Is it still hip if the squares are doing it?

[avignon]

You know how some things are hip because they are not mainstream and they are non-conforming to "normal" society standards, for example, getting a tattoo. But now everybody and their uncle Dave has a tatoo. So it isn't really "hip" anymore, right? Or like having a pierced navel. That has become so mainstream that people's grammas are sporting the belly button rings. So the question is, do you still do it once it has become mainstream, or do you reject it? Or do you only do it once it has become mainstream?
Where do you fit in on the whole trendy scene? Are you a conformist or a fashion rebel? Do you stick with your own thing no matter what the current fashion forecast is? Or do you ditch your can't-live-withouts once every Tom Dick and Jane jumps on the band wagon and move on to the next parent-shocker that strikes your fancy?

[TurdBerglar]

i don't do anything to be "hip". to me that's how you're cool

[Qdrop]

you can avoid many of the above listed things by NOT doing things to conform....

trendiness, fashion, fads, popularity....
these things shouldn't come into play when thinking about something like a tatoo.

if it does, you are doing it for the wrong reason.

fashion trends are temporary....tats are forever.
that doesn't mix.

[avignon]

That is kind of my point though. I wouldn't get a tatoo now because fucking everyone has one (or more). It is a trendy thing to do now and it has become cliche.
So, knowing that, do you regret having a tattoo?

[beastieangel01]

I'm through being cool.
Eliminate the ninnies and the twits!

[avignon]

Originally Posted by beastieangel01

I'm through being cool.
Eliminate the ninnies and the twits!

Which are the ninnies and the twits?

[Qdrop]

Originally Posted by avignon

That is kind of my point though. I wouldn't get a tatoo now because fucking everyone has one (or more). It is a trendy thing to do now and it has become cliche.
So, knowing that, do you regret having a tattoo?

no, you're not getting it.

whether it's popular or not should play NO role in your decision.
otherwise, you are thinking about it all wrong....

it should be a personal choice, not one based on how many people do or don't have one.

[beastieangel01]

Originally Posted by avignon

Which are the ninnies and the twits?

to be honest, I don't know.

Ask Devo

[avignon]

I don't have one. I have thought about getting one before--but it seems like everyone has been getting them. I do not want to be like everyone else. That is my personal take on that situation.

But my thread was supposed to be bigger than that one situation. I want to know people's take on fashion conformity. Do you try to follow trends, do you try to intentionally go against trends (like dropping them once they become trendy), or do you not notice them at all?

[bigblu89]

I haven't tried to be cool in about 8 years. So I wouldn't know.

[TurdBerglar]

every once in a while i will genuinely like something that just happens to be trendy and i feel a little ashamed

[avignon]

Originally Posted by beastieangel01

to be honest, I don't know.

Ask Devo

Ah well, I have never been one of the cool ones, so maybe I am either a ninny or a twit.

If this was breakfast club, I would fall under the basket case persona.

[avignon]

Originally Posted by TurdBerglar

every once in a while i will genuinely like something that just happens to be trendy and i feel a little ashamed

That is what I'm talking about! So what do you do? Go with it or intentionally avoid it so that you are not trendy?

[enree erzweglle]

I don't think I do trendy anythings now and that's intentional--done to avoid embarrassing myself or my kid.

The clothes I wear now, I wear because they're available in stores so that could make them trendy but I don't think so--I strive for clean/simple looks (e.g., jeans, tee shirts, sweaters, boots/sandals).

The jeans that I wear are low-rise, but I've always tried to wear them when I could because they fit me perfectly. It's sometimes been hard to find them.

I don't think I ever really did hugely trendy things. And if I did, they weren't permanent. I wouldn't get a tattoo or do those earlobe-stretching earrings. Even piercings--I stayed away from that except for my ears and they're normal sized piercings.

[Nuzzolese]

I am embarrassingly unaware of fashion trends until the squares and their uncles are doing it and it's everywhere. So I do my own thing, but that doesn't mean it's cool. My own thing is very boring.

