Star Struck Style

Jupiter moves into Libra this Friday, where it will hang out for the next thirteen months. It takes Jupiter about twelve years to make a single trip around the sun, but the time it spends in a single zodiac sign varies from eleven to thirteen months. For a little more astronomical information on Jupiter, click the link above. It’s quite fascinating. But for my astrological perspective on the gas giant, stay right here.

Jupiter is considered to be the planet of abundance. Words that are typically associated with Jupiter include “opportunity,” “expansion” and “optimism.” In Libra, Jupiter’s energies seem to be a little diffuse, at least when it comes to fashion. It represents a sort of juncture in fashion where no one can quite agree on what’s changing, but everyone can agree that change is in the air.

Curiously, New York Fashion Week starts this week, too. It will be interesting to see what actually appears on the runways as everyone clamors to keep up with the see-now, buy-now trend that seems to be the order of the day. Over the past year, Jupiter in Virgo has inspired a somewhat neurotic period of over-analysis of marketing trends as the business tries to come to grips with the novelty of social media and online shopping. I predict that the next thirteen months will result in a slowdown in fashion. Libra is a lazy, decadent sign. It will be easier to sit back and enjoy the different perspectives that designers bring to the runways without picking apart their business models. That doesn’t mean that the business itself will experience a recession. Brands that already have a strong, individualistic take on style should do well.

It’s the labels that are in the process of reinvention that I worry about. Saturn is in Sagittarius at the moment. Saturn represents limitations. Sagittarius is a very outward-looking sign. The energies of the two really don’t mix. For that reason, I see plenty of brands trying to expand their client base with social media and online marketing without having the products in place to back up their businesses. It’s a cart-before-the-horse scenario. With Jupiter in Virgo, the industry analysts have offered a critical assessment of what these brands need to do in order to survive. With Jupiter in Libra, it’s going to be the product itself that will determine whether or not a label lives or dies. Libra is quite a superficial sign, but it is far less concerned with brand-name cachet than Virgo. It’s not only the visual appeal of the garment that will make it a success with Jupiter in Libra, but also the sensory appeal of the garment. Libra’s inherent decadence will supersede Virgo’s characteristic pretension.

So what does that mean for you? Pay a little more attention to how your clothes make you feel and a little less attention on how they look. Try to be more polished in appearance, but don’t expect your clothes to do all the work for you. Go to the spa. Go to the gym. And above all, try to avoid the idea that the persona you choose to wear needs to speak only to the people who speak the same language as you. Virgos try too hard to impress others with their esoteric bullshit and Libras don’t try hard enough. Yet Libra natives are often able to find a middle-ground where everyone gets along. Find your own middle ground over the next year or so.