Dress Like You, Not The Trend

We weigh the promise and price of following fashion trends, from confidence and community to costs, ethics, and the environment. We share practical ways to shop with intention, dress for work and seasons, and protect identity, comfort, and budget.

• fashion as self-expression and social currency
• popularity, confidence, and standing out
• shopping joy, budgeting, and buying quality
• idols and peer pressure versus authenticity
• workwear signals and career opportunities
• building community without losing control
• environmental and labor impacts of fast fashion
• happiness beyond looks and being different
• health risks, comfort, and realistic fit
• pros and cons framework for clear choices
• seasonal dressing and occasion-based style
• reselling, donating, and caring for clothes

Style promises confidence, community, and a quick way to stand out—but what’s the real cost? We dive into the highs and lows of following fashion trends, from that rush of a sharp new fit to the slow drain on your wallet, time, and attention. Along the way, we share how to use clothes as a tool for self-expression without letting hype tell you who to be.

We get practical about shopping: setting a budget that sticks, choosing quality over churn, and planning purchases that actually fit your life. There’s a real edge to dressing well at work—signals of readiness, good judgment, and respect for the role—whether you’re on a warehouse floor, in an office, or out in the field. We talk about building a tight, versatile rotation, learning color and proportion, and turning social outings into real-world style labs. And if your closet’s already full, we cover smart ways to resell, donate, or gift what you don’t use.

Then we pull back the curtain on ethics. Fast fashion often hides harsh labor realities and a heavy environmental footprint. We walk through small, sustainable moves—buy fewer, better pieces; repair and care; source secondhand; ask the “30 wears” question—that add up without demanding perfection. Health matters, too: we unpack the pressure of thinness-centered images, the discomfort of trend-first fits, and why confidence should come from identity first, clothes second.

The heartbeat of the episode is choice. Take inspiration from idols without ceding control. Accept advice, not orders. Dress for seasons and occasions, and embrace being different when the room looks the same. If you’ve ever asked “Should I follow trends?” this is your clear, values-first framework to answer it—on your terms.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves a good fit, and leave a review to tell us the one style rule you live by.

Stay in touch and stay tuned in.

Transcript

Opening & Fashion As Self-Expression

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night, wherever you are and however you are listening. Welcome to Fruit Blender's Podcast. On today's topic, we will discuss about fashion and style of clothing. So following fashion trends can make you popular, like more popular. One advantage of following fashion trends is that it can make you stand out, be in the spotlight, or just take the credit for you know the way you dress. In fact, many people in our society, fashion is quite important to express themselves and also just to look good. Hence, I mean, if you are currently rather unpopular in school, in the workplace, or also as a grown-up, chances are that you can improve your looks and therefore also your level of popularity by following the latest trends. I mean, that goes to tell you that your peers may envy you, and in general, if you follow the latest trends, chances are that you're also also your friends will envy you. Your peers may envy you. In general, if you follow the latest fashion trends, chances are that also your friends will envy you due to that. In fact, many people would love to dress to look good and learn how to dress. However, many people simply don't know how to do that. Thus, if you become a real trendsetter among your peers, which may further improve your overall reputation since your friends will likely want to be like you, and that's not the key. Following fashion trends can be fun, it's another benefit of following fashion trends, is that it can also be quite you know chasing. In fact, many people love shopping and like to try various different styles. If you are one of those shopping victims, chances are that you will also love to follow the latest shopping trends since it will make your hobby even more interesting. I mean, following fashion trends and shopping can give you a challenge. Fashion trends rapidly change over time. This is true. Every year there's always something different that people are wearing. And therefore, it can also be regarded as a challenge to follow the latest fashion trends. If you are a person who loves to develop and adapt to different styles, following the latest fashion trends, shopping trends, it may also help you in this regard. It can make you more confident, but be aware, you may also become much more confident by following fashion trends. Fashion is a big part of our society if you don't know how to dress and how to present yourself. You may not have the same chances in life compared to someone who knows how to dress presents themselves or herself in the best possible manner. If you dress in line with the latest trends, chances are that you