Yesterday we discussed the importance and unimportance of trends. Today, I'm going to show you the resources I use to follow trends in the jewelry and fashion world.

The opportunity to follow trends is everywhere including popular television shows, fashion and celebrity magazines, local retail stores, and internet stores.

My favorite magazine for following jewelry trends is In Style magazine which can easily be found at Barnes and Noble as well as other bookstores. As previously mentioned, I never miss an issue of Bead Style magazine which has a monthly analysis of upcoming jewelry trends.

http://tinyurl.com/yytmfw

Other magazines commonly found on the newstands that can give you a good idea of upcoming jewelry and fashion trends include People magazine which often has short excerpts about what kind of jewelry the celebrities are wearing.

Also, try to find a copy of W Magazine which stands for Women's Wear Daily. This magazine is usually on the forefront of upcoming trends.

I also follow jewelry sales on Ebay very closely to see what seems to be selling. When I find an seller who seems to have a good sell through rate, I will bookmark his or her auctions to follow over time to see if a trend emerges. In the future, I'll be sharing some of these auctions with you on my blog.

Another helpful Ebay resource to track trends is located here

http://tinyurl.com/yyvglu

It gives you listings of the most searched for items in all categories. If you click at the link at the bottom of the page entitled, "See More Ebay Pulse Categories", you can do a search under "jewelry & watches" to find the most popular searches. This can be further refined by choosing more specific categories. This is an invaluable resource! A good one to bookmark under your favorite sites.

I also follow certain online retail stores including Anthropolgie.com,NeimanMarcus.com as well as a variety of other sites I'll share with you in the future. Gosh, there's so much to cover in this area!

Finally, it's important to become an avid "people watcher". Why not spend a day at your local mall observing people and what they're wearing?

First browse the jewelry counters of your larger department stores and boutiques. See what's new and what' in the clearance rank. Do you see any trends? Now, head over to your favorite coffee store and get a extra large, steaming latte. Have a seat in the middle of the mall and just watch the people who pass you. How are they dressed and, most importantly, what jewelry are they wearing? You may want to record your observations in a notebook for future reference.

P.S. This can be lots of fun! Especially the latte part!

Anyway, I'll be covering this topic in more depth periodically throughout my blog. So stay tuned!