It sounds cool and adult-like, but why diversify your actual stock portfolio when you can diversify your *2017 wardrobe?* Ahead, we weigh in on the buy-ability of 12 trends, just like those analysts who work for a certain "fake news" organization.
Did you know that the unofficial uniform of cool girls everywhere is a square-neck minidress, probably ruched around the shoulders and sleeves? (Tops too.) Now you do.
Buy-ability index: 9/10, as it's a flattering shape you might not already own lots of
As one of the easier easy ways to dress better in 2018, the less practical but significantly chicer top-handle bag has Scar-ed cross-bodies off the cliff face. But you have to ask yourself: Are you really king now if you have to then carry a second bag, if you would like to have more belongings than your phone, wallet, keys, lighter, subway card, sunglasses, and several balled-up receipts?
Buy-ability index: 10/10, because for any shortcomings, they still look really good
As we saw at the spring shows—on the runways and off them—cowboy boots are back in a big way, and not just because your feet have grown a bunch of sizes since you last wore them. And this time, they're pretty much as they've always been, except maybe a bit shinier and more expensive—and accompanied by more Western references, such as cow print and those button-downs with the contrast pockets.
Buy-ability index: 9/10, mostly because you've always missed the pair you had as a kid
From the same marketing department as millennial pink comes "Gen-Z Yellow," which is just yellow with spit-polish spin. But rebranding can do wonders for anything, pretty much, so expect GZY to rise up alongside Red, its friend who didn't go to business school.
It won't feel wrong yet to keep wearing the woven or poppy suede ones you clomped around in all summer—as some of are right now on a fluke 60-degree day—but the new mules are more ostentatious than before, with fur trimming and brooches and their own personal tassel pulls. Yes, it can be a lot of look, but just like those Miu Miu chandelier slides get old, the right pair, even years from now, can hearken back to a specific, fabulous moment in time.
Buy-ability index: 7/10
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7Stripes
I mean, duh. But less duh, we're seeing new and creative variations on the most obvious print, from doublewide to ultra thin to super-sequined to amusingly Oasis-y, zipper and all. So don't buy a T-shirt; buy the special-est stripes you can afford.
Buy-ability index: 10/10 if the newness comes more from fabric or color, 9/10 if weird shape
Practically nobody wears stilettos anymore, but that doesn't mean we can't get a height boost elsewhere. Enter the platform, now more sculptural and *extra* than ever. Be on the lookout for a rainbow heel.
Buy-ability index: 6/10 (would be higher if less memorable)
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9Pink
The Golden Globes settled it: Pink, as the chosen color of cool/strong/independent millennials everywhere, is here to stay. And while it has been on the rise for a while now, signs point to it becoming more of a movement than a fad. Plus nobody looks bad in it.
Big sleeves: still huge. Big shoulders: even huger. Like airbags or built-in pool floaties, outward-extending shirts say "Here I am, darkening the saloon doorway like John Wayne before a shootout."
Buy-ability index: 9/10 if you're trendy, 6.5/10 if you weren't into the Rachel Comey jeans, 11/10 if you're a nasty woman
Buy-ability index: 9/10, but lower than that if you're keen to DIY
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12Ruffle-mania!
Thanks to your boy Alessandro Michele, fluttery strips of fabric stiff will soon overtake the world, and not just as a decoration for your striped shirt. Stiff or, um, flaccid? Up to you.
Buy-ability index: 8/10 for the highly recognizable H&M top kind, 5/10 for the wedding-cake kind
