Negative Social Mood Everywhere You Look

Notable is that the article dates the trend towards ugly in the mid-1990s, right before the social mood peak in 2000. That's also when the Scream franchise heralded the coming horror wave of the 2000s and 2010s.
CNBC: Ugly is in: How Crocs have taken over teen footwear, and sent the stock soaring

Crocs is the 13th most popular footwear brand among average-income female teenagers, according to Piper Jaffray’s spring survey. It grew from 30th in 2017, although last year it was ranked 12th.

...Teenagers agree that the shoe’s popularity shows no sign of stopping. But that doesn’t mean its reputation of being ugly has faded.

...Julianna, a 17-year-old from Teaneck, New Jersey who requested only her first name to be used, said that many of her friends are wearing Crocs precisely because they’re seen as ugly.

“People want to wear it ’cause it’s gross. It’s like rebelling against whatever society thinks is wrong,” she said. “I always thought they were ugly, but then everyone started wearing them and it just became a trend. Everyone I know has at least one pair.”

Orthodox socionomic theory says the stock market is the best reflector of mood that we've got. My thesis is central banks broke the market signal. (It could also be that stock markets are no longer central enough to serve as an indicator, in which case they might be an accurate signal of what is now a subculture of stock investors.) The past 20 years look like the 1970s and 1930s on steroids. The 70s saw a rise in androgyny, more widespread and flamboyant than the 1930s thanks to the sexual revolution. To find a similar wave of transgenderism though, one must look to Weimar Germany, a society in collapse. Other disturbingly similar trends are the rise of prostitution then, and the rise of young women selling themselves online to "sugar daddies" today. (See: "Sugar Daddy" Business Thrives As More Co-Eds Sign Up To Pay Off Student Debt). I believe the financial markets will eventually catch down to social mood, rather than vice versa.

Good News for Marine Le Pen: Paris Bans Porno Ads

Yves Saint Laurent just called the top in hemlines.

Daily Mail: Paris bans 'sexist' adverts from billboards following outcry over 'porno chic' fashion campaign

Adverts considered 'sexist' have today been banned from billboards across Paris after feminists raised an outcry over so-called 'porno chic'.

The Paris city council voted for the ban today and the city's Mayor Anne Hidalgo said Paris was 'leading the way' in the fight against sexism.

Among those ads which are expected to be banned are those from Yves Saint Laurent's latest campaign, which have been accused of 'degrading' models and even 'inciting rape'.

Hélène Bidard, a French Communist Party councillor and Deputy Mayor, tweeted today: 'Victory in the Paris Council. @JCDecaux_France agrees not to disseminate sexist, discriminatory, LGBT phobic ads in Paris.'

Remove the political overtones and it is a clear sign of negative social mood.

One month ago: Saint Laurent channels ‘80s glam for Paris Fashion Week

Over 100 looks walked the runway: The first half was mostly comprised of body-hugging ruched leather dresses and miniskirts with exaggerated ruffles and up-to-there hemlines. Sexy — and so ’80s.

Vaccarello dialed up the high-wattage glamour even more for the second half — sending a mix of womenswear and menswear in almost entirely black looks covered in sparkles from every, and any, angle. Sparkles were up the shoulder, framing a plunging neckline, smattered all over a loose, long-sleeve T-shirt dress. Even a slouchy knee-high boot received the bedazzled treatment. Translation? Dressing like a disco ball is the look for fall.

Key line:

'We had a similar type of porno chic (in fashion advertising) a decade ago, and here we have it coming back again which isn't acceptable,' Martin added.

When exactly? 2006.

Boston Globe: The pornification of America

What is new and troubling, critics suggest, is that the porn aesthetic has become so pervasive that it now serves as a kind of sensory wallpaper, something that many people don't even notice anymore. The free-speech-versus-censorship debates that invariably surround actual pornography do not burn as hot when the underlying principles of porn are filtered more subtly into the mainstream. And those principles, critics say, often involve reducing women to subjugated sex objects while presenting men in dominant roles.

