Leave it to Google to take all the random things we look up and make something useful out of it. I am just as guilty as the next person of seeing something on IG and immediately googling it if a link doesn’t directly take me to the item off the image. Sometimes, that black hole takes a few hours to get out of and that’s why I’m happy to bring you an easy to navigate summary of what you should be bringing into the spring and summer this year and what you can brown box and sell on eBay, though if everyone is following Google’s trend report you may not find many buyers. Anyway, let’s get into it, Google did a great job of breaking down the numbers, showcasing the top colors, and letting you know it’s ok to love your emojis.
Blouses: Loose, flowy, and luxurious seems to be the trend this year with the greatest number of searches in the silk blouse category followed by the colors, red, white, and black. I, personally invested in a light peach colored silk blouse a few seasons ago and I do not regret it. It carries me through the seasons without a problem.
Denim: White jeans which makes complete sense with Memorial Day Weekend right around the corner. Although, for the most part the rules of white before Memorial Day and after Labor Day have gone out the window years ago, it still lends itself to a spring wardrobe staple. And if you haven’t been following our posts this past month, flare jeans are in. 70’s is back in a big way, with platform wedges and giving hight. High-wasted work best and flatter the most, worn easily with a tee or tunic. Don’t worry, skinny jeans haven’t completely left the scene just yet, they still have a place in your wardrobe, they just aren’t as essential. Boyfriend jeans is another style we’ve been seeing on the rise for the past two summers and they are finally becoming a staple. Easily worn with heels, ballerina, and loafers they transform a look and let you eat your carbs. 😉 Now make sure you don’t go too baggy, you still want to show some form, so think 90’s style with a rugged denim ala Levi Strauss or Lucky Brand rather than paper thin commonly found in Forever 21. Granted the search for 90’s style is down, but that’s more likely due to the fact that it is a strong staple in stores as is and most people already understand how to rock that trend whereas 70’s is a little more of a ‘you have to play with it to understand it’ type style.
Joggers: This shouldn’t be a surprise since they have been part of the scene since the fall, what is a surprise (at least to me :O) is that the highest search (58,988% query growth) was for emoji print pants. Now, my theory is more along the lines that someone somewhere saw someone else wearing one and started telling another someone about that someone and that’s how the whole search frenzy began. If not then I blame Miley Cyrus, when nothing makes sense I blame her because she’s all ‘Can’t stop, won’t stop’ and sometimes someone has to tell her to just stop. Anyway, other than crazy emoji joggers that are better left to college dorms and costume parties, the most likely styles and colors you’ll be seeing on the streets are black, red, white, leather, and camo coming in at the top of that list.
Dresses: In another case of someone saw something and told someone else, the blue vs. white dress screwed the whole system. Coming in with a growth of 215,408% increase in the search for a blue and black dress, that one woman and her husband have confused a whole lot of people and now I’m stuck talking about it again. But, if you are smart and you ignore that damn controversy and don’t buy that dress, then the trend for spring is gold which makes sense with wedding season around the corner. But dresses aren’t going to be having their moment the way skirts are this time around.
Skirts: Tulle, tulle, tulle. I was a ballerina the way every little girl was for point two seconds, and then the girls with real skill kept up with it and the rest of us just kept dreaming about it. Remember a few years ago (2003) when Lara Flynn Boyle rocked a tutu on the red carpet? Back then we never would have seen this coming back in a serious way. Not only has the trend decided to stay, after showing up on bloggers like Chiara two years ago, it is now up to you on what shape and length you want it to take. The most queries were for how to DIY the tulle skirt, not buy it. Top colors? Again, we gravitate toward the classics, white, black, red, and then pink with layered, long and midi coming in as lengths.
Midi Skirt: Now, this is a style that is truly having a moment. Kim Kardashian is the queen of the pencil midi, while the rest of us struggle to find a style that makes sense to us and daily life. The trend report seems to tell us that pleated, pencil, a-line, and high waisted are making the most traction online with textures all varying from leather to sequin and even denim. I love the midi skirt, on everyone but myself. I’m 5’6″ on a good day so anything that cuts my height mid calf looks awkward. And I’m not saying that is how it looks on anyone who is my height, it’s also dependent on the cut and the rest of your proportions. For me personally, I need items that are high waisted, but also full length so that whether I pair them with heels or flats I’m in the clear. And speaking of heels, I’ll make a quick note here that stilettos are over, and you should probably shift your attention toward pointed flats as well as ankle wrapped heels. I know this because within seconds of seeing the red ankle wrap Aquazzura over a month ago I went on a hunt for it and even contacted my buyer in Chicago to no avail because it was already SOLD OUT!
Shorts: high waisted may work when it comes to our skirts and denim, but the 90’s took over the casual style of summer with the highest query coming in for overall shorts. And it makes perfect sense to me, tees pair so effortlessly with them and since tees and flannels for women were the highest queries for shirts Kurt Cobain would be proud. We have a post coming up with this sentiment in mind so stay tuned. 😉
Sweatshirt: Say goodbye to custom sweatshirts, they are no longer relevant, but you know what apparently is? That Urban Riot Kale sweatshirt. Just don’t hold on to it for too long, it’s going to be everywhere too fast and then you’ll be over it trust me. I have that sweatshirt, I bought it two years ago after seeing Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams strolling around in it, but now that I know the rest of the world is searching for it, I will be putting it in my ‘sell’ pile. Wanna know how many people I’m talking about, the query growth for the kale sweatshirt this year was 1214% and I bet you won’t guess what came in second…emoji sweatshirts at a growth increase of 7,794%. While you part ways with your custom sweatshirt, you can also say bye to your camo and galaxy sweatshirts from last year, the festivals don’t want them.
Take what you want from this, because at the end of the day style is what you make of what you buy. I am known for holding on to pieces forever, but I’m also known for layering old with new, high with low. And if you want a more detailed look at Google’s breakdown then here you go. Xo, Maliha 
