Recent trends we’ve been noticing

  • gelato!
  • bicycling
  • going to Italy
  • old-school mustaches
  • hybrid big cars and trucks
  • chia seeds for eating instead of pets
  • American pop that sounds like K-pop
  • rash guards instead of regular swim suits

What trends have you been noticing lately?

38 Responses to “Recent trends we’ve been noticing”

  1. First Gen American Says:

    I have carrara marble in one room of my old house from like 200 years ago. When I went to the tile store to try to find bathroom tile to match it, they’re like marble is so hot right now, everyone wants it and it’s in all the design magazines. Here I was thinking marble was so 19th century.

    book clubs
    cross fit workouts
    calling sweatpants yoga pants
    Science + Nerds (hurray!!. Thank you big bang theory)
    Skylanders Giants
    Farmer’s Markets
    Buying Local

  2. Cloud Says:

    I think the hybrid big cars and trucks may be regional- I’ve seen some here, but not enough I’d call them a trend. I am seeing quite a few Nissan Leafs, though, and a surprising number of Smart cars. I also saw a Tesla in the wild recently, but one sighting can’t be called a trend!

  3. ianqui Says:

    Haha, this sort of reads like the Meh list in the NYTimes One Page Magazine (e.g.

  4. Linda Says:

    I’m usually really slow to catch on to trends, but I can agree with everything on your list except one: rash guards instead of swim suits. I had to look up rash guards because I’ve never heard of them. Maybe it’s because a) it’s somewhat a kid thing and I have no kids or exposure to them; b) it’s also mostly a surfing thing and I have no exposure to that sport, either.

    FGA also notes some good trends. The geek/nerd thing being “cool” is actually kind of annoying me now. Seems everywhere I turn there’s some sort of message about “geeks/nerds are cool!” and how excited said geeky/nerdy person exclaiming so is about that. I just don’t get why people are so into their “coolness” rating, I guess. I do not care if anything I do is perceived as cool and think that people who are focused on that really need some other sort of attention in their life that they just aren’t getting. Isn’t it enough that one have friends and/or a supportive partner and/or a supportive family? Why care about what the media or perfect strangers think about your life?

    This is definitely me being grumpy, but if you can’t be grumpy with the Grumpies, well, what’s the point, right? I’ve just self-censored my final comment because it was too provoking, though, so I do have some limits. Time to step away from the keyboard and get some more coffee!

    • rented life Says:

      YES about the coolness factor. Like really. That’s great that this is all mainstream now, except that in many ways a lot of it has been mainstream for years. I had a student give a speech about how nerdiness is cooler now that before but all his evidence showed that it’s been popular for awhile, it’s only on his radar now because he’s old enough to pay attention. But he also associated gaming with nerd/geek and none of these kids are associating doing well in school with that. Drives me nuts.

  5. Debbie M Says:

    I also looked up rash guards. Yea, learning! I’m not sure how you wear them instead of swim suits since my sources say they are shirts. And they aren’t that long. Are people wearing them with shorts? Or yoga pants? (Instead of swimsuit bottoms?)

    • nicoleandmaggie Says:

      Wear them with shorts or a bikini bottom. They are tight long shirts made out of lycra/spandex.

    • Contingent Cassandra Says:

      It’s mostly a kid thing in my area. Prevents sunburns more easily/effectively than getting squirming kid to stand more or less still for regular sunscreen applications (you still have to do legs, face, and part of arms, but the rash guard reduces the area to be covered considerably, takes care of the ever-vulnerable shoulders, and doesn’t wash off). I suspect they’re popular partly because high-tech materials allow for coolness and quick drying, and hence considerable comfort, at least in comparison to a regular t-shirt.

  6. rented life Says:

    Bikes (and sadly hit and runs)
    People wanting to be nerds and geeks but not wanting to be smart. (“I watch Big Bang! Being a fanboy is cool” yeah, sure but those guys also are smart. Just saying.)
    Exorcism horror movies are “in”
    Paleo/clean eats
    Cross fit and acceptance that lifting doesn’t equal butch women. (THANK GOD! Lifting rules.)
    Running and those mudder/color, whatever runs.
    Disability awareness. (Locally, it’s getting more attention.)
    I’ve not hear of people eating chia seeds. All I can picture is a chia pet growing in your stomach every time you drink water.

  7. oilandgarlic Says:

    Paleo diet
    Cross fit
    Spanish cuisine (all things Spain)
    mid-century modern (thanks to Mad Men)
    Agree on hybrid SUVs

  8. hush Says:

    Gelato, going to Italy, and rash guards – yep, we’ve been all about those trends at my house.

    The big one I’m seeing everywheres is the keeping chickens and/or bees in the backyard. And composting. And eating locally/seasonally/organically. All positive trends, I think.

    • Linda Says:

      Dah-ling, keeping chickens and bees is practically mainstream now. The newest trend in sustainable living is goats. ;-) (No, I do not have any goats, but if I could figure out the “pasture problem” I have living in the city, I’m so there! For a few years now I’ve contemplated some long tethers and breaking through the fencing around the expressway so they could graze on the embankment…but I’d likely get thrown in jail or something.)

  9. nicoleandmaggie Says:

    Reporting from Boston: this season’s colors are black and white. Possibly also seagreen.

  10. Laura Vanderkam (@lvanderkam) Says:

    We’re a total rash guard family. All 3 kids now wear them. My husband and I don’t. We get sunburned and the kids generally don’t, so it seems effective. Makes for much less skin to worry about getting sunscreened up.

    Kale is so hip it’s practically over.

  11. Contingent Cassandra Says:

    Italy does seem to be a popular travel destination among colleagues. Vegetable gardens, and cooking the produce therefrom, are also big, but no chickens/bees/goats yet (my best friend growing up raised and showed goats. They’re a good deal of work, especially if you breed and milk them. On the other hand, they’re really good for clearing land, and keeping it clear).

    Rescue greyhounds are popular, but that’s been true for a while.

    Gluten-free anything is big, perhaps with a somewhat wider population than really needs to avoid gluten (though I realize that there absolutely are people who do).

    • nicoleandmaggie Says:

      Yes, gluten-free is SUPER HOT right now. I mean, yay for the people that need it; if only most of it wasn’t so weird-tasting and expensive.

      • nicoleandmaggie Says:

        Very grateful for it. Boy do I suck at typing on an ipad.

        If I eat an entire pastry,my mouth tingles and my tongue swells up. At least I’m not throwing up when I eat wheat anymore.

        Still, I liked it betterwhenorganic was trendy rather thanglutenfree.

        Mostly though I just avoid wheat rather than eating a nasty fake version. The quinoacornpasta is pretty good.

  12. First Gen American Says:

    Mason jars. (Although I pretty much have used them since birth)

  13. Rumpus Says:

    I don’t get the flamboyant mustache trend, but I’ve definitely seen it grow (and curl, and…wax?) the past year or so. And of course then they wear a mustache shirt to go with it.

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