Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Should It Stay or Should It Go?: Design and Style Trends

Once again it's time for Should It Stay or Should It Go? If you are new to Strictly Simple Style, you may not be familiar with this series. This is where I post a select group of items in a specific category and you are asked to weigh in. You decide, is this item a keeper or should it be sent to the Smithsonian as a good example of a bad trend? I'll give you my opinion, but I want to hear yours too. Speak your mind, I can take it.



Foo Dogs


Image via Design Wonderland


Once in a while there is a design or style trend that makes me scratch my head. Do people really like this or are they just jumping on the proverbial bandwagon. Take foo dogs for instance. Just look at them. Those dogs have faces only a mother could love, but you can't pick up a shelter magazine that doesn't feature a set.



Owls

For a while now it seems like everyone has been going ga-ga over anything for the home that features an owl. Occasionally I'll come across something with an owl motif that I could live with, but I'd never deliberately choose to bring one of these feathered friends into my home.


I don't give a hoot if everyone has a set of these, I don't like them!

Image via Fuse Interiors



Vera Bradley Bags

It's not just interior design trends that have me baffled. Fashion trends can also leave me cold. For example, what is with the fascination with Vera Bradley bags? Every time I turn around I see a teenage girl carrying one of these. While the fabrics are pretty, the whole quilted thing reminds me of something you'd pick up at a church craft bazaar. However, Vera charges a whole lot more than the sweet little old lady at the church.




While you won't see me carrying a Vera Bradley bag, I love the selection of memo boards covered in VB fabrics.



Okay, your turn. Remember, there is no such thing as an opinion that is wrong. Are you a member of the Foo Dog fan club? Is Vera your bag? Is it wise to decorate with owls?
Posted by Karen@StrictlySimpleStyle at 4:45 AM
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18 comments:

  1. I don't get the foo dogs or the owls either. I do own some Vera Bradley (mostly their overnight bags), and while some of the prints can get crazy, I like soft luggage. It's easier to squeeze in overhead bins at the airport in the trunks of cars, plus you can throw it in the washer.

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  2. I will admit to a bit of a passion for Vera Bradley. I love the fabrics and it brings me joy to see her cosmetic case in my big leather purse. It's the pairing of the leather with the fabric, I think.

    The owls, the dogs, the monkeys (have you noticed a lot of monkeys too?) can all go. I am betting you will already start to see this stuff at yard sales this year, and definitely by next year. That trend simply can't last. (I hope!)

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  3. Foo Dogs have been around too long to be a fad, they'll stay.
    Owls, I'm not getting on that wagon. I'm a monkey girl.
    Vera's not for me either. I like Amy Butler !

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  4. Oooh I like this series. I'm with Tammy - Foo Dogs have been around for so long, I think they've got to stay. I don't mind them, especially these bookends here.

    Now, owls can go. I own a couple of owl necklaces that are OK, but as far as home interiors go, I'm all set with them flying away.

    I don't get Vera Bradley either. I'm just not into it. Plus, I feel like if I need to carry something heavy in one of those (overpriced) bags, it will too much of a strain and the bag will tear. I'm OK with her notepads, etc, but the bags have to go.

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  5. Oooh! Fun post! I love the foo dogs, I can't help it. They just look bright and groovy anywhere! Owls, on the other hand, UGH! I've know SEVERAL old ladies with huge owl collections, so I just can't wrap my head around them being trendy-- all I can see are owls made from plastic canvas and seashells. (*shudder*) The Vera Bradley, I'm torn. As a purse, or something to wear/carry in public, no, no, never. But as an accent, like a pillow or mousepad, or makeup or pencil case, yum yum!

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  6. I hate the look of Vera Bradley bags. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

    Thanks for taking the time to stop by and say hello on my special SITS day.

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  7. I am with you on all three. Everytime I think foo dogs are growing on me, I take one closer look and I dislike them all over again. They are scary looking! I don't really get Vera Bradley either...

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  8. I love the memo boards too, not a fan of the Vera Bradley bags either. And I'd choose the owls over the foo dogs :)

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  9. This is cool hearing everyone's responses. Okay, I LOVE foo dogs - can't help it. I just like them and I think they're here to stay. Owls - I'm less emphatic about...I think they're are some cute ones maybe for a nursery or something. Not a big fan of vera bradley!

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  10. foo dogs, i like. owls, you know i like. the vb bag? not so much.

    i think i like the animals because they're so whimsical . . .

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  11. I was in a store over the weekend and was shocked to see so much VB -- I thought she was "out"? Maybe I'm just that out of it, but it seems like "so 5 years ago". As for owls, cute but generally part of the MCM fad that is on the wane. Foo dogs, however, like all Chinoiserie are classics and are always "in", even if they're usually labeled traditional rather than trendy (though I'm OK with them being trendy right now as they're more affordable options right now).

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  12. I don't own any, but I think the foo dogs are here to stay. Owls, not so much. I think the Vera Bradley fabrics are more suited to tablecloths, placemats, and napkins---some of them have a French Country feel to them. Also, some of the fabrics remind me of April Cornell---almost like Little House on the Prairie or Laura Ashley. I would never buy her purses or any other "wearable"---not my thing at all but some fabrics would be okay to use when decorating a summer table. Deni

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  13. I like the foo dogs. Owls- not! Vera Bradley, well in Canada it isn't a fad but her things remind me of living in Virginia. My girls have her lunch bags but that is as far as I would go.

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  14. I think Vera Bradley is an East Coast thing. Anytime I see one here in California, I immediately know that the person carrying the bag is from the East Coast. Funny.

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  15. They can all go as far as I am concerned. The dogs, yeah, kind of scary. The owls, something my grandma was very big into and had a lot of.. so to me just seems very old and grandma-like. The bags-yeah also seem like they could be a grandma thing :)

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  16. Church craft bazaar is exactly what I think of! We all used to have hand made Bible covers that looked very similar. The dogs do have a classic charm - they're very love 'em or hate 'em. The owls are too woodsy for my taste.

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  17. I admit it - I own a pair of turquoise foo dogs (they sit as bookends on my desk) and I love them, but I don't think mine are as menacing looking as the ones above. Plus, I just have a thing for Chinoiserie style (you can check out my foo dogs here: http://myinteriorlife.blogspot.com/2010/03/asian-invasion.html )

    I like some owls (I painted a bright pop art looking owl for my daughter's room at her request), and Blue Hydrangea has some great white owl lamps that I think are Two's Company. But some are just too 70's looking for me.

    I don't care for the VB handbags, but I have a tote bag someone gave me as gift. It's handy.
    Great post!

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  18. Stumbled across this posting and thought you'd get a kick out of someone with a Vera Bradley in an owl print ("Night Owl") reading this post! Must admit the floral, quilty, neon bags are horrid, but I do love the kitchy combo of owls and quilting. Perhaps the two cancel each other out?

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