Braving the inevitable accusations of prudery -- which they reject -- critics such as Paul are sounding the alarm. They say the current hypersexualized climate distorts the attitudes of young people toward sex and relationships. In particular, they contend it has a damaging effect on the self-image of young women and girls, who are confronted with a culture that objectifies them while disguising it as female empowerment.

Socionomics in fashion; pound headed for collapse?

What a plank! Bizarre start to men's fashion week in London

hide one's face in shame

Sterling crisis looms as UK current account deficit balloons

It’s the sort of problem you might have thought disappeared with the 1970s, but as the Coalition renews its wedding vows, that’s the unsettling possibility raised by economists at both HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland. With fears of a eurozone break-up, a calamitous fiscal contraction in the US, and a hard landing in China now fast receding, it is possible financial markets will refocus their attentions on more conventional concerns. The failings of the UK economy might be prime among them.

Corsets are back

Perhaps not so much a sign of social mood as a sign of obesity.
The re-re-re-rise of the corset

Fashion and social mood

Austerity shows its stylish side

"Things like that come together and signal to us that people are looking for a more austere approach to life - we help our clients deliver that." This is where the theme of radical neutrality has its roots, Teo says. It is characterised by bold, exaggerated shapes in neutral colours.

Teo explains that eco-hedonism, on the other hand, is paganistic, shamanistic, dark and mystical, and characterised by raw natural textures such as heavier linens and feathers. Hyperculture, Teo says, is about the quirks in local culture and the "ability to laugh at oneself".

But WGSN's predictions failed to move Ychay Simkhai, a buyer with Ravel, a US-based women's apparel company. "We set our own trends."

Androgyny in the bear market

Grab Your 'Murse,' Pack a 'Mankini' And Don't Forget the 'Mewelry'

Men's Fashion, Lingo Take a Feminine Turn

For an long and in-depth look at the latest issue of Vogue and the socionomic implications see The Socionomic Implications Of September Vogue by Marz Bonfire.

This Vogue issue was likely being produced during May and June – always 3 months ahead at a minimum -- near the 1370 highs in the S&P. Therefore, the focus on color is to be expected. Bright colors, in a socionomic sense, reflect optimism and confidence. What is interesting is that color is not being used overtly but as an accent. People don’t seem bold enough to lead with it (with all due respect to the editor that insists people are “clamoring for scarlet, shamrock, and tangerine.”) What they feel bold about is privacy, protection, layers . . . concealment, hiding behind oversized sunglasses, grommets and chain, comfortable armor, blending in. Great concepts here: rock ‘n’ roll Gatsby, utilitarian military, country strong, all very intriguing.

Bear mood cometh?

Here's a comment from the Socionomics Institute website:

“Gender-bending is a classic trend that appears during times of bear markets, and shaving one's eyebrows is a way to blur gender boundaries on the cheap,” says EWI's Brian Whitmer, who writes about the trend in the August issue of The European Financial Forecast.

He points out that a recent cover of Italian Vogue magazine features the shaved head and brow of model Kristen McMenamy, who pioneered the no-brow look two recessions ago in a "grunge" photo shoot for U.S. Vogue in 1992. Whitmer predicts more permanent attempts at androgyny as financial markets continue down to the larger bottom predicted by EWI.

In contrast, EWI says that bull markets emphasize super-feminine and super-masculine roles with heroes and heroines who fit conventional gender roles.

And here's the latest fashion headline:

Feminine twist on classic menswear at Fashion Week

In every fairytale there's a princess and a hero. Unless she comes to her own rescue.

Luxe textures, sheer fabrics and fitted shapes offering feminine twists on traditional men's suiting are all over the runways at New York Fashion Week. It's strength combined with confidence, boy style, by Day 5 of fall previews.
Prabal Gurung has his share of frilly princesses. But, as in the case of his muse for the season, Miss Havisham of Dickens fame, the knights don't always show up.

