Shortly after we moved to Ojai I wrote a friend and told her about an interesting local trend.

"A lot of men in Ojai dress like elves in the winter time. They wear tight pants with long shirts that aren't tucked in and fuzzy boots that go over the pants. Not a look that I find attractive in anyone over the age of 6. I don't know what this says about the area but I find it slightly alarming.

At this time of year in Ojai the elves are at an awkward stage. They want to express themselves, but the weather is so hot, they resort to wearing their elf boots and shorts. This is a lot more unattractive than elf boots and tight pants.

I saw two of them today - one of them at Stir Crazy and one of them at the grocery store.

Elf Ratio: 2% "

What was a quirky fashion oddity 10 years ago, still holds true today. It's nice to know there is some consistency in the world

Just like there can be fads in clothing, there can also be fads in website design. Is your website keeping up with the newest trends? Is that important? Part of the concept of keeping up, has to do with customer trust. They want to know there is someone there and paying attention. And part has to do with usability of the website itself. Some design trends are the direct result of usability studies focusing on the way people interact with websites.