Trends For The Week Of September 18, 2009

Gargantuan Sunglasses

Bug eyed individuals rocking big sunglasses are buzzing all around campus these days. Sunglasses with unnecessarily huge lenses seem to be the new fashion style with CU students. Surprisingly, this trend doesn't apply solely to the female crowd on campus, rather both sexes have picked up the new style. However, the female version of these glasses always seem to outdo the male's. While the guys wear large lensed Aviator, Top Gun style glasses, the girls flaunt shades that cover nearly half their face. The undercurrent pushing this trend has got to be the celebrity and Hollywood scene. Celebs have been wearing the over sized sunglasses in recent history, and the trend has certainly caught on. For the record, this trend is not just applicable to CU; big sunglasses are taking over faces everywhere. This has got to mean the sunglasses industry is booming right now with sales of big shades, and the trend doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.


Hookah

Although the act of smoking hookah originated many, many years ago in India, the water-pipe is gaining popularity here in Boulder. Students can be seen smoking the device at all times of the day on the various grassy fields here at CU. Freshman students are consistently seen smoking hookah on Farrand Field, even though the pipe is banned in the dorms. Although personal hookahs are popular, the various hookah bars located around Boulder on the hill and on Pearl Street are crowded beyond capacity some nights. The hookah bar on the hill almost always has a list of people waiting to gain admittance to smoke on the weekends. Contrary to popular belief, the tobacco used in hookahs (called shisha) is better for the user than ordinary cigarette tobacco. This could be a part of the undercurrent pushing this trend along with CU students. Always thinking like a healthy campus, the hookah is a good alternative to smoking cigarettes. Also, the massive existence of hookahs is obviously a part of the undercurrent of this trend. Numerous places are located within a half mile of CU's campus that offer hookahs for sale or even to rent for the night. They'll even deliver! Hookah is a popular social activity in Boulder at the moment that seems to be taking a stand for its right to survive in the community, and right now its winning.

Christmas Lights In The Summer?

What's up with this? CU students have taken a long standing holiday tradition and converted it into a year long decoration. Christmas lights can be seen decorating student housing all over the hill these days. Some students even have such extravagant displays that their houses and backyards can be seen illuminated from blocks away. There is no specific undercurrent pushing this trend other than the Christmas holiday itself. Other than that, Christmas lights are becoming popular strictly for the fact that they are fun, neat, and spice up the atmosphere at a party or social gathering. The Christmas light trend seems to only be catching on with other students, so don't expect the decoration strands to be taken down any time in the near future.

Big Watches

Big watches are all the rage right now with CU students. The huge watch face literally covers the width of the person's entire forearm and then some. There's no advantage to these over sized watches other than the fact that other people can see the time on your wrist from half a block away. It's hard to determine the undercurrent from which the huge watches are arising, but if I had to guess I would give the credit to the celebrities once again. Guys and gals around campus are imitating the celebs in order to stay with the fashion trends popular amongst their idols. The trend seems to be gaining status with the student body and pop culture, so don't expect these watches to disappear overnight. The wrist watch market will continue to exhibit sales to the younger, influential crowd who are willing to pay top dollar for the watches. That's the price you gotta pay to be a baller these days.

Trends For The Week of September 11th, 2009

Well, its been an interesting week out there trend hunting around campus. Since I've started this assignment I have begun to notice many trends catching on with all different groups of people here at CU. Here are my four observations for this week.

Sigg Water Bottles

Introducing the Sigg water bottle; taking the place of plastic Nalgene bottles everywhere. Aluminum, sleek, and customizable, the Sigg bottle is gaining popularity among students here at CU. Although it is over a hundred years, I believe the Sigg has made a comeback due to the large population of mountain climbers here at CU flaunting their Siggs. The bottles are popular amongst their crowd due to the fact that they are virtually indestructible. They can fall from incredible heights and dent and bend but never bust. Also, over the past couple of years news has spread that the hard-plastic material that composes a Nalgene may be hazardous to one's health. The ultimate undercurrent to this trend, however, is people's ever growing aggressiveness to become healthy. And the first step to getting healthy (besides getting off your couch) is to drink water! With over 100 bottle designs available and the option to customize your own, I don't think the Sigg bottle will be overcome by competitors any time soon.

Ear Gauges

I've spotted ear gauges opening up all over campus this year in nearly all my classes and while walking around campus. I know what you're thinking; no way, I hardly ever see those. But you have. Many people have gauge earrings that are so small they are just a couple of millimeters larger than a regular earring. Thus, they blend in. It is only the extreme who continue to step up their gauge size and stretch their ears beyond the point of ever returning to normal size again. Interestingly these earrings seem more popular amongst the male crowd at CU, but the girls certainly rock 'em, too. I believe the undercurrent pushing this trend is simply students wanting to be rebellious and fashionable at the same time. Some people may wear them to be fashionable within their crowd, but others enjoy the piercing and watching it grow to its fullest potential and size. And freaking people out of course.