will become much more confident since people will treat you with more respect. And overall, level of acceptance in our society may increase as well. People may get a sense of identity by following fashion trends. I mean, many people also feel quite lost in life. Honestly, they do. There's also people who just keep it casual and simple. This is often due to the fact that the world is changing so rapidly and people can't process all new information around them. I mean, they can't keep up, is what I'm talking about. Some people cannot really keep up with the fashion trends. Fashion can give those people a sense of identity, which can help to overcome self-doubt or identity issues. You gotta figure yourself out. You must figure yourself out. Who are you? Shopping can also be a great way to mitigate your stress level and to reload your batteries for stressful tasks yet to come in the future. Also, be careful with how you spend your money. I mean, just because you got you got the opportunity to go shopping doesn't mean you go into shopping free and shop whatever you want to shop for, but look for high quality, high quality, and is your money really worth it? Ask yourself that question Is my money really worth it? But if it makes you if it makes me feel good, I'm gonna buy it. If it looks great, I'm gonna buy it. But make sure it has high quality. Know what you're paying for. Okay, I know it's in demand, but know what you're paying for. There's a lot of people in a lot of shops and stores who will sell you a replica of fake sneakers, of fake Yeezys, they'll sick you, they'll sell you fake stuff that you don't even want to that you think it's high quality, but it's not. So watch how you spend your money and watch what you are buying. High quality matters. So you know, you can also do what your idols do, you know, dress like your idols. Many people also want to dress like their idols. Celebrities often set the latest fashion trends, and especially young people want to look and feel like they are like their idols. Consequently, by following latest fashion trends, you can not only look good, you may uh you may also be better able to identify your idols and yourself. Fashion may be able, it may be helpful to find a partner, you know. Another way fashion trends might also help you out is you know find someone you like, or someone might like how you dress at the store, at school, at work, anywhere in the world, they might like how you dress. But don't be afraid to dress like yourself, dress like how you dress, don't forget where you came from. You know, don't follow everybody, don't be a sheep, okay? Because sometimes you you might not be able to afford it or pay for it, and that money was for an emergency or a rainy day or an upcoming bill or rent, and you spent it just to impress someone else, or just because it's the latest trend, you don't want to do that. Don't gamble on your life, don't gamble on yourself, and don't gamble with your pockets. Okay, be yourself, know yourself, know where you came from, and that's what you should do. Go about it, don't be about it. Plenty of fashion is in the communities out there. Fashion is not the only thing that you do for yourself. I mean, in fact, fashion is quite important for billions of people on our planet. If you follow the latest fashion trends, chances are that you will also be able to join a fashion community where you can share your latest fashion ideas and can further improve your look by benefiting from the style of the tips, style tips of other members in the community, like they'll give you advice hey, I think you should wear it like this or that, or hey, uh you know, you uh you should pop your collar or you should do this, buckle dot dot. They will tell you how to dress, and you don't want that, you don't want people to tell you how to dress. You can have them show you how to dress, or like um give you an advice, like hey, I think that color looks better with this, or this pops out more than this, it makes your skin pop out. That's understandable, but you can't have somebody tell you, hey, wear this, wear that, do this, do that, you know. You should wear this, you know. No, it shouldn't be about it. It should be like, hey, give me some tips. I can learn something from you. Don't control me. Make sure nobody controls how you dress. Dress like yourself, tag along, but dress like yourself. Feel confident, be you in your own skin, your own clothes. You know? The good thing about fashion is that it attracts many things. Friends, family, and um peers and co-workers, and you know, if you're looking for a job, they like the way you dress. That's why they tell you at a job, dress professionally or dress how the job is. If you're working in a warehouse, dress like you're working in a warehouse. If you're in the office, business casual or casual business, or in a suit, dress, doesn't matter. Um, and if you are a person who is adventurous out there, working at the zoo or wildlife, you're gonna dress like you're filled. It's just professional to dress like you're filled. And if you're going out, great, dress accordingly to the plan. Um when you go shopping on a regular basis, you will automatically speak to many salesmen and can connect to those in the long run, like when you're in the mall. Moreover, when you go shopping with your friends, you will naturally meet new people in the stores and