or learn about the utility around the bomber jacket from Brigade.
The Forum Fit Pic - honestly, it’s time for us to resurrect the forum-style fit pics. Nowadays, fit pics aren’t even about the fit. Location, background vibes, and other external factors play a big part in a “successful fit pic”. The forum era was a time when people flexed their pieces in their backyard, bedroom, or hallway. It wasn’t about the background, but the clothes themselves and it was beautiful. Sadly, there is probably no chance that this would actually come back, but I will give props to anyone who tries!
Logging Out - In a world filled with apps, feeds, and moodboards, it’s really easy to get lost in the sauce. Falling victim to the algorithm is easy, but realizing when you have done so is the real challenge. Logging out is going to be a mood for me personally because being chronically online comes with its own issues — for example even my personal style can be affected based on what the algorithm is showing me, and that is not ok.
This is a list that will keep on growing throughout the year, but I think this is a good a place to start. Will be fun to return to this list to see how things have changed.