The fashion world is constantly changing and is always on the lookout for newer and hotter trends. Consumers may not realize that the fashions available in the store now were actually designed a full year ago. The process of getting clothes out onto the actual market is a very long and tedious process. Color schemes must be set, then textiles, manufacturing, and much more all before we even place eyes on the final product. Whether you want to follow fashion trends, ignore them, or rebel against them entirely, the one thing you can’t do is deny their existence. They are always there, always influencing us and always evolving. There are no set rules or laws that govern the realm of fashion. There’s nothing you must buy or must do, and there’s certainly nothing – ever – that you absolutely cannot do.

“Fashion can be whatever you want it to be it’s a form of art and expression,” Ashley Hughes, a window decorator at Nordstrom, said.

For the fall and winter season there are six trends for the women’s’ wardrobe: plaid, cowgirl, digital print, mod 60’s, folk and outerwear coats. Among these trends the themes that arise are sports, moto, pastels, psychedelic prints, punk, plaid, boudoir, digital print, folk print, pvc material, embellishments, and a mix from the 50’s-80’s. The shoe collection for the 2014 fall season consists of mainly 50/50 boots, moto boots, combat boots, over-the-knee boots, leather booties, and of course the one thing we never fail to see, the infamous Ugg boot.

“Thick wool knits are mostly what we are being shipped right now, that seems to be the biggest trend,” Elizabeth Scheley, a buyer for Forever 21, said.

For the fall and winter season hair trends include the ballerina bun, braids, a sleek and wet hair look, 60’s mod hair, center part, creative ponytails, and loose waves.

For the spring and summer season there are 10 typically male trends for the womens’ wardrobe: slogans and logos, lace, sheer layering, crop tops, oversized/boyish tops, bandeaus, overalls, wide leg pants, and cropped pants. Among these trends the themes that arise are wordplay, inverse shirt buttoning, cowgirl, fringe, cutouts, and mod 90’s. The shoe collection for the spring 2014 had a lot of jelly sandals which was a big trend in the 90’s.

For spring and summer the hair trends are the use of hair accessories, bobs, side parts, milkmaid braids, and low ponytails. Over the year the ombre style as well as bright colors were big for the hair industry.

Makeup trends include orange lipstick, kohl lines eyes, bold cat eyes, smokey eye, thick eyebrows, and glitter eye makeup.

Carolyn Richardson, the fashion coordinator for GAP and Old Navy said, “In the upcoming seasons we expect to see a lot of the old fashions renewed and a bit more modern.”

As the years go on and the fashion trends change daily, we see clothes our parents have worn come back into style with an updated twist on it.

“Trends are just new things the stores want you to buy to spend more money, I just wear whatever I feel like not what the stores want me to wear,” Burlingame resident, Chelsea Morton-Jones, said.

Fashion is a constant game of what’s hot and what’s not. The greatest part about this is it is completely up to you how you want to express your personal style. The real fashion show is on the streets everyday.