therefore can expand your circle of friends over time. Shopping is another way, it's it's a great way to be socializing. I mean, it brings a lot of attention, first of all. If you're wearing bright colors, that's a lot of attention. If you're wearing something different than anybody else, that's a lot of attention. Like, for example, whatever I wear, I always get a lot of attention because you know, I'm I got my suit on, I got I got my jump, you know me. I got I got my I got my fits, people are staring because you know, they either like the shoes or the shirt or the color or the texture. You know where I'm going with this. And um, like I like I was saying in the workplace, following fashion trends may improve your job opportunities. So dress for the job. Dress like you want it, you need it, you have to have it. Dress for the job, be professional. Looking good can help you in various parts of life. In fact, if you follow the latest fashion trends, you are more likely to find a good job. Additionally, if you I mean additionally, you may even be able to make a full-time income by blogging or starting a YouTube channel around fashion tips and topics. If you know how to dress, how to work your colors, and you know, texture and and grade, you know, like all the things that has to do with fashion, that's where you belong. If you're good at that, that's where you belong. You should be giving people advice and tips and you know, a couple of you know, a couple of you know, just a couple of numbers. So that way they pick up those that information and put it to action. Next day, they poppin'. People gonna be like, ooh, you know, you changed somebody's life, you changed their image, you changed the way they dress, you changed, you set something up for them that makes them look like them and be them, feel comfortable, really, really comfortable and confident, though they will embrace themselves, but they know where they got the information from. Sometimes, if you know what you're doing, like budgeting, putting um colors, outfits together, matching, mismatching, it'll matter as long as it looks good, then shopping can is easier for you because whenever I go shopping, I know what I'm doing, I'm budgeting, and it's important to budget, you know. You don't want to be a freak buying everything, and then later on you tend to throw things away. And if you are that type of person that buys a lot just and just leaves in a closet, doesn't wear it often or doesn't know what to do with it, you can resell that stuff. You can literally go online and um and resell that stuff. Hey, never worn or just used once, or you know, put a put a few information on it and resell it, or donate it, you know. That's the best thing you can do about clothes that you're not you're not using no more. Donate it or resell it, and if it looks too good, just give I mean, and you can also give it to somebody too as a gift. Um clothes don't always have to be bought, it can also be out out of your closet. If it's in a great shape and you're not using it no more, give it to somebody, donate it, or sell it. Um, if you already know what's trendy and what's not, chances are that you will have quite an easy time dressing in in line with those trends without having to ask a salesperson who might not know anything about fashion at all. So basically, it's like if you already know what you want before you go into the store, you don't have to ask a salesperson to be like, hey, okay, where can I find that you know turtlenecks or this and that, and they'll they will give you they will take you to where the location is at, or the or the you know material is at. They will, but they won't tell you what looks good on you, you know what I mean? So before you go into the store or before you head to the mall to go shopping, know what you're gonna get, know how much you're gonna spend, and know what looks good on you, and what's gonna look good on you the next day or the next night or date night, you know what I mean? So yeah, know what you're doing before you buy it. Aside from many advantages of following fashion trends, there are also some issues related to this concept. In fact, one problem with following fashion trends is that it can simply be quite costly. That money, baby, it's all about that money. Like how much are you spending? What's it gonna take? What's your budget? Hmm? How much are you cutting off that bank? Account? How much are you getting out of your pocket? I mean if you're if you're doing good for yourself, you should not there's no need for you to budget if you're a person who likes to spend, spend, spend. But remember to also ease off because if you're not if you're gonna spend and not wear what you're gonna buy, or use what you're gonna buy, then it's no use for you to just buy things. And if you are that type of person that just you know wanna blow out the whole shop, and you're not gonna use any of that stuff, or wear any of that stuff, resell it like I told you. Keep it simple, and um don't don't forget to be humble. Do not forget to be humble. A lot of people, yes, they are wealthy, yes, they are, yes, they got it all, but don't forget to be humble. That's the key. I'm gonna tell you guys at least a little secret here. Okay, many of us are doing good for ourselves and our families and our spouses, but be aware that a lot of rich, wealthy people, and I mean really, really rich