Let’s talk about trends for a minute. You know you want to! 😉
Has anyone else found themselves in a store recently doing a double take at the styles? I found myself in Target recently…ok…who am I kidding….I find myself in Target multiple times a week but that’s neither here nor there…anyhoo…I found myself in Target and stood there in the aisle between clothing and shoes and wondered if perhaps instead of walking through the front door I actually entered a strange vortex where I was suddenly back in 1985.
To the left of me were zippered jeans and mesh tops and neon colors and….GASP!!! Oh Lord have mercy, were those stirrup pants I saw? Then, after I picked myself up off the shiny tiled floor onto which I passed out, I looked to the right of me and saw gladiator sandals and little white Keds and high-top sneakers with crazy strappy things all over them.
I was shocked…appalled…chagrined. And not just because some of these (let’s face it MOST of these) trends were totally horrible the first time around and should never EVER have returned for a second act. But also because what was now considered “vintage” and “retro” trends with all of the kids (yes I realize how old that makes me sound) were things that I actually wore that first time around.
Sigh…
But, here’s the other thing about trends. Sometimes something totally classic that has been around forever morphs into a trend.
Take maps for example. I’m seeing them all over the place lately!
But, can geography actually be considered a trend? I don’t have the perfect answer to that question.
And, to be honest, I don’t care. Because I LOVE maps!
And when I found a giant map gift bag on clearance the other day I knew it wasn’t meant to just be a gift bag. It was destined for greater things. Like hanging on the wall!
I dug out an old canvas that I had intended to use for another project which turned out horribly and left me with several canvases painted pale blue.
I covered it in Mod Podge…
…cut the bag to size making sure to keep the handle in tact so that I could do this with it!
Trends will come and go.
Some of them I will embrace and incorporate into my own ‘look’ and some of them…ahem…stirrup pants…will never be welcomed into my world again!
But, if I can take a trend/classic and turn it into something fresh, fun and cheap! Well, I’m all over that!
What about you? How do you feel about trends? Or, more importantly, how do you feel about stirrup pants? 😉
Blessings to you from the Picket Fence today,
I love it! Such a cute idea!
Lol I had the same reaction at our Target! My 22 yr old girls were oohhhing over it all! Insane and yes ugly. Love what you did with the bag! Bags like napkins are something I’m always drawn to. Great job!
Adorable! I admit I’m in on the map trend. I just bought a vintage Deep South map and have big plans for it.
HOWEVER, I will not be in on the mesh top or stirrup pant trend. Ever. Like, EVER!! 🙂
~Cheryl
https://snaps-of-ginger.blogspot.com/
Thanks so much Cheryl! And yes, the stirrup pants need to just go away and never come back!!
LOL!! When you were young, the stirrup pants were already vintage! I can remember older girls/women wearing them when I was little–and I’m 62!
We are retro now? Neon orange and pink are still yuck!
I’m loving the maps too. A project like this would be so much easier than wallpapering my half bath with brightly colored maps. 😉 Smart girl for keeping the handle!
LOVE the bag idea. Hate the “new retro flashback” styles. Just last year I said that stirrup pants and shoulder pads were next to make a comeback…and big hair too. Can’t wear stirrup pants with out the shoulder padded oversized sweater and the giant hair. 🙂
Love it, Vanessa! Such a great idea. Sometimes gift bags are just too pretty to use as gift bags.
I love how you used the bag handle as your canvas hanger! Creative and smart.
So creative…love the idea!!
i love this idea…skipping the stir up pants though.
Great idea. I see so many gift bags that are great art. Now I know what to do with them.
Very creative idea! Thanks for sharing.
Such a simple and cute idea!!
XO
Kristin
Brilliant! What a great quick craft!
I saw a very similar gift bag at HomeGoods a while back and thought it was too pretty for a gift bag – sadly, I must have been distracted by something else and didn’t pick it up! Love this idea!
Thanks Doreen! 🙂
You are so clever! Beautiful idea.