The Saturation Theory of Popularity
What goes up, must come down
I’ve noticed a trend over the years that if anything becomes too popular, then a day will come where everyone feels the need to hate it. Conversely, many times there will be public disdain for something or someone, and if it permeates through a large enough portion of society, it will eventually come back around to everyone liking it.
An example that has been very relevant to me is skinny jeans. As a millennial on the younger side of the range, I certainly went through many years where it was viewed as an absolute necessity to own at least one pair of the uncomfortable jeans, and then one day it became a fashion crime of the highest degree. Now, women’s dating profiles, one after another, list “skinny jeans” as the answer to the prompt “What is your biggest fear?”
This has put me in a tough spot, as I absolutely hate shopping for jeans, and my closet is still littered with the remnants of what is now a bygone era. The same thing happened with crocs. One day they were everywhere, and then it was a mortal sin to wear them in public.
In middle school, girls insisted I get a Fubu shirt, and I wore my blue Fubu button down with a great deal of pride. Over night, it turned into the scarlet letter. Lot 29 and baggy clothes followed the same trajectory. MySpace took…