wealthy people, they are so low key you have no idea. And if you want an example, go to Ross, Burlington, Walmart, Target, just go, especially Ross and Burlington, just go to Ross and Burlington and find out what I mean by you will see rich, wealthy people that are shopping there. You won't even recognize it, you won't even recognize it that they are millionaires, and I mean it. Go, go to Ross or Burlington, you'll see. If you follow the latest trends, you will also buy new stuff since your old clothes will become outdated and pr pretty soon. I mean, just because they're old and outdated doesn't mean that you can't wear them again, right? I mean, that just doesn't make sense. I mean, if you feel like they are outdated and old clothes, then donate them or resell them, like I said, or give them to a friend, family member, or someone that you care for, a partner. In turn, you will have to spend plenty of money on your clothes, and if you have to evaluate for yourself whether fashion is worth it for you to spend so much money or not, you will have to buy new clothes quite often if you are a person who wants to stay with a trend. Me, I am not a trendsetter, and some nobody else is a trendsetter for me. Nobody's gonna send trend. I mean, nobody's gonna make me dress like the era. I'm gonna dress like myself, I'ma be myself, whether you like it or not. You can kick rocks, you know? Don't let nobody change you just because things are popping out every year and every month or every week, it doesn't mean it's important. You just move on. You like it, cool. You can get it, cool, great, but you don't have to be consistent with these people, they're just eating your pockets and you think it's cool, it's not also think about it. If you're just buying things over and over and over and over again, these manufacture comp these manufacturing companies, they love that for themselves. They're like, Yes, we nailed it, we got them buying every single item off our shelf, and you don't even know it. And the other part that's bad that you not knowing what's going on behind the scene of these companies is that there's sl labor, there's a lot of labor going behind the scenes, slave labor. Okay, half of our distributors outside of the US, the salary is not right, the pay is not right, and it's all labor, slave labor. They are really enslaving children, old people, elder people, moms, parents, fathers who can't even you who barely get like two to three cents or dollar just to make what you're wearing right now. Think about that, put that in your mind, and it's also bad for the environment. Think about it. You know, all this all this pollution, you know, all this plastic in the ocean. You have to think about what you're buying. I mean, it's fair, yes, it's around us, it's all over the place. We got plenty of plastic every day surrounded by us. There's not a single day where you don't. A plastic object or item, not a single day. You're always gonna be around plastic, touch plastic, eat from plastic, sleep on plastic, sit on plastic. You will always be around plastic. It don't matter. We can't avoid it. What we can do is we can turn things around. So it's bad for our environment. That's another disadvantage of following fashion trends is that it can be quite harmful to our environment. Every material item that has to be produced implies serious pollution and often also contributes to global warming. We gotta be careful, you know. Excessive consumption, meaning folks who buy more, also lead to significant this is crazy. Oh my, yeah, this is crazy. So if you're just like buying and you're consuming so much of this product or these products, you gotta be careful what you're buying. That's why I told you. Know what you're spending, know how you're spending, know what you're spending it on, the quality, is it worth it? Am I gonna use this for years, months to come? You know, think about that. Just don't buy things and just let them sit there. Know the fact that we're destroying our you know planet. Ugh, wow. I mean what else do you want me to say? Because our environment right now is not doing good. I love to go pick up trash around the lake, and sometimes the sidewalk, the neighborhood. Trash is not always a bad thing. Trash is like we live around trash. Think about that. Our kids live around trash, um, our pets live around trash. That's why, like, sometimes a dog or a cat will see something and they'll just eat it, and they're consuming some garbage from the on the floor in the streets. So it's not a bad idea to pick up trash once in a while. If you see trash and it's bothering you, or you're like, hey man, you know, I should I'm meant to pick this up, pick it up, throw in it, throw it in the garbage. And the garbage disposals, I mean the garbage, you know, companies, they will do their job by taking that trash, piece of trash to the lands. So you just do your job on picking the trash up. That's all. Cause on the other side, we can't do nothing about it, and we can't burn all the trash. Does that make sense? We don't even know where to take our trash. Should we throw it in the space? No. So, with that said, like, your happiness should not depend on your style. In order to stay happy in the long run, your level of happiness should not depend on too much of your appearance. It should not. Our beauty will fade over time, and if you base your happiness solely on