There’s a Strange Fashion Trend Taking Place Among Fashion Bloggers

A few months ago, I was in Starbucks sipping on a Grande Frappuccino (this was before the police incident that occurred in the news). I was working on a design project for one of my clients. I glanced up from my laptop to people watch and give my mind a break. That’s when I noticed something that wasn’t unusual but still made me do a double take. In the line behind two business men was a young lady probably in her mid-twenties, holding a large black and white notebook. Nothing unusual except the cover of the notebook had the word “Chanel” written across the front. Fittingly she also had a very cute Chanel purse on her arm. As a fashion lover and former fashion blogger, I was impressed by her unconventional outfit coordination. If I was still writing my blog, I would I have asked to take a picture for my street style section. Her outfit was that impressive. Who would think to match your notebook with your purse!

As she completed her order and came closer to my table, I took a moment to ask her where she got her notebook. This was my first time seeing a fashion inspired notebook of this kind. I felt somewhat cheated as I was writing in a boring notebook I had purchased from Target, when I could have been working in a beautiful custom notebook with my favorite designer on the cover. To my surprise she told me that all of her friends carried notebooks like these. She was a blogger and self-proclaimed “fashion influencer” and liked writing in a notebook embellished with her favorite designer on the cover. We chit chatted for about five minutes about the notebook, she was a college student and aspiring fashion designer. Turns out that I had missed a new wave of carrying designer notebooks around as a fashion accessory. I thanked the young woman for her time and mini education lesson and continued my work but, my interaction with her still stayed on my mind.

When I got home that evening it occurred to me that I wasn’t as hip and on top of the fashion trends as I thought I was. Silly old me thought that notebooks were just notebooks, not a fashion statement or accessory. But this is no longer true apparently. Fashion bloggers are developing a unique relationship with their notebooks. Now what’s on the outside is just as important as what is on the inside.

I did a little research and looked for a fashion notebook online. I checked out Amazon and realized that fashion inspired notebooks were nothing new. There are literally hundreds on the web. I guess this one stood out to me because the young woman carried it with her like a badge of honor. It wasn’t tucked away in her bag. It was the bag! It was a fashion statement and I loved it. Her Chanel notebook was not just a tool she used to write down her notes it was a piece of art. I had to have one. I ordered one for myself that night.

My encounter with the young woman at Starbucks was just another reminder that you can express your love for fashion and your style in a myriad of ways. Also that fashion bloggers are still on the cutting edge of what is going on in the fashion world and I am officially an old lady. An old lady with a cute Chanel notebook. While it’s still too soon to say whether or not this trend is going to take over the world I do think that it is a great combination of style and functionality. It’s a trend that I’m okay with supporting. What do you think?