Wait, upon further consideration I am kind of with the times as far as fashion. But I feel insecure about my ability to pull off looking trendy. I feel cartoonish when I look too "with it" like I'm in costume, like a caricature of myself and my time - like how someone might look when they're trying too hard to look of a certain era only that era is now.

[TurdBerglar]

Originally Posted by avignon

That is what I'm talking about! So what do you do? Go with it or intentionally avoid it so that you are not trendy?

well once i find out that it's become trendy i seem to loose some interest but i don't think i fully avoid. maybe just partially aviod it

[enree erzweglle]

Originally Posted by Nuzzolese

I am embarrassingly unaware of fashion trends until the squares and their uncles are doing it and it's everywhere. So I do my own thing, but that doesn't mean it's cool. My own thing is very boring.

Mine too. You save money on clothes that way and then when you look back at your photos, they're not so mortifying.

I did do trendy things as a younger teenager (Farrah Fawcett hair comes to mind). But other than that, you couldn't look at my photos for the most part and know which decade you were looking at.

[avignon]

How old is too old to wear a micro t-shrt with "Hottie Princess Diva" written in glitter on it?

[TurdBerglar]

7

[avignon]

Originally Posted by enree erzweglle

Mine too. You save money on clothes that way and then when you look back at your photos, they're not so mortifying.

I did do trendy things as a younger teenager (Farrah Fawcett hair comes to mind). But other than that, you couldn't look at my photos for the most part and know which decade you were looking at.

The only thing about my hair that has changed in the last 8 years has been the color. And that is only an attempt to cover the grays.

[Nuzzolese]

When I was 14-15 I dressed like those girls in Clueless. I had the plaid mini skirts and the knee socks, the miniature backpack, the tiny tee shirts with the slightly suggestive pictures and phrases on the front. That was the only time I was trendy.

I think if you're young you might as well indulge in it if you want to. When else in your life can you get away with that? As an adult it just looks desperate.

[DroppinScience]

I can't believe you guys haven't heeded the advice of Huey Lewis...

It's hip to be square.

[Nuzzolese]

Originally Posted by DroppinScience

I can't believe you guys haven't heeded the advice of Huey Lewis...

It's hip to be square.

I guess that's the news.

[avignon]

How old should men be before they have to lose the earring and turn the cap around the right way?

[TurdBerglar]

don't wear an earring and never will but i do wear my hat backwards. it would be a crime to hide this face

[Nuzzolese]

Yeah i got ideas about what looks good like i never leave the house without sunglasses and even when i'm dressing down I got my eye on the style, but occassionally i like to add a lil something extra and this week you aren't gonna see me riding around town, on my phat black chopper, without a red, white, and blue popsicle stuck in my mouth! It looks good and I'm aware of it.
I wish I had an affectation or something I'd stand behind always no matter how contrary it was to popular opinion.

[enree erzweglle]

Originally Posted by Nuzzolese

When I was 14-15 I dressed like those girls in Clueless. I had the plaid mini skirts and the knee socks, the miniature backpack, the tiny tee shirts with the slightly suggestive pictures and phrases on the front. That was the only time I was trendy.

I think if you're young you might as well indulge in it if you want to. When else in your life can you get away with that? As an adult it just looks desperate.

This is an area that's hard for me because I'm generally the sort of person that doesn't care what other people do as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. But when it comes to women my age doing stuff like ^^^ it makes me cringe a little in the same way as when I see a guy with a comb-over or a guy who is obviously mid-life-crisising. It shouldn't make me cringe, but it does and I have to work on that I guess.

[avignon]

But how soon will EVERYONE start doing that, once they see you doin it? You are The Trend Setter.
edit: in regards to Nuzzolese's post

[Nuzzolese]

Depends on how seductive I make it. Porn stars sure made their look popular for the more sexually conservative.

[avignon]

Originally Posted by Nuzzolese

Depends on how seductive I make it.

Like it could be anything but seductive if you're doing it.