Current and Past trends 1986-2008

http://trendwatching.com/trends/8trends2008.htm
A GREAT website that explains 8 important consumer trends for 2008, goes in depth to explain reasons for buying including feelings, culture and technology.

A recent trend that has come up is “go green” there is a great article on how women have been affected by this trend and it has altered their shopping patterns and lifestyles. This story "seems to reflect a larger cultural pattern connecting the dots between how/where people shop, their changing awareness of living more sustainable, and how that affects the traffic pattern of their buying behaviors in general." this article states how many families are trying to be environmentally conscious right now and buy organic products or serve a greener taker on shopping however the economy is not very strong right now and so many families are starting to focus more on saving money and gas.

Another article shows 46 ways to help the environment in this environmentally conscious time, including how to wash dishes and laundry, and other things that are done daily that you can alter to help the environment

This website talks about different generations and cultural influences! for example, "Average salary: $7,564; Food prices: milk, 33 cents a qt.; bread, 24 cents a loaf; round steak, $1.30 a pound, Life Expectancy: Male, 67.1; Female, 74.8" it goes over art/architecture, literature, education during this time, fads and fashion trends, technology, people, music, theater/t.v., and sports. this article also has many links for each topic that you can read further in depth.

1980s Fashion Accessories
color coordinating was a big thing throughout the 80s with lots of gold jewelry and pearls and bright colors a good website for accessories worn is the link below