"Her story is a lot about men," said Gurung from the front row of his mentor Carolina Herrera's show Monday.
Other designers mixed princess beauty and the strength of menswear.

Tommy Hilfiger sent classic tailoring and pinstripes down the catwalk. Donna Karan's DKNY turned traditional men's jackets into capes. Brian Wolk and Claude Morais looked to the history of menswear to please a Ruffian woman's search for "unkempt elegance" via a white silk blouse with black bow tie and tailed jacket.

Lady looks like a dude.

Lingerie signaling a rise in social mood?

Articles on fashion often have a socionomic component, sometimes just a throwaway line, because the theory about hemlines and stock prices is widespread. More importantly, the designers are aware of cycles int he industry and they see connections to past periods of social mood. They may not always nail the right time period, but they do have a good sense of the mood...if they're successful.

Women's lingerie makers say 50s-styles for the fuller figure are back in vogue

"What were the 50s? It was a post-war period," explains Caroline le Grelle, a fashion consultant for Eurovet, organisers of the lingerie trade fair, which opens on Saturday in Paris.

"Women had gone through a period of hardship. They wanted to enjoy themselves. We haven't experienced a war this time - but we have come through an economic crisis. It's the same scheme of things. We want to sweep it away and have a ball. Hence this return to retro."

So it's out with minimalist thongs and push-up demi-bonnet bras, and in with bullet bras and high-waisted briefs, particularly in black, which Le Grelle calls "the colour of reference for seduction".

"We want to sweep it away and have a ball." However, is it the 1950s post-war boom, or the 1933-1937 rebound from the first leg of the depression?

Trade and Bosoms

Two stories in the Journal today.

Americans Sour on Trade

A solid story worth reading, but the tagline says everything we'd expect from following socionomics:

Majority Say Free-Trade Pacts Have Hurt U.S.; Wedge Issue in Some Races

Another story also touches socionomic themes from the fashion world.

The Bosom is Back (Right along with the stock market.)

Whether evoking the decadence of Marie Antoinette's era or Christian Dior's "New Look," which reintroduced the world to the hourglass silhouette in the late 1940s, the shape is cheerful and appealing. The return of a feminine ideal with some flesh marks the arrival of a more forgiving chapter in fashion history. Enough with the self-denial and minimalism spurred on by the recession. The new standard is both opulent and grounded in realism.

Definite rising social mood implications from feminine fashion, with mid-1960s and late 1940s time comparisons in the article. Whether one reads it as a turn in social mood or a correction during a longer decline, it does show that form the next phase of rising social mood will take, with more clearly defined differences between the sexes.

Do women's heels move with hemlines?

Kitten heels are returning but will Hong Kong women take the step back in time?

"We definitely are seeing more kitten- and mid-heels presented this season. Sky high styles have been the trend for a while now so we are now looking to update our look with something totally different to keep things fresh and interesting," says Christine Park, senior buyer of ladies shoes and handbags at Harvey Nichols.

"I don't think the trend ever went away," says Peter Nichols, senior shoe buyer for Lane Crawford. "Over the past few seasons we have seen our customers requesting more lower and mid-heel options. I think that many women are ready to come down off their platforms."

It sounds like the heels drop with social mood:

For buyers like Paddy Wong-Schupp, the lure of the kitten heel is not just in its practicality, but also in its glamorous allure.

"I love kitten heels. I see them as feminine to look at on and off feet. I see glamour in them - the 1950s type Mad Men glamour - just wear them with a below-the-knee pencil skirt."

She's just a single "woman on the street" quote in the article, but she mentions below the knee skirts to go with the shorter heel. However, according to the Wikipedia, the shoes went out of fashion in the late 1960s and reemerged in the 1980s.

Finally, here's a very long article on high heels, if you're interested. Sex, Power, and High Heels: An Interview with Shoe Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack