Although the slim through the thighs and high waisted pant is being seen across department store hanging racks, does that mean you should be buying them? Let alone wearing them? For the most part, the answer is simply, NO. Let’s take a closer look.
Regardless of what you call them, Capri’s, Pedal Pushers, or Cigarette Pants, they all comprise the same sector of the pant industry, and they are all unflattering, so why do women want these pants and why are designers creating them, again? More often than not, the reason for the resurgence of this terribly unflattering pant, is simply, the Fashion Lifecycle.
There are FIVE Fashion Lifecycles, which begin with the Introduction of a style, silhouette, concept or overall design. Typically, post introducing the world, the Acceptance Cycle begins, which includes flooding the industry with the new style. As the world is enjoying a new style, so are the stores selling the new “it” piece, along with the brands that created the latest “go-to” item. Rounding out the top 3 cycles, is the Peak. When an item peaks within the Fashion Industry, consumers are wearing the item and it is available in abundance, typically, globally. As we all know, very few items remain at the peak, which brings us to the fourth cycle, Decline. At this stage, not only the consumers, but also the stores are blanketed with the item, making said item, undesirable. Simply, too many people have access to the item, making the item end up on the sale and the decline continues. The fifth and final stage of the Fashion Lifecycle, is Obsolescence, or obsolete.
Although each item has a lifecycle, fashion is about repitition, which brings us back to the Capri pant. Throughout time, fashion has been a source of happiness, freedom and both financial wealth and loss. In many ways, the crop pant is a symbol of the definition of fashion, providing happiness to many, freedom to wear a unique style of pant and both a financial loss for the buyer and gain for the seller. Yet, sometimes, items are not meant to follow the traditional fashion lifecycle, and are meant to head straight to the sale rack and into obsolescence.
The Capri Pant is back, but not here to stay. If you are so daring to try the latest version of the 60’s Hot Pant, try the black slim fitting pair at VINCE or for the uncertain wearer, but who wants to still be a part of this trend, grab your pair at MANGO.
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