Variance/  Trend    Assignment    

 By:  Marija  Pejkovic  

2    

 Department  Store  

  When  choosing  a  department  store,  I  thought  it  

would  be  a  great  idea  to  go  to  Macy’s  because  they  are  the  second  largest  department  store  

in  the  country.  They  carry  many  different  brands  and  they  have  twelve  floors  of  

merchandise.    

Trend-­‐  Color  Gold  

  A  trend  that  stuck  out  to  me  right  away  was  the  color  gold.  

In  the  makeup  department  gold  played  a  big  

role  in  Mac’s  Spring  Colour  4  Forecast  

campaign.  There  were  colors  described  as  

precious,  excessive,  golden  and  amber  within  the  collection.  These  

colors  were  seen  within  the  lip  stick,  gloss,  eye  shadows,  blush  and  

nail  lacquer.  Within  the  bedding  department,  linen  sheets  in  gold  

were  in  contrast  with  a  navy  blue  cover,  making  

the  trend  pop  even  more  to  the  consumer.  In  the  

accessory  department,  a  BCBG  golden  ring  stood  

out  among  the  many  other  jewelry  pieces.    

  I  determined  that  gold  was  a  trend  for  the  season  because  I  kept  seeing  the  color  

reappear  within  many  different  departments  of  the  store.  I  knew  that  it  was  different  

because  it’s  not  a  regular  gold  that  is  very  bright  and  flashy.  This  gold  had  an  earth  tone  yet  

a  bit  of  a  speckle  to  it,  which  grabbed  my  attention  right  away  through  each  department.  

3    

Trend-­‐  Ruffles  

  Another  trend  that  was  noticeable  within  Macy’s  was  

ruffles.  In  the  shoe  department,  Badgley  Mischka  had  a  pair  of  

heels  that  were  ruffled  along  the  heel  and  sides  of  the  foot.  In  

the  lingerie  department,  a  bra  that  grabbed  my  attention  was  

one  that  was  very  simple  yet  it  had  a  ruffle  effect  to  it  by  

Calvin  Klien.  Within  the  Women’s  

designer  department,  there  was  a  

mannequin  in  a  very  loose,  airy,  draping  outfit,  with  a  mid  

length  sleeved  top  and  minor  accent  of  ruffles  along  the  trim  of  

the  top.    

  I  selected  the  trend  of  

ruffles  because  they  haven’t  been  

introduced  within  retail  stores  for  quite  some  time.  This  

jumped  to  me  as  a  fresh,  new  trend.  It’s  an  old  idea  that  was  

revamped,  making  it  look  more  modern  by  adding  it  as  a  

design  element  to  regular  everyday  items  a  consumer  might  

by.    

 

 

 

 

 

4    

Trend-­‐  Sequins  

  Sequins  adorned  the  store  from  left  to  right.  As  soon  as  you  turned  around  at  almost  

any  given  point  of  the  store  you  were  bound  to  see  something  with  even  an  accent  of  

sequin  embellishment.  There  were  three  sequin  pieces  that  caught  my  eye  at  once.  Each  of  

these  pieces  was  fully  covered  in  sequins  and  they  glistened  

within  the  light  of  the  store.  I  knew  that  this  was  a  trend  

because  I  haven’t  seen  it  anything  so  wild,  out  there  or  flashy  

in  a  long  time.      

  A  department  in  which  I  found  sequins  grabbing  my  

attention  was  at  the  Coach  Handbag  section.  For  their  new  

Poppy  collection  geared  towards  a  younger  crowd,  they  had  a  silver  sequined  purse  that  

shined  unlike  the  rest  of  the  bags.  Another  department  in  which  I  found  sequins  was  in  the  

juniors  clothing.  There  was  a  short  gold  sequin  skirt  

ready  to  shine  on  the  dance  floor.  Within  the  

Contemporary  women’s  clothing  department  I  found  a  

Herve  Leger  by  Max  Azria  dress  

that  was  completely  bejeweled  

with  gold  sequins.    

 

 

 

 

5    

Trend-­‐  Flowers  

  All  of  the  flowers  surrounding  me  within  the  store  

definitely  made  me  think  of  spring!  This  was  the  most  obvious  

trend  of  the  season,  weather  the  flowers  were  a  print  on  an  

article  of  clothing,  or  an  actual  flower  made  out  of  fabric  and  

then  placed  on  a  piece.  Flowers  themselves  represent  spring  and  

to  use  them  as  a  trend  itself  is  really  cleaver.  Almost  every  single  

department  I  had  visited  at  Macy’s  had  some  type  of  merchandise  

for  sale  with  a  flower  on  it.    

  As  I  walked  into  the  fragrance  

department  of  the  store,  the  bottle  of  

Marc  Jacobs  “Lola”  perfume  stuck  out  to  me.  Usually  perfume  

bottles  are  in  a  rectangular  or  square  shape  without  much  of  a  

unique  design  element.  This  one  was  different,  its  bottle  was  in  

the  shape  of  a  thick  stem,  and  the  cap  of  the  perfume  was  in  the  

shape  of  petals,  making  a  flower.  I  had  also  spotted  flowers  in  the  

juniors  department  on  a  draping,  cut  out  blazer.  These  flowers  

were  made  out  of  a  sheer  fabric  and  then  

placed  onto  the  fabric  of  the  garment.  

Believe  it  or  not,  flowers  were  even  in  

the  furniture  department.  There  was  a  chair  with  a  flower  print  

covering.  As  well  flowers  were  found  in  the  children’s  department  

on  a  Ralph  Lauren  girls  dress  and  on  a  pair  of  pumps  in  the  women’s  shoe  department.  

6    

Trend-­‐  Plaid  

  Plaid  was  seen  through  many  different  

departments  in  Macy’s.  Three  departments  in  which  

plaid  was  mostly  recognizable  in  were  in  the  men’s,  

children’s  and  the  swimsuit  department.    In  both  the  

men’s  and  children’s  department  plaid  was  mostly  seen  

on  button  up  shirts,  dresses  and  skirts.  Both  of  these  

departments  carried  an  

array  of  different  plaid  colors  mostly  red  and  blue.  They  were  

a  classical  fit,  mostly  long  sleeved.  Within  the  swimsuit  

department,  plaid  was  mostly  seen  on  the  bottoms,  especially  

for  men’s  swimming  trunks.  There  weren’t  many  plaid  

swimsuits  for  women,  therefore  plaid  dominated  men’s  

swimsuits.    

  This  trend  just  came  to  me  without  me  really  noticing  

it  within  the  first  two  departments  I  had  seen  it  in.  After  thinking  about  another  dominant  

trend  this  season,  plaid  came  right  to  my  mind  because  it  

kept  reappearing  within  every  department  that  I  visited.  I  

knew  that  this  was  a  trend  because  it  was  in  numerous  

departments  of  the  store,  weather  it  was  contemporary  

women’s  clothing,  juniors  or  children’s  department,  men’s  

clothing  or  swimsuits,  plaid  was  everywhere.