your visual appearance, chances are that you will have a quite hard time once you lose your looks. Ooh we, yeah. And I'm I'm serious, if you just base your looks off of fashion and trends, you lost it. You lost yourself. So that's why I'm saying be confident, be who you are, stay in your own skin, your own your own fits, be yourself, don't let somebody tell you you don't look good or this and that, and this don't let them do that. Just move on, keep going. And a lot of this stuff may lead to shallow values in our society. Fashion trends may lead to rather shallow social values, you know. If people just care about their visual appearance and don't care too much about inner values anymore, chances are that this may lead to a state where people become quite self-concentred, self-centered and may lose empathy for each other and interest. So be careful on what you are buying or what type of group of people you are looking at or looking to dress like, even your idols. Be careful with that. They may turn you into something else that you're not. So respect yourself before you respect somebody else. Have respect for your body, have respect for your image, have respect for your face. Okay? Have respect for yourself, don't lose it. And fashion is like also a trend, or um, I mean it's a hobby for other people. It is. Black people just love to dress because you know, makes them look good, makes them feel good. And it's a hobby. At the end of the day, at the end of the day, they are themselves though. Because they're just it's a hobby for them. They're gonna, you know, like some influencers, it may be their hobby and they're getting paid for it, or sponsored, but that's not the really that's not really them at the end of the day. It's not them. They're just wearing it so you can wear it when you can buy it, or purchase the product. Don't let that fool you. That's why I'm saying it's important just to focus on yourself, be self-driven. Shopping does not provide too much values in our society, just in general. People may want to be, you know, using their own time instead of you know worrying about how they dress. I mean fashion trends can also make it look weird, like really, really weird. I mean, I've had a I've had an experience where I think it was junior high. I was trying to dress like my idol. And trust me, it didn't come out right, it looked good. I got asked a lot of questions, I got laughed at, you know, I got laughed at for dressing like somebody I'm not, my idol, but you know, I got laughed at so if it makes you look weird, you're out of luck. But if you're confident enough to like look weird, like super weird, and I mean super super weird, then hey, that's your style, that's your thing. Like I see I see a lot of weird things nowadays. I really do, a lot of different fashions, because it's like it's a trend, it is a trend, and everything just looks the same, and I don't like that, I don't like everything to look the same. I want to see different people every day from different backgrounds, religion, culture, and you know all the other good, all the other benefits of like you know, just looking different and just being different. That's what people are missing. It's good to be different, you know. It's not always about let's look the same, let's all wear the same thing, and you know, just it's good to be different, it's good to be in a different skin. It is because why would I want why would I want to see twins every day? You know, why would I want to see the same thing every day? It's kind of like being controlled in a controlled environment where you're just in the same route and routine every single day, and you are sick of it. So, if you're gonna just follow fashion trends, think about what you're doing. Because you're you're buying new things every day, you're you're wearing different things every day, but you're wearing it with a lot of group of people, a lot of group people, and I mean like it's not the only it's you're not the only person that's wearing this that that outfit. There's a lot of people out there who are wearing the same exact outfit as you are, same color, same stripes, same patterns, everything, same texture. So think about that. So it's good to be different. Y'all know what 2 Chain said? But yeah, I'm different. Yeah, I'm different. Oh. Anyways, um, you guys remember those years where we had it good, right? New clothes come out, new shoes come out, everybody wants it, new backpacks come out, everybody wants it. New objects and toys and all that stuff comes out, everybody wants it. We've all had those trends and eras of different things. Remember the skinny jeans era where like everybody was wearing skinny jeans, all the guys LMFAO started that, and Hobby Rock, all that stuff, so skateboarders, everyone was wearing skinny jeans around 20 what 2010, 11, 12, 13, and some people still do wear skinny jeans, but there's nothing wrong with square and skinny. There's nothing wrong with there is absolutely nothing wrong wrong with skinny jeans. If that is your motto, if that is your fashion, if that's your style, go ahead, go for it. I'm not gonna stop you, but I've experienced that, and I used to look good in skinny jeans, I used to. I'm not gonna lie, but that's not me no more. I don't see me wearing some tight pants where I can't breathe, if you know what I mean, but yeah, you know, and this goes for men and