Jeans have been a staple wardrobe piece for years. They’ve gone through certain eras of types with flare jeans, bootcut, low-rise, mom jeans, high waisted, skinny jeans, and so forth. But like all of the other quirky trends that have emerged in 2020, jeans have followed suit with a new type commonly called “patch-work”. Unlike most of the other trends of jeans where they’re made for the “every-man” and are so popular that every closet or dresser has one tucked in it, these jeans are definitely not that case. For jeans, which are very basic and common pants, these are verging on high fashion and take a very bold person to wear them.

HIGH FASHION PATCH-WORK JEANS

I personally do not own a pair (yet) but am considering the more basic, less intimidating pair. Patch-work jeans come in many different styles and colors sold by many different types of fashion businesses. The more high fashion ones as previously mentioned come in bright colors such as pink and purple, or blue and green. Each piece of denim is then sewn in squares and rectangles to look rather distressed. The simpler versions however are either the same pattern but with navy denim, or are basic jeans but with little designs/patches sewn over the top.

SIMPLE PATCH-WORK JEANS

One of the best places to look right now for a more unique pair would be Etsy where private vendors sell these jeans that they’ve either sewn by hand or up-cycled from an old pair. Up-cycling is a new idea that’s becoming more apparent in the fashion industry that encourages the reuse and recycling of old articles of clothing. This discriminates fast fashion, large carbon emissions, and so forth. Fast fashion is a topic that I’ve wanted to discreetly bring and shame in my blog because it is such an important topic when discussing fashion. Fast fashion is a term used to describe inexpensive designs that are quickly transferred from factories to stores. This typically includes the exploitation of child labor and is terrible for the environment because of its transportation methods. Victoria’s Secret, H&M, Zara, and more are all fast fashion companies to avoid as a little PSA from myself. If you are interested in up-cycling clothing you can easily go to a local thrift store and add your own twist to something with some scissors and thread. However if that sounds intimidating (which it does to me) you can go onto Depop or Etsy and buy from a private seller who specializes in up-cycling.

PATCH-WORK JEANS SOLD ON ETSY

Pastel Patchwork Denim Boyfriend Jeans

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/429179039489665011/

In past blogs I’ve discussed and analyzed specific articles of clothing that are trending. For example, a leather jacket, platform sneakers, and so forth that all are independently their own trend. This week however I’m taking a bit of a different track to look at a new outfit that many are dressing in this fall. Collared shirts underneath sweatshirts. Yes, I am aware of how odd this sounds. These two clothing articles are polar opposites of class vs comfort seen in the business world vs home and other places of leisure. 

IMAGE FROM ON POINT FRESH ON NEW MENS CLOTHING STYLES

Also unlike my past trends that are only seen on predominantly women, this outfit is in fact gender neutral. I actually first saw this style choice on a male while out to dinner a couple of months ago. Men typically match the top with khakis or jeans whereas women have been styling it with jeans, leggings, and my favorite skirts. Pennsylvania is a bit cooler but back home in Colorado my go to fall outfit was a long sleeve top with a skirt because it wasn’t quite cool enough for bottoms like jeans or leggings, but was still cold enough to need some coverage. 

INSPIRATION PICTURE FROM PINTEREST

The collared shirt is typically a white bottom up and the sweatshirt is just about always a crew neck (a hoodie would hide the collar and make the outfit a bit messy). Now if you don’t own a collared shirt fashion companies have caught onto this trend and have simplified the outfit into simply sewing a white collar onto the neck of the sweatshirt creating the same illusion but without having to wear two individual shirts. Another alternative would be a little secret shared by teens and young adults who attended private schools with uniform requirements. The girls and boys often would order “fake collars” which is basically a little piece of fabric with a few buttons, a collar, and a tie to knot it about your chest to keep it in place. 

EXAMPLE OF “FAKE COLLAR”

Either way you execute it, this outfit is both cheap and easy to accomplish while looking much more fashionable than wearing a simple sweatshirt. I personally have yet to actually wear this outfit (mainly because I do not own a collared shirt) but am now considering ordering on of the fake ones off of Amazon as it would be VERY easy to pair with one of the 15 or so crewnecks hiding in my closet.

Image Sources:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/446419381813481494/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/12455336458884239/

How To Dress Like an E-Boy

Trends in fashion depend on a number of things: whether they’re an article of clothing or an accessory, who its being marketed towards, color, size, and most importantly material. In the United States recently Americans have taken in comfort into their wardrobe choices but this year we have also adapted a long lived fashion trend from Europe… Leather. 

The majority of my family actually lives in Europe with my cousins ranging in ages between 8 and 21. While visiting last summer, I was persuaded by the three Swiss teenagers to invest in a black leather jacket. Although my debit card whimpered a bit, it turned out to be one of the best investments for my personal fashion. It adds a bit of sophistication and edge to any outfit and is actually much warmer than it looks.

Me (right) in my leather jacket

Leather can be seen in both accessories and articles of clothing thus broadening its market and heightening its number of sales. It can be seen as a material used for hand bags, jackets, shoes, pants, and so forth. Typically all but the purses and shoes are made out of a fake leather material due to its high price. Those jackets that are made out of real leather are typically marketed at a price of at least $200 depending on the brand. 

Burnished Leather Moto Jacket by Ralph Lauren listed for $495

For the last year before I left for State College in August, I had worked as a sales associate at Ralph Lauren. The store typically had a turnover every season to change out old outdated clothing and exchange it for new ones. Typically Ralph Lauren relies on its high class, Americana type of style but last winter in about December, all of a sudden they had switched the usual jean jackets for leather jackets, something that’s not typically seen in a Polo store. There were two different variations, a slimmer shorter one in the women’s department in both brown and black leather, and a larger bulky black one in the mens department. Both were just under $500 and one of the only pieces in the store than contained 3 different security tags around the jacket.

I think that one of the best things about fashion is its shared ideas over all different countries tying them together as one. Leather is most definitely old fashioned with its popularity for men in the 50’s but has now evolved into something for all genders and origins.