• Hartford Courant, Tuesday, January 2, 2007 12:15 PM

The retail animal that emerged in the '80s and '90--the logo queen obsessed with polo ponies and interlocked C's--has morphed into something that goes by the unflattering name "brand slut." (The nicer term is "brand promiscuous.") She is the fashion and beauty consumer who flits from one brand to the next.

"Long, monogamous relationships" with particular brands are dying and consumers with no sense of fidelity are on the rise, says trend-spotter Marian Salzman, co-author of "Next Now: Trends for the Future." Brand sluts, she says, are savvy consumers. They are more demanding, and want to be different.

Brand loyalty is being replaced by brand trust. Brands still matter, but only when they promise to do what they say they will (beauty serums and cosmetics) or when they fit like they're supposed to (clothing lines whose cut fits specific body types).

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