If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to be more trendy, here are a few predictions to give you a head start.
Fashion and Beauty
Hot on the runway for spring fashion are Victorian-style ruffles and flowers and silky nightwear-turned-daywear, according to Elle fashion magazine. Marie Claire predicts bold stripes, Vogue expects Latin influences and Glamor sees an increase in exposed shoulders, marled knits and slipper-style shoes.
Outside the world of haute couture, the Pinterest 2016 trend board expects throwback sneakers, funky sunglasses and minimal-piece wardrobes to be “a thing” this year, along with coffin nails and mermaid hair coloring (teals, purples and the like, often in an ombre color fade). And Pantone has named their colors of the year -- yes, two: Rose Quartz, a pale pink; and Serenity, a tranquil blue.
Food
Poke (pronounced ‘poh-kay’), a Hawaiian dish of marinated, usually raw seafood, is the new sushi and seaweed is the new kale, according to Baum Whiteman, international food and restaurant consultants. It will also be the year of veggies, which are expected to replace everything on the plate from pasta to meat. If that has you concerned, you’ll be glad to know that fried chicken -- in all its forms -- is expected to be big, especially in a “Nashville Hot” style, which is slathered after frying in a sauce of “melted lard, sugar, sadistic quantities of cayenne, sugar and chef's secret spices.” Look for hot international spices like Indian ghost pepper and Piri-piri peppers to make it big.
Baum Whiteman also forecasts changes in how we dine: food delivery will be on the rise, menus will go clean -- free from non-natural additives -- and more restaurants will move toward not tipping and instead paying waitstaff a higher wage.
Home Decor
Mason jars, chalkboard paint and burlap accents are so last year as one-of-a-kind artisan goods and geometric shapes take the center stage, according to a 2016 trend report by Zillow Digs. Also predicted are nubby wool rugs and other natural textures. Pinterest predicts that colors are going back to the basics, with black, gray and white and other organic hues to dominate decor. Metallic accents, including gilded wallpaper, will be big. The Benjamin Moore color of the year is “Simply White.”
Miscellaneous
This is the year to get working on your cinder block garden, according to the Pinterest 2016 trend board, or to teach your kids how to code -- the kind of code that creates apps, software and websites. Other hot activities include DIY drones, adult coloring, distilling your own booze and travel-inspired tattoos.
