Go through the papers and news sites any day of the week and you’re guaranteed to find multiple stories based upon research studies.
“New study says: …Millennials prefer knitting to sex;…a quarter of couples prefer to eat vegan on the second Tuesday of the month; “…30 per cent of women under the 25 have plastic surgery at lunchtime”. I made these up, but you know the sort of thing.
As a lifestyle journalist it is pretty easy to get study ennui. Except I don’t and that’s because interesting research and analysis into fashion and retail doesn’t drop into my inbox that frequently.
There’s always a lot of newness in fashion, quarterly and annual retail figures, a lot of excitement about different markets opening up or fresh design talent, PLENTY about trends and so much shopping, shopping, shopping it makes you dizzy, but studies and figures and detailed analysis of the public’s views on fashion are not so easily come by.
So this week I liked a small study by the shoemaker Deichmann Shoes that confirmed women are ditching high heels for flat shoes on romantic dates.
Nope, it’s not research that’s going to change the world but that’s ok. It gave me a little insight into the current zeitgeist and sparked some ideas. That’s a helpful contribution in my book!