We Tried 13 Trends So You Don’t Have To. Some Worked. Some Didn’t. Photos Galore!
By all means, judge away.
by The Candidly Team
Is your taste more classic or trendy? Timeless or all about right here and now?
Because we personally would answer the former to both questions. In fact, we tend to only really like trends when they fit into a classic or timeless category.
For example, when excellently tailored trousers are having a moment, we’re all about it. White button-downs are all over fashion week? Count us in!
The point is, we prefer clothes that make us look eternally chic, young-ER but not like we’re trying to look young. And so, when we sent ourselves out on assignment to try on a bunch of current trends, we had no idea what to expect.
The results surprised us - in both good and not so good ways.
We landed on a consensus with each one but do feel free to disagree. We’re in new territory here. So let the judgement begin.
1. Vests As Shirts
Vests always look so chic on the statuesque models. But in real life, we worried all that structure might be uncomfortable or unflattering on curves. We tried many, many on and found the opposite to be true.
Vests make our waists look more hourglassy, and the fit makes it so we never have to adjust or tuck or fuss to look polished.
Madewell might be making our favorites, starting with THIS linen vest with its scooped neck and back wide enough to cover your bra straps. We appreciate that we can just throw on loose jeans and white sneaks (like we would with a white tee) and suddenly look chic and smart and like we styled our clothes.
There’s also THIS gem in stripes:
Flattering tops like this - that aren’t just t-shirts or button-downs -are strangely hard to find. So this one was an exciting discovery.
Consensus: Love! Especially these two from Madewell.
2. Striped Wide-Leg Trousers
Some of you will say, is this even a trend? Weren’t these always a thing? And we concede that stripes have always been chic. They also make clothes look more expensive.
But the reign of the wide-leg pants is relatively new and certainly not going anywhere. We tried on two of the most flattering pairs of pants we actually already own in solids but chose their striped version.
We’ll give you a moment to assess.
Consensus: Love! For us, mixing the comfort of house clothes with the tailored look of a wide leg pant, made more chic by a stripe, is one of our laziest hacks for looking good.
3. Bubble Tops
Listen, we do very much love a spacious sleeve that helps us eliminate any inkling of self-consciousness about our arms. We also love a 3/4 length of sleeve as it happens to be the most flattering on thicker arms. That said, this voluminous top felt very much like a Seinfeldian puffy shirt moment. The ballooning was just too much and made us look wider.
We did try ONE that we actually really liked when we tucked it, because it didn’t seem so capacious. Here it is:
But many we tried on just had that same tentish effect.
Consensus: Not for us. But definitely not judging if it’s for you.
4. Pops Of Bright Red
We wrote about how many color theorists say that true red is one of the few colors that look good on everyone. And we can’t say we haven’t been intrigued by the vibrant pops we’ve noticed here and there - though admittedly mostly on lips.
But despite being considered classic, red style pieces felt like a lot for us who stick mainly to neutrals.
We tried it on in 2 ways - adding a little red sneak to an otherwise very simple (possibly boring) outfit.
And then, we leaned all the way in by trying a dress we already knew we loved in red instead of black or white.
So listen, we’re not sure we knocked it out of the park with styling it, but we didn’t hate the red shoe. It felt like a lively alternative to a graceful white sneak which we love. (Sidenote: THIS same brand makes the very best little white sneak.)
As for the red dress, kind of a thrill. The shape is one that allows us to never suck in and happily eat all the pasta on vacation and still look sleek. So owning it in an exciting color was a win for our wardrobe.
Consensus: Mixed. Styling a red shoe wasn’t quite as easy as we thought. But we suspect there’s those out there who can do it really well. You perhaps?
5. That Viral Cardigan Shape
This cardigan style really took off years ago when Khaite released a 2k version and Katie Holmes styled it in the most gorgeous styling of a sweater known to man. Since then, other brands have made their own versions. We adore THIS one from Modern Citizen. But we just tried Quince’s entirely cashmere version that costs a tiny fraction of Khaite’s (and a very low price for cashmere in general). And we are nothing short of obsessed. So much so we ordered this one in an XS because the S wasn’t avail at the time. So yes, our “model” probably should be wearing a size up, but you can still see how the shape turns dumb clothes into “quiet luxury” outfits.
Consensus: Ummmm, yes!
