the phenomenon of trendy clothing stores

yesterday i walked into new york and a company of strangers greeted me with appraising stares. the gap between myself and them was subtly expressed by their glance from my mid-section to the clothing rack. the abercrombies and the fitches of the place had never encountered this gauntlet of glances. khakis zeros and ones graced the hips of those americans with eagle eyes fixed on me. jeans fashioned old and navy-colored taunted me from thin shelves. i didn't belong here; apparently i would have to go elsewhere to find the place where trend and reality coincide.

For those of you who are wondering, I am not bitter about these trendy stores, or the fact that their sizes do not fit most normal women. I am simply stating one of the ironies of life: we tend to live in extremes (trend and unreality vs. out-of-date and reality). This affects more areas of our lives than clothes-shopping. Trendiness is not just for the ones who can fit into the size 2 jeans. Up-to-dateness is not just for the young. I'm not saying that everyone needs to be "trendy" per se, but I might be saying that everyone needs to be up-to-date. I haven't decided yet. Trends can tell you something about culture. We need to pay attention to trends. Sometimes trends are more than wanting to change a few standards. Sometimes trends are a complete change in worldview.