Funky Shoelaces

Forget plain white sneaks these days. People are spicing up their kicks with funky shoelaces varying from any color, metallic to neon, and everything in between. And not just solid colors either. People have actual designs on their shoelaces, including the Playboy Bunny, hearts, or famous (and infamous) band logos. The sudden uprise in designer shoe laces may be occurring due to the undercurrent neon theme that is booming around campus. The shoe lace is just another accessory to flaunt in neon. Also, the laces often match the neon on the shoes that they are complementing. Another possibility is that people just want more attention to be drawn towards their shoes. After all, people spend hundreds of dollars on shoes and many people hardly recognize them. By spending another $2.50 for a pair of exotic laces one can get the sought after attention that they desire towards their shoes.

Messenger Bags

Two straps are out, one is in. Messenger bags have been appearing all over campus since my freshman year in 2007. However, this year they are all over the place. Everywhere I look I see someone with a bag over their shoulder resting on their hip instead of on their back. The bags are popular among both genders at CU, and are worn by an incredibly diverse crowd. Anyone from businessmen to punk rockers sport a messenger bag these days. In my opinion the undercurrent behind these bags is the retro look sought after by the people who use them. Also, for businessmen, there is just something about talking to your boss with a kiddy looking backpack on that is not professional. The messenger bag is versatile in its appearance and can be taken to the office or to class all the while looking quite average, however fashionable. I would not be shocked if the old postman messenger bag continues to gain popularity here at CU among the student body.

Tank Top Jerseys Bro

Male students wearing old lacrosse practice uniforms is increasingly on the rise day to day. The thin, breathable material that makes up the tank top must be nice in the summer sun; after all, sun's out, guns out right? The undercurrent pushing this trend is most likely the booming popularity of the sport of lacrosse, thus making the players want to exploit their status' as players. This trend may or may not increase people's likelihood to go out and buy lacrosse related products, depending on how they look at the bros rockin' the jerseys in the first place. But if they're lucky, producers of lacrosse goods and memorabilia will see an economic boom in their places of business.

Hula Hoops

Almost any time of the day on Farrand Field, Norlin Quad and many other grassy plains on campus can someone be spotted spinning a hula hoop all over their body. Hula hooping seems to be a popular trend among the female students at CU. This plastic hoop likely makes it presence known on campus due to a few reasons; quite possibly the fact the hoop is prevalent at CU is because it is popular among hippie minds, providing a light, fun exercise one can do almost wherever they like. Also, many students at CU love attending live music performances, where the hoop is popular as a stage act and in the crowd during the show. Thus, the hoopers bring their practice sessions along with a boombox to the fields at CU and dance for the passerbys and wanderers. As stated before, this trend seems to be almost dominated by the younger female culture at CU. The amount of hula hoops will likely continue to rise due to an even younger culture of girls seeing their older generation of role models practicing hula hooping. The simple, plastic ring may even grow exponentially if the trend continues to catch on. It could even be advertised to an older generation for its aerobic purposes, thus dominating all ages of the female market. But we'll see.

Music Festival Wristbands

While walking around campus this past week I have noticed that loads of students are still wearing their plastic/cloth wristbands that they obtained by attending a notorious music festival over the summer. Some students have numerous bracelets, some even from a couple of years ago. This trend's undercurrent is the music festival scene, in which it is popular for music enthusiasts and hippies alike to travel from festival to festival all summer long enjoying good vibes and sweet, sweet music together. This trend will likely advertise the once underground music festivals to others in a public fashion, thus driving up sales for festies in the summer of 2010.

Fedora Hats

The first time I recall ever seeing a fedora hat was my first day here at CU while receiving my BuffOne card in Willard Hall. Throughout the rest of that year, I spotted a few fedoras here and there bobbing around campus. However, this year, my 3rd year here at CU, I have seen an explosion in this fashion. Fedoras are everywhere these days. Every place I look I see another student walking around with what appears to be a miniature top hat on their noggin. This trend's popularity is said to be due in part to the rise in popularity of electronic music over the past decade. Musicians and artists started wearing the fedora and the trend seems to be catching on big time these days with their fans. This item could mean a huge marketplace for almost all clothing and hat companies among many others. Since the style is not limited to a certain age group or demographic, the fedora could be money in the pocket for anyone who pounces on the uprising product.

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