By Oghenekeno Akpoili
Have you ever seen something online so many times that you suddenly started wondering if you needed it too? Not liked it. Not wanted it. Needed it.
One minute you are perfectly happy with everything you own. A week later, everybody seems to have the same shoe, bag, water bottle or beauty gadget, and now yours feels strangely inadequate.
That is the clever thing about trends. See something often enough and curiosity can very quickly turn into desire.
Of course, trends are part of the fun of fashion and beauty. Sometimes they introduce us to things we genuinely end up loving. Other times, they leave us with an expensive reminder that we should never shop after midnight.
So perhaps trends fall into three categories: worth it, think twice, and please leave it online.
Worth It: The Ballet Flat Comeback
Ballet flats are everywhere again, but this comeback actually makes sense.
They are comfortable, easy to wear and work with everything from jeans and dresses to skirts and tailored trousers. More importantly, ballet flats existed long before their current revival and will still be perfectly wearable when the fashion crowd moves on.
That is usually a good sign. If you genuinely like something and can imagine wearing it beyond its trending moment, your money is probably safe.
Think Twice: The Bag That Can’t Hold Your Phone
Micro-bags are adorable until you actually need them to perform the duties of a bag.
Phone? Doesn’t fit. Sunglasses? Absolutely not. Keys, cards and lipstick? Choose your fighters.
There is nothing wrong with buying one purely because you love it. Fashion doesn’t always have to be practical. But if you’re spending serious money, it is worth acknowledging exactly what you’re buying: something fabulous to complete an outfit, not the hardworking bag you’re going to carry everywhere.
Sometimes impractical can be fun. Just don’t confuse fun with investment.
Leave It Online: The 12-Step Skincare Routine
At some point, skincare became less of a routine and more of a chemistry practical.
There is the cleanser, toner, essence, exfoliant, serum, another serum, eye cream, moisturiser, face oil, mask and several mysterious bottles whose purposes you can no longer remember.
The irony is that many of us eventually discover the same thing: we consistently use about four of them.
Buying more skincare doesn’t automatically mean taking better care of your skin. If your bathroom shelf is already full of half-used products, perhaps finish those before TikTok introduces you to another ingredient you apparently cannot live without.
Think Twice: The Viral Beauty Gadget
You know how this story goes.
Someone runs a futuristic-looking device across her face for 30 seconds. It lights up. Perhaps it vibrates. Her skin looks incredible. You immediately want one.
Then yours arrives; you use it religiously for five days, and six months later it is living beside the facial cleansing brush you also once believed would change your life.
Some beauty devices do have legitimate uses. The issue is whether you are buying something you will realistically use consistently. Your previous beauty-gadget history should provide the answer.
Leave It Online: The Trend You Don’t Even Like
This one catches more of us than we care to admit.
There is always that shoe everyone loves that you secretly think is ugly. Or the sunglasses you would never ordinarily choose. Or a very specific dress silhouette that looks fabulous on other people but feels completely wrong when you wear it.
And yet, after seeing it enough times, your resistance starts to weaken.
This is when you need to remember that something can be fashionable without being your fashion. You don’t have to train yourself to like everything the internet has collectively decided is chic.
Worth It: The Trend That Already Looks Like You
These are the easiest trends to buy into.
Maybe oversized bags are back, and you’ve always carried half your life around with you anyway. Perhaps wide-leg trousers are having a moment, and you’ve worn them for years. Maybe brown is suddenly fashion’s favourite colour and half your wardrobe is already brown.
Enjoy your moment.
The best trends don’t require you to reinvent yourself. They simply give you more options within a style you already enjoy.
Think Twice: The One-Event Outfit
This one is especially dangerous when an invitation arrives.
You convince yourself that you absolutely need something new because everybody attending has probably already seen everything you own. So you buy the dress, shoes, bag and perhaps jewellery to complete the vision.
The event lasts four hours.
The outfit is never seen again.
Before buying something specifically for one occasion, ask whether you can see yourself wearing at least part of it differently afterwards. If not, perhaps rent, borrow, restyle something you own or at least spend an amount you won’t resent when the photographs stop appearing on Instagram.
