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I heard the phrase "follow fashion" at some place, but I'm not sure whether it means "to keen on the news of fashion trends" or "Having the habit of choosing your clothes based on the latest fashion"?

I cannot find it in dictionaries except in Cambridge: "He refused to follow fashion." but it is not clear what it means.

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    It can mean both of those, and more!
    – kaipmdh
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 16:02
  • It can mean both. Is there a particular sentence where the meaning is not clear? You need to give us a sentence or something where you are having a problem.
    – AIQ
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 8:00

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"To follow fashion" has a very wide application and could mean a number of things.

"Fashion" as a noun tends to refer to the current popular style of clothes, hair, or any other form of dress or grooming. However, it can also be applied to any trend made popular either by a majority, or among a specific group.

A "follower of fashion" is someone that goes along with a trend, or most trends.

I think a worthwhile pop-culture reference here is The Kinks song "Dedicated Follower of Fashion":

And when he does his little rounds
'Round the boutiques of London Town
Eagerly pursuing all the latest fads and trends
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion

"Follower of fashion" is sometimes used in the pejorative sense because, like the modern term "sheeple", those who follow trends are seen by some not to have a mind of their own.

Context is everything though, so if you "fashion" to mean something other than dress and grooming (eg a behaviour), naturally the "follower" means something different too. It could mean "follow" in the sense of "keeping up with" academically, ie reading fashion news, but it seems very unlikely when there is the widely used and accepted definition that I have detailed. I would never have assumed that it meant that, unless context suggested otherwise.

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  • Hello Astralbee, the OP is asking how to know whether "follow fashion" means (1) "the act of following fashion news" (= I like to read latest fashion news/magazines, but I don't actually have any trendy cloths, they are expensive), or if it means (2) "going with the trend" (= I always put on clothes that are trending). And as such, "follow fashion" does not really tell us which of the two is implied (although generally a person who reads fashion magazines is likely to dress as per the latest trend). That's why I asked OP for a sentence.
    – AIQ
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 9:04
  • @AIQ It could mean those things. I've answered that it could have a wide variety of meanings and I concluded by pointing out that context would determine. I'm pretty certain though that the sentence found by the OP will be the most common definition of "follow fashion" which I have well covered.
    – Astralbee
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 9:07
  • The edit clears it up for me. The last paragraph in your answer may have some words missing (e.g., so if you [?] "fashion" to). And this part "Context is everything though, so if you "fashion" to mean ... naturally the "follower" means" may have some problems with syntax. Can you take a look.
    – AIQ
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 9:16
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Where I'm from, follow fashion means copy cat. It applies to more than just fashion. Anything imitated makes a person a "follow fashion."

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    Without knowing where you are from this answer is not as helpful as it might be. Can you edit to expand it and say how you think is adds to the current accepted answer?
    – mdewey
    Commented Oct 25, 2020 at 12:03

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