Do fashions trickle down?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The September Issue
Reader55 — 14 years ago(July 24, 2011 08:11 PM)
I don't think I've ever flipped through an issue of Vogue but have seen it on newsstands and in libraries. The fashions pictured strike me as continuously outlandishthe sort of thing an average person would have no reason to wear anywhere. Do any of these fashions actually trickle down to the common man and woman? It seems to me that the clothes pictured in Vogue ca. 2007 still have no counterparts in what people actually wear, four years later. Where does one find forecasts of coming trends in clothes sold at the Gap, JC Penny, Carsons, Macys, and other stores where middle-class people shop?
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jadexoxo — 14 years ago(July 28, 2011 05:24 PM)
I studied fashion when I finished school and they taught us about the 'trickle down/up' theory.
The idea is that high profile persons (celebrities, royalty etc) begin wearing a trend and eventually it filters down to the masses. The important thing to remember that when the design trend reaches the masses, the trend is often changed somewhat to make it wearable/affordable for the general public. A an easy example to use would be Lady Gaga and when she began wearing large exaggerated puffy sleeves. The original garment she wore (and was appearing on the catwalk)had large puffy sleeves that were as large as her head. The style is outlandish and impractical for the majority of people to wear. However, as it 'trickled down' to the middle-class, the sleeves were puffed like the original design trend, but smaller, not as exaggerated, making it less outrageous and more practical for the everyday. Also another example would be Lady Gaga wearing the leotard. Most people don't want to go out in public sans trousers, so the leotard was adopted by the public, but worn with something covering the bottom.
The same thing works here with the fashion in Vogue.
Also, I'll mention the 'trickle up', which is when fashions that begin on the street with the masses, eventually becomes popular with the elite in society, a reverse on the trickle down.
Hope that helps
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Reader55 — 14 years ago(August 08, 2011 04:48 PM)
Thanksthis does help a bit. Now you've got me thinking about additional examples.
I suppose examples of "trickle up" would be very baggy pants and professional sport team clothing as celebrity street wear?
What about the portion of my post that addressed fashions "coming soon" for the masses? It always seems to me that announcements about the next season's trends come out of nowhere. (E.g., red is supposed to be big in fall 2011.)
By the way, these questions have no practical importance for me. I just like to have some handle on what's what and why.