Staying Ahead of the Game: How to be Fashion Forward

I have a friend who requested this article so this is for him, but I also thought it would be good to put up on the blog as many of you guys may also find it useful. The idea behind the article is essentially staying ahead of the fashion game and being prepared for and in the know of upcoming trends. We’re only just starting to experience some great summer weather in the UK but already the big fashion houses are showcasing their spring summer 2011 collections, a full year in advance.

The internet is your friend when it comes to staying fashion forward, as soon as the first model hits the runway the internet is awash with details of each collection. When you consider how long it takes for the trends to make it into print form you’re looking at about a 6 month delay. So the spring summer 2011 collections won’t make it in the magazine form until winter 2010. The same applies for the shops too, while the designer boutiques will be starting to get their ‘pre-fall’ collections in the high street will still be heavily stocked with this seasons items.

So how do you take this information and actually use it in a practical sense? You first need to know whats coming around the corner, so make sure you do a bit of research into what is on trend for this autumn/winter and even spring/summer 2011 if you like.

A good place to check out trends is style.com. Although, I am planning to start doing trend reports here so the hard work will be done for you.

Once you know what is going to be on trend for next season and the season after that you can use that information in a few different ways.

• Save money and shop with more focus; if you’re looking for clothes for this summer then you can be more savvy and invest in pieces that are still going to be on trend for next summer, saving you coughing up twice for the same gear.

• Start wearing next seasons key trends, you can be assured your fashion forward incorporating trends before they hit the big time.

• Shop for clothes out of season; with the knowledge of the up coming trends, in this case autumn/winter you can start buying pieces out of season. You’ll have a good chance of picking up items in the sale at discounted prices. You can also see if there is anything you can wear before the season actually kicks in. For example, start wearing any big colours for autumn/winter in summer.

• Prepare your wardrobe; you should be organising your wardrobe on a regular basis and having clear outs of what you don’t wear. Knowing whats going to be on trend in the future can help you decide if any pieces you already own are worth keeping.

• Build your own style; remember you don’t have to be fashionable to be stylish, however you can use the knowledge of up coming trends to see if there is anything that you can incorporate into your style.