The Unfashionista's Official 2017 trend report

Ahhh, dear readers! It's that time of year when the one person who declares herself entirely unqualified to talk about fashion spends an entire post telling you what's been fashionable for the past year!

This year, I'll divide my list into three classifications: Shoe trends, Clothing trends, and Ornamentation trends.

Shoe trends

I noticed my observations were pretty heavy on the shoes this time around (related, perhaps, to the excess of shoe shopping I did this year which resulted in 1/5 of my shoe collection being acquired in the last six months, and causing it to spill over out of its dedicated closet and into two other areas of my bedroom).

Slides and more slides

From chunky pool slides in the early months to pointy-toed flat mules come fall, the slip-on shoe was big this year. While I had my good fun with furry slides, I restrained myself from purchasing more than one pair because it seemed like they were already on the outs by the time I got them. Flat mules, while still mostly the province of fashion bloggers rather than "regular people," seem to be growing in popularity. But I myself just don't feel like getting any. I always found backless shoes to be a hassle, and the silhouette doesn't really do anything for me.

Ankle straps and lacing

While open-faced lace-up shoes graced my list of 2015 shoe trends, this year I found that around-the-ankle ballerina-style lacing took a front seat. In a similar vein, I've seen a lot of ankle straps. I appreciate how ankle detailing can make or break a trouser length, but straps and laces are hard to work with. After acquiring a couple shoes of this ilk and learning how difficult they are to get on and off (imagine re-lacing your shoes once every hour, as I do to keep myself fit at the office!), my enthusiasm for the lace-up trend is waning quickly.

Sock boots

Boots that are so soft and tight-fitting that they might as well be socks, that's what sock boots are! I'm still kicking myself for finding an overknee sock boot in the thrift store two years ago, and letting a lady talk me out of getting it because it basically looked like a shoe with a sock attached. If I'd gotten it, I could have very cheaply preceded the wave of sock boots that are now the coolest thing since snow. I've gotten a few sock boots this year, most of which I haven't worn yet, but I adore them compared to the alternative, which is the rapidly encroaching oversized slouchy boot.

Clothing trends

There wasn't a lot that really caught my eye in terms of clothing this year. Much of it is basically an extension of trends I mentioned in the past, but I'll briefly summarize a few I noticed.

Statement sleeves

Statement sleeves, which includes the bell sleeves I first noted at the beginning of last year, and expanding to lots of upper-arm bulk and ruffles as well, are still getting bigger—figuratively again, but I wouldn't mind if they did it literally too. I would get a huge (figurative) kick out of a resurgence of floor-length sleeves as seen in the Middle Ages, regardless of their impracticality!

Holey jeans nouveau

While holey jeans were pictured in my fashion review of 2014, I have, unbelievably, never actually featured the trend on its own! Perhaps it's because it has been at least somewhat popular for just basically ever. This year, however, holey jeans were worn in a way that I've never before seen: the enormous gaping holes were decorated from beneath with fishnet tights (again, mostly by fashion bloggers, not the general public). While it's not really my cup of tea, I have to admit that this might be the one way of wearing trashed pants (with something cool underneath!) that I would consider trying.

Shirts with attached chokers

Not too surprisingly, the choker trend of last year made it into clothing this year, with shirts that had built-in chokers at the neckline. This was far from a huge trend, but it's something I've never seen done before, so I felt it was at least worth mentioning.

Ornamentation trends

Ornamentation was where it was at for 2017. While silhouettes didn't vary much from last year to this one, I noticed a lot of commonality in terms of how things were decorated.

Themes

One interesting motif this year is the cactus. I didn't see it a ton, but just often enough to notice it. Stars, a more common embellishment in general, seem to have appeared much more often. To some extent, this may be my penchant for stars that calls me to admire them whenever I see them, but I feel like they were more popular globally in 2017. This was also, definitively, the year of the unicorn. While I am proud to say I loved unicorns before they were cool (for proof, see my Halloween costume from 2012, or the unicorn socks I was wearing in 2010), 2017 was the year unicorns reached market saturation ("unicorn hair" and the "Unicorn Frappuccino" are just a few of the relics of this year's unicorn frenzy). A number of unicorn-themed garments and accessories made their way into my ultra-low price range the past few months, which must mean the bubble is about to burst.