6. Barrel Jeans
We’ve seen our share of bad barrel jeans and honestly, we wondered why brands were leaning so hard into the shape. We thought most women like us (over-40) would be similarly skeptical.
So with our hopes low, we grabbed a pair one day from the great halls of Anthropologie, and when we tried them on, we were extremely surprised. That wide, yet tapered leg actually made our legs look … slimmer. They covered up thighs and buttoned at the small of our waist, so we felt very covered up and comfy. But the way they went in at the bottom meant they still looked cute and intentional instead of like we were in sweats (which is what it feels like).
This particular pair has some magical sort of stretch to them. And here is our Editor-in-Chief wearing a very similar full-length version.
Consensus: Really, really like! Especially for days we feel bloated and meh.
7. Denim Dresses
We’ve seen a lot of these around and were curious, because denim does have some smoothing, hold-you-in kinds of powers, but it wasn’t til we saw THIS fit-and-flare little black (denim) dress from Madewell that we decided to take the leap and try it.
Ok, the hold is good. Sooo, sooo good. The dress creates a complete hourglass but with the firm hold and stretttch of denim. It also has pockets so the overall comfort/ flatteringness combo was a big win for us.
Consensus: Fully on board. This will indeed be our most worn LBD for spring.
8. Linen Tube Tops
We feared strapless for so many years before realizing it’s actually so flattering to arms, chests, and shoulders. This extremely affordable linen top was on our wishlist for months, and we finally bought it after being inspired by Kate Hudson’s outfits in THIS show.
It’s beyond easy to wear. Smocked in the back so you don’t need a bra but a comfy bandeau will also work. The ruching in the front and verrry slight flare shape means tummy coverage and waist-complementingness galore.
It’s a dream to wear.
Sidenote: It’s a great top to peak out from a black suit.
Even more of a sidenote: This black suit from Z Supply fits amazing, feels like pajamas, and costs so much less than what most suits do.
Consensus: Love!
9. Cropped Cardis
We’re biased on this one, as we often go to great lengths to tell you of how flattering cropped things can actually be. Yes, even when you have a belly pooch. And yes, even after 40.
Cropped tops are not as short as they used to be, and jeans are higher, so everything hits at the most flattering part of your waist, and you don’t have to bother tucking. Where untucked, longer pieces can look frumpy, this comes off polished, and your silhouette looks its best.
THIS sweater just so happens to be our favorite spring sweater so any excuse to share it is fun for us.
Consensus: Yes! Please, please trust.
10. Mid-length Shorts
Don’t lose faith in us. Obviously the outfit is insane. It makes us want to run to the top of a Swiss hillside and play a horn to call sheep. But listen, we were midway through trying out the “strawberry core” trend when we tried on these shorts, and it was a whole thing, yada, yada, yada. Nevertheless, the way they shortened our legs just didn’t work for us.
These are actually the long-shorts version of the striped pants we love from #2 on this list, so the fit is very good apart from the length being a bit of a challenge.
We’re not saying it won’t work for everyone. Our Editor-in-Chief actually recently styled a gaucho-cut short in a look we love.
Consensus: Can be good. But only if you’re really willing to style it.
11. Denim On Denim
We kind of cheated by trying on this set we’ve had our eye on anyway from Z Supply which is actually a soft knit that looks like denim, coming in multiple “jean” colors. It is - conclusively - wildly comfortable. New airplane outfit, anyone?
That said, we should show you what you were probably picturing when we mentioned the denim on denim trend:
Consensus: Like (surprisingly). It’s actually chic and uncomplicated, and with the right pieces, it definitely works
12. Bubble Gum Pink
Why not divide all of you right here and now at the near-end of this article? Some of you will love it. Some of you will … not.
So we’ll just start by saying, some of us at The Candidly LOVE this dress. It holds our boobs in place, it comfortably smocks over our bellies, so we have shape but can still breathe. The size range is amazing. The pocketed, full skirt is light as air. It comes in many colors, but the one that brought us here today is pure, unapologetic, 1980s-prom pink.
Consenus: Divided. Gonna let you be the tiebreaker.
13. Polka Dots As Neutrals
Admittedly, we love a polka dot. It might be on the style map recently, but it’s also always been around. We love it as a going-out top under a tuxedo jacket to break up the black on black.
And we tried it as THIS maxi skirt, which is so lovely and fits like in a heavenly way we always hope skirts will fit. We even got the matching TOP.
Consensus: Still love. Never will stop.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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