women, okay? There we have we've all experienced weird trends, each and every one of us, everyone, and it's not a bad thing. If you go through the wave, it's not a bad thing, but if you're like cons consistently following fashion trends every year, different fashion trends, then you are lost in yourselves. Sometimes following fashion trends can lead to anorexia, especially young people are often at great risk to suffer from anorexia. When when they follow the latest fashion trends, most fashion trends are meant for women who are quite skinny. That's why models are required to be skinny or light. Thus, if you want to follow your idols, you may also have to lose plenty of weight, which can lead to serious anorexia in the long run. Consistency. That's what they want to do, they want to kill you slowly. So remember that. Fashion trends are not always comfortable. Beauty knows pain. This is quite true when it comes to following latest fashion trends, it requires you to do a lot of to make a lot of changes, and you don't want to do that. Many clothes that are often in line with the latest fashion trends are quite uncomfortable, and you may have to suffer quite a lot over time if you really want to follow these trends. The pros and cons. Um this is what I'm thinking about. If you're following the latest the latest fashion trends, this is the pros for you. Following fashion can be interesting, you can make new friends, can give you a feeling of community, following fashion trends improves confidence, may help you in the dating market, can help you succeed in life, you can dress like your idols, you may improve your job opportunities, can make shopping easier, your peers may envy you. Okay, those are the pros. Now the cons to following fashion trends. So the cons to doing this is following fashion trends can be expensive, can be time consuming, you may have to get new clothes more often, can be harmful to our environment. Think about that. The environment where we are living, the near future, our kids, or everything, can get you into financial trouble. Uh-oh. May not be a good for social cohesion. It may it won't. Time could be better spent on other things, like whatever you value. Your family, your friends, your job, your career, your hobbies. Come on, it's not always about fashion. Don't let that consume your time. Following fashion may also lead to anorexia, can make you look weird, like we discussed. Fashion trends don't care about comfort. They don't, they just want you to wear the product, buy the product, and be about the product. Because the more they see that their product is out there, the more they'll put out and keep producing, producing, producing, producing, and the more we keep polluting, polluting, polluting, polluting. That's why I say to myself, I stay to myself. I wear what I want to wear. I dress what I want to how however I want to dress like. Especially on occasions. I am a person who just dresses for occasions. Besides that, I'm comfortable in my own skin, I'm comfortable in my own clothes. You know what I mean? I am comfortable. If it's hot today, I'm gonna wear me a shirt and some shorts. Sport shorts. And be comfortable. Let the wind, let the breeze, you know, do their thing. But and when it's cold, we all dress for the season. How about that? How about we just put it that way? Dress for the season, dress right, dress like you, dress like yourself. Be confident in your own body, in your own skin. Don't let the trendsetters get to you. Ask yourself this question. Should you follow fashion trends? Should I follow fashion trends? Ask yourself that question. We can conclude from previous discussion that there are many advantages and disadvantages of following fashion trends. Latest fashion trends. In the end, you have to evaluate all the pros and cons of following fashion trends by yourself in order to make a profound decision in this regard. You have to ask yourself this question: is it really worth it? Is it worth the money? Is it worth the time? Think about it. Is it worth polluting? Hmm. Think about it. It's important to really be yourself. It's healthier. You are likely aware to tear down, tear yourself down. You are likely to hurt your pockets. You know, think about everything you're about to do before you do it. When you are about to go out there, look good for yourself or for your peers, your friends, your family, your date, it don't matter. But think about where your product came from, too. What I know a lot of things come from many countries, we all know that. But always think about how much you are consuming. Is it really worth it? Me buying all this stuff? Because the money ain't going to the store you bought it from, it's going straight into the wealthy people, billionaires who are polluting the air, the you know, the environment. So think about what you're buying. Any product. This goes for any product, all kinds of products. Just think about what you're buying. I'd like to close it here, and I want to thank every each and every individual who is listening. You who are listening. You are well appreciated. I thank you for giving me your ears, for listening in, for tuning in. You're an amazing person. Go about your day, your night, your evening, and I hope you make the best out of it. Thank you for listening to Food Blender's podcast. I love you guys. Stay in touch and stay tuned in. Thank you. Thank you.