Embellishments

As far as 3-dimensional decorations go, it was small fluffy things all the way. I saw a preponderance of tassels and fur pom poms, especially on shoes and jewelry. I can take them or leave them, and have so far managed to leave them.

Definitely the number-one trend that defined 2017 for me was embroidery, mostly of the floral sort. While it started with a couple of shirts and bras with embroidery patches popping up frequently in my eBay searches, it grew to appear just about everywhere! In addition to being the defining trend for 2017, it's also my favorite, although, being my thrifty and crafty self, I have refrained from buying anything embroidered, in favor of making my own. This has caused me to be a little late to the party, but I'll get there! I promise!

Future trends

Every year, I usually express a couple wishes/predictions for the year ahead. This year, I'm putting my money on flip flops—not beach sandals, which will always have their place (at the beach!), but thong-style sandals (preferably with a platform) to be worn for more everyday and semi-dressy occasions. Dress flip flops are currently totally passé. I was buying heavily discounted pairs in 2011 (sure sign of a decline in their popularity), and had completely eliminated them from my collection by 2016...so that means it's surely time for them to come back! Shower slides were really popular in the late 90's, and flip flops came a few years after. And guess what's pretty popular now? Shower slides! Guess what's coming next! This is not to say I think flip flops will actually rise to ascendancy by the end of 2018, but that it's a good time to stock up if we find a bargain, so our future selves can be ahead of the curve!

Frozen Fairy Tale

Since this was the coldest day of the year (all 7 days of it, but also the coldest day in Maryland that I can ever remember), today's goal was simple: wear something nice that completely covered my skin.

A while back, I had gotten the notion that I really must wear this teal skirt soon, and black leggings seemed the perfect pairing to bring out its bright color. What to wear on top stymied me briefly, but finally I decided my black-and-white striped top would be a fun addition.

I was going to wear one of my many blue-green necklaces when my caviar-encrusted heart earrings started calling my name. I love those earrings, but they don't often complement my outfits well. Today they were perfect—a lovely color to go with the skirt, and just slightly playful, which I felt went along with the vibe introduced by the shirt. Since playful was getting to be the name of the game, I went for my unicorn necklace.

Originally I was going to wear the dramatic black boots pictured in Welcome / Back, but then it occurred to me that if I wore these black boots instead, I would be warmer (since they are fleece-lined), and I would be able to fold them over in the style of Puss in Boots, and thus inject a little fairy-tale aesthetic into my footwear—to make the unicorn feel more at home!

Tatterday

Yesterday morning, I awoke to the sound of my dog tearing my bedside slippers to bits. My dog tears a lot of things to bits, so I couldn't pretend to be surprised that my slippers were the latest victim. I couldn't even really be mad, because those slippers, in the year that I'd owned them, had uglified to the point where I was just looking for an excuse to replace them. Thanks, Kodiak, for giving me the reason I needed. I set the slippers aside, got dressed, and vowed to clean up the mess he'd made of them when I got home.

Then, I went to work. And started thinking.

Up until that point, I thought I knew what I was going to wear for the last day of my Week of Wordplay Fashion Challenge. I actually had two options, of which I was planning to pick one at the last minute, depending on whether I went out or stayed home on Saturday. But on Friday afternoon, it suddenly occurred to me that the stay-home option didn't quite match the pattern of all the other words in the series. The other days had all been pronounced almost, but never exactly the same as the actual word. Here I might replace a vowel sound with a slightly different vowel sound, or there I might replace a consonant with a similar one.... But never had I used a perfect homophone, and I wasn't about to start now! That meant my original candidate for a lazy Saturday's theme ("Sadderday,") was too identical to the actual word for my strict rule-making conscience to abide.

