I love to read but I rarely have enough time to read as much as I would like. When I have long flights, I relish the uninterrupted time with my newspapers, my perpetual stack of magazines and my trade journals. Only after I am finished with them will I allow myself to move on to a novel (I’m anxious to start Amy Tan’s latest, Saving Fish From Drowning).
Flying to San Francisco this afternoon I had the pleasure of reading rather than skimming—a real luxury! The November issue of Vogue was one of the choices in my reading bag today. I liked the piece that talked about wallpaper’s return (wallpaper is part of a larger trend toward more print and pattern in the home; updated designs and its ability to personalize environments will give wallpaper panache as it builds into 2007).
I also took notice of an article about Topshop, one of my favorite places to shop apparel in London. Topshop has an ambience that oozes trend. The color stories are exciting, the fabrics are compelling and the visual display is innovative. If you are going to London, Topshop should be on your must-see list even if you do not specialize in apparel.
But the article I liked the best was about called The New Casual (page 174), addressing the formal overtones that are creeping into apparel. The Trend Curve™ accurately forecasted the same trend toward formality for home décor back in 2002, suggesting that it would be obvious beginning in late 2004, then go forward. I’m not blowing my own horn for being right (although I do so love to be right), just pointing out again how home and apparel are coming closer and closer together.