Remember the gemara (Sanhedrin 102b) in which Menashe says that if R' Ashi was alive in his generation, he'd have lifted the hem of his robe to run and serve idols?

I think this gemara hints at a correlation between the obsession with idol worship in previous generations and the modern-day obsession with clothing trends.

There are some of us who aren't lost quite yet...

What would you suggest people be obsessed with???

I don't really get the correlation, but isn't the modern-day obsession with looks, including clothing?

It's sounding vaguely familiar. However could you define "obsession with clothing trends?"

One way I could define it is as "an irrational desire to purchase, borrow, or wear items of clothing that are considered fashionable, trendy, or in vogue and to discard or ignore items of clothing that are considered outdated, old-fashioned, or out of style."

Deep, man.

mosheshmeal
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Nice.

When is it non-irrational and non-obsessive to be fashionable? Are there limits to what people may wear, how they wear it, why, when, etc?

I'm not trying to nitpick, I just want to understand what is wrong with not dressing straight out of the sixties. Music changes, art changes, and fashion changes. I'm curious what makes it an obsession.

If one throws out an item immediately when the season is over, then I would understand you. But I don't know anyone like that, and I'm sure there aren't many like that out there, other than Hollywood celebrities, in which case your OP is irrelevant.

I think it's understandable (and in my worldview, acceptable) to want to look nice. I don't think it's understandable to want to look like everyone else, or to "need" to buy a certain item of clothing because "everyone else has it," "my wardrobe isn't complete without it," "it's the item of the season," "it's sooo cute," or "it's in style."

I think it's okay to wear something that is considered fashionable (though I don't think that makes it any better than any other item of clothing) if it looks good on you. I think it's weird to wear something fashionable that doesn't look good (or doesn't look good on you), which is what a significant percentage of the population does.

Of course, there are those who say that something that is fashionable automatically looks good, and at those people, I can only stare strangely.

Well, of course. So are the two above statements examples of what you mean by "obsession"? The desire to wear what's "in fashion" although it looks god-awful?

If so, then yes, it's a idol worship.

Yes, they are examples. But they are by no means the only ones. Some people look wonderful in clothing and are obsessed with fashion.

Nah

It hints at an inverse correlation between the length of a robe and your ability to run fast.
... sometimes a cigar is only a cigar...

How... Presidential of you.

mosheshmeal
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For the 450,927th time: Monica Lewinsky had graduated from Lewis & Clark before I got there

Well you know what they say: Close, but no cigar...

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