As regular readers now know, from time to time, we turn to one of the less-crazy bridal sites, OneWed, for “her perspective.”
From OneWed’s Marta Segal Block:
A couple of weeks ago over at OneWed.com we released our Top Ten Wedding Trends for 2010. I have to admit, I feel a little guilty about that. Most women who don’t think of Marie Claire as their bible and aren’t contestants on America’s Next Top Model have a bit of mixed relationship with fashion and trends, and I don’t want to add to the stress.
Although the dawn of the metrosexual has definitely increased the pressure on men to get a grip on current trends and fashions, the truth is that most men pick a look in high school and pretty much stick with it for the next 50 years. Don’t believe me? Are you currently wearing any of the following: polo-type shirt, flannel shirt, button down shirt, sports/concert t-shirt, ball cap, white sneakers? Yeah, I thought so.
But for women, by the time we find a pair of boot-cut jeans that fit us, we learn that now we need skinny-leg jeans. Logically, we know that it shouldn’t matter which jeans are “in” we should go with the ones that make our butt look smallest (or biggest if that’s the trend), but we have an emotional connection to not just looking good, but looking fashionable, even if those goals are at odds. The same tug of war between logic and emotion is at work with weddings.
We want a wedding that suits our personality and beliefs, but we also want a wedding that seems current and modern. Why are women so addicted to trends? Who knows? Maybe it’s left over from middle school popularity contests, or maybe it’s the fear of being made irrelevant, but for most women what’s fashionable matters. So when the florist tells us that the pale, delicate flowers we love are out and bright, vibrant bouquets are in, we get a little stressed.
So, what do you do if your bride is caught between her personal sense of style and her desire to be fashionable? Telling her that worrying about fashion and trends is “silly” or “stupid” is a one-way ticket to the couch. No one wants to be told that something they care about is silly. Your much better bet is to remind her that she has an amazing sense of style, and that someone has to be the one to set the next trend! Or, make sure she knows that this year’s top trend is finding ways to personalize your wedding.
By the way, if you are one of those guys stuck in the fashion-past, consider stepping up your game for your wedding day. This week over at OneWed.com we’re giving away a Stanley Lewis Statement Collection Tie and Sock Set. Not to scare you, but it’s part of our focus on the top trends, because guess what guys, wedding trend number four is all about the rise of the groom!
Marta Segal Block writes the Ask the Wedding Maven advice column for OneWed.com, home to both the Savvy Scoop a daily blog of helpful and non-cringe-inducing wedding information and weddingpreparty.com, the single coolest way to plan your wedding online.