"Sadderday," in case you were wondering, would have just been my usual homebody uniform of mismatched loungewear, last night's makeup, and unkempt hair—in other words, a pretty sad image. What I came up with for a replacement, though, was pretty much the same, but even sadder: Tatterday! Not only would I wear clothes that are mismatched and sloppy, I'd wear clothes that are downright tattered! Starting, of course, with my chewed-to-pieces unicorn slippers.

For the rest of the outfit, I used my flannel cat pajamas. These duds, probably almost 20 years old by this point, have definitely seen better days. Last year, a huge rip opened up in the back of the left shoulder. I thought they were a goner, but I couldn't bear to throw away such a historical artifact when the rest of them was still perfectly serviceable! Instead, I removed the front pocket and used it as a patch, attaching a scrap of it to the inside of the hole and sewing over both layers with a reinforcing grid of stitches.

Unless you're looking closely, you'd never know that this PJ top was once in veritable tatters.

By now you must have guessed that I did, indeed, stay home today (I actually have plans to go out for Repeal Day in the evening, but I could not think of a way to work that into my weekly theme, and besides, by then the day will be almost over!). But you're probably wondering what the theme would have been if I had actually decided to get dressed. Well, in that case, I would have gone with "Caturday"—which, conveniently, works with these cat pajamas as well. Two Saturday themes in one outfit! I truly outdo myself!

And with that, my Fashion Challenge is over, and none too soon! As much as I enjoy a good daily test of my fashion mojo, I'm a bit tired and ready for a break. You know what they say, "Seven days of puns make one weak!"

Whoa, Purple!

Usually, when I plan an outfit, I feel it's success if just one person comments on it. Bonus points if it's a compliment, but I'll settle for any acknowledgment that my look is in some way interesting. Such was the case when I rolled out this little number a few weeks ago.

Did I get, "Valerie, cute outfit!" No. Did I hear, "Valerie, I love your jacket!" No. But I did get, "WHOA, PURPLE!"

So, success!

I got the jacket (royal purple) on sale for 3 dollars. The shirt underneath (lavender) was an old T-shirt that I modified to look more cute and less blocky. Remind me to show you sometime. If I had had more time for setup, I would have taken in the sides of the shirt so it fit less loosely, but I did what I could in the mad dash to get to work on time. But the crowning glory of the whole getup was the socks. That's right. Purple unicorn knee socks!

I admit that I did not get these socks at bargain prices. I paid a premium, because I knew they would make the most magical outfit the world had ever known. Sadly, no one commented on the socks--perhaps because they were blown away by the overall excess of purple. Next time I risk wearing these extravagant covers on my feet, I think I'll try to make the rest of my outfit less in-your-face.

Rave-ready Rainbow

One of my favorite color schemes in the whole world is...rainbow! I have a saved eBay search dedicated to it and everything!

Yet in real life, I don't get as many opportunities to dress in rainbows as I would like, because they can be just a little too flamboyant for everyday wear. But one occasion that's perfect for my colorful penchant to show its stripes? An EDM concert!

In celebration of my birthday, I went to the Cosmic Gate concert on Saturday, and I got decked out in as many colors and as much bling as I could cram into one outfit.

A rainbow sheer tank top! Cutoff shorts with sequined pockets! Sequined shoes (conveniently flat-soled for a long night of dancing)! Gym socks? Maybe not the coolest choice, but I had to wear something to keep the sequins from cutting up my feet!

When I was done dressing, the outfit was looking pretty fly, but the accessorizing had yet to begin.

 

Rainbow unicorn necklace! Caviar-textured heart earrings! Cuff bracelet with – what else? – more sequins!

And then, the high point of my outfit, rainbow eye makeup! At least, I thought it was the high point until I realized (for only the millionth time) that no one can see your makeup or your excellent color choices in a dark crowded place. It's a good thing I snapped some pictures for my blog in advance. Next time I'm going with blacklight body paint. 

 

 

At least I had LEDs in my hair, to make up for the fact that no one could see the artistry on my face!

 

By the way, here's what my boyfriend wore. I really liked the tank top and his color coordination, so I felt I had to share it.

 

House Shoes: A Story

You might not remember these pastel green sneakers, because I never wore them for an OOTD, but they were one of the shoes purchased in my broken-toe shoe-shopping spree of 2015. In the years since then, despite never finding them blog-worthy, I wore them often enough that they eventually started looking dingy and unfit to be seen in public. They still had plenty of life left in them, though, so I kept them around to see if they might be candidates for a resuscitation of some sort.

It was earlier this year when I realized they could serve a different purpose as house shoes—sort of like slippers, but...shoes!

From October to May every year, I have an almost constant need for foot-warming technology when I'm at home. My hardwood floors are great when it comes to cleaning and maintenance, but one of their downsides is they're not exactly warm. Sometimes socks are sufficient, but when you live in a house with a very sloppy drinker (a.k.a a dog), you will be constantly stepping in tiny puddles, and I don't recommend doing that with socks on unless you want to be cold and wet for the next hour. Plus, when it's cold enough inside, even socks don't provide enough insulation.

I've tried various garments for this purpose, but (with the exception of some felted wool slippers with a leather sole that I bought at a market in Australia and therefore could not replace when they wore out), all of them have eventually failed the test of daily wear.

The bunny slippers were too small (of course! I ordered them from China!) and hot, the knit booties with the fur lining flopped around too much when I walked, the unicorn slippers had permeable soles, the cozy sheep socks were always dangling too far off the ends of my toes.

The idea to use my old green Keds in lieu of slippers came only after staring at them countless times over the winter, wondering when I was going to figure out what to do with them. But when it came, it turned out to be a good idea. These shoes slide on, so I don't have to fiddle with laces; they have a thin flexible sole, so they're comfortable in a wide range of positions; and the sole is rubber, meaning dog droplets are no object!

I planned to give them a brief trial run and then get on with the aforementioned resuscitation, but somehow laziness won out, and I wore them as house shoes for about a month without ever making them look presentable (my standards of dress when no one can see me are shockingly low!).

Then the coronavirus arrived on our shores (I feel like I'm going to be saying that in every blog post for a while). The entire world population has been advised to stay home as much as possible. My employer has instituted work-from-home for everyone whose job permits, so I'm teleworking every day now. At least until April 10, but who knows what will happen after that? If I'm going to be home almost 24/7 for the foreseeable future, I really have to step up my house clothes game. And that includes my house shoes.

So on the fifth day of my self-semi-quarantine, I decided to give them a dye job. I would tell you about it, but somehow this story has run away with me, and it has gotten far too long to tack a DIY onto the end. So you'll have to wait, and bate your breath, for the thrilling conclusion. Will my house shoes go from drab to fab? Or will their transformation be just plain bad? Find out in the next installment of The Unfashionista blog!

Hood to Hemline - A refashion

I bought this unicorn hoodie last summer from Rainbow, when I was actively building the collection of lounge clothes that's becoming so handy in these stay-at-home days. It was on clearance—3 dollars, I think?

I must have decided it was too cheap to try on, because I didn't notice until I brought it out of storage in the fall that it was missing its waistband! Raw edges are no dealbreaker for me, but this shirt was awkwardly short without a bottom band. Something needed to be done.

Some deliberation later, I had decided to use the hood to extend the hemline. I never wear the hoods on my hoodies anyway, so...Off with her hood!

I turned the raw edges inside and stitched them down (they're still raw for the most part, just out of the way!) but I forgot to take a close-up of that part.

The hood, I picked apart stitch by stitch (I wanted to salvage as much fabric as possible, so no cutting!), finally ending up with these two pieces.

After accounting for the unusable curved edges, I found I had enough fabric to cut four rectangles that would cover the shirt's circumference if they were sewn end to end.

I attached them to the bottom of the shirt...

...Then folded them under for a neat hem.

The inside doesn't look so neat, but that is typical of my work. At least I took the time to zigzag-stitch over the seam to minimize future fraying.

Since the sweatshirt was destined to be a "house shirt," I modeled the finished product lounging on my bed (with my house shoes again)!

However, the day that I wore it, I also made a rare trip to go shopping (for essentials, of course!), which meant I got to wear it with jeans. I never thought of jeans as a treat, but I haven't touched my denim since early March, so I felt pretty excited about wearing them. I even busted out some sparkly earrings for the occasion!

Llama Rama

Around the middle of last winter, I was overcome by a desire to have more casual winter tops—you know, something comfy enough to laze about the house in, but cute enough to answer the door in and possibly even take out on some errands.

 

Fortunately, I had just the shirt to start me off: a plain grey long-sleeved T-shirt handed down to me by a friend.

I spent lots of time trying to come up with decorations for this shirt. For a long time, I thought I was going with a dinosaur theme, but several of those ideas proved impractical, so I switched my trajectory to fuzzy mammals. The fake fur that I used for my Mothra costume was just the ticket. By this time, I had removed the black fabric front and replaced the fur in my stash, so it was ready to use.

 

My initial idea was to do an alpaca, an adorable animal I fell in love with on a trip to New Zealand. However, I found that alpacas don't have a really recognizable silhouette, so again the theme changed, to the larger and more distinctive llama.

I found a llama photo I liked on the internet, and converted it to a black silhouette in Photoshop. Then I enlarged the graphic to the size I wanted it on my shirt and printed it out.

 

I (temporarily) glued the printout to the fabric, and cut around outside it.

 

Next, I folded the edges under to achieve the final llama shape.

 

I ripped off the paper so I could work better with the fabric, then hand-stitched the fuzzy applique to my T-shirt.

 

A long time passed. My llama needed a face, but I wasn't sure how to achieve it. First, I tried buttons for eyes, but they looked positively ludicrous. So did the eyes I had salvaged from my now-totally-destroyed unicorn slippers. 

 

I decided to illustrate the eyes and attach them somehow.

 

Here's the design I came up with, drawn with marker and cut out of paper. Now how to convert them to a material that would work on a T-shirt?

 

I don't know how to embroider (and thought that would be too difficult over the shaggy fur in any case). I thought about getting custom-made embroidery patches, but that would send the cost of this cheap DIY into an astronomical range.

Custom-printed fabric swatches? I thought about it, but they might pucker and/or fray.

 

Felt was the way to go. For a long time, "felt" sat on my shopping list, as I envisioned that I would make detailed cutouts with every color of the facial features represented by a corresponding color of felt.

Then one day, I realized there was no need for that; I could just use a sheet of brown felt I already had and paint on the contrasting colors. So that's what I did!

 

I carefully cut out the felt pieces and hand-stitched them onto the llama, then the llama onto the shirt. It was a year ago now, but I know I was concerned that the felt wouldn't hold up in the wash, so I'm pretty sure I decided to make those pieces easily removable. When I do the laundry, I'll just have to detach and reattach them. That's a lot of maintenance for a loafing-around-the-house shirt, so I made it worth my while by wearing the llama shirt out for dinner!

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of that outfit, so allow me to console you with a few other llamas that have graced my life in recent months.

 

First, some llama lloafers, that I picked up at the thrift store last spring for just $5.49 (probably 20% off?). I've already worn them once, but again, that was an outfit unworthy of a blog post.

And, in a rare non-fashion-related purchase, I also acquired a "Fa la la la llama" decoration early last year, which I made the centerpiece of a holiday-themed table in my house when I decorated for Christmas this month.

 

 

Though I've been saying it for decades, I finally get to say it in my blog: I llove llamas!