This year, my listing is ranked in order of how "important" each trend was, based on The Unfashionista's Special System. "Important" doesn't necessarily mean ubiquitous; it can also refer to something less common, but much more specific to this year. Don't think too hard; just enjoy!
As I mentioned in September, I felt like every awards show in the first half of the year had at least one person rocking the strange combination of a cape-like (dare I say "mullet?") skirt and pants. By summer, the look trickled down to the masses in the form of skirted rompers. This is a trend that I haven't seen much of since winter hit, but I'm hoping for a revival in the coming year!
Over the entire last year (and much of the previous one), huge leafy designs dominated everything, not just clothing, but also decor! One specific type of leaf seemed particularly overrepresented. It took me until June before I learned its name was "monstera."
I enjoyed the (early 2000's) era of boy-short bikinis immensely, but it seems that over the past 18 years, the leg holes in swimwear have just been going up, up, and away! I myself am not a fan of the high-cut look, but who am I to control the tides of fashion? I just ride them out in my slightly dated swimsuits, and hope one day that the Baywatch look will go back out of favor.
It's a little detail that could easily be missed, but when you're shopping for boots and almost every pair that pops up has it, you start to pay attention. I'm talking about laces in the back. Nearly every boot I purchased in 2018 had this detail, even the vintage boots that were probably not of this millennium!
Animal print has never been so much a trend as a perennial favorite. I'll be honest, I haven't seen any more people wearing it this year than any other time, but the fashion mags just couldn't stop gushing about it (leopard in particular), and I found enough of it online to concede that they just may be onto something. I have never been much into the stuff (I think it's overly sexualized and don't much fancy the idea of wearing animal skin), but after months of being bombarded with claims that it's the next big thing, I weakened enough to buy both a leopard- and a zebra-print sweater. So even if the trend never really takes off elsewhere, it at least made it into my closet.
Ankle boots have reigned supreme as fall and winter footwear for more years than I can count. They made their way up the list so insidiously that I never even thought to mention them as a trend until this year. While over-the-knee boots have held their own for a few years, I hear they're now on the way out. The ankle-high variety, on the other foot (har har), proves a lot more practical, and people are wearing them with everything. When the girls in my college town go out at night, I never see them wearing pumps—it's black mid-heeled ankle boots all the way!
What better way to show off your ankle boots than with a pair of high-cut pants? Since I first observed culottes making headway into the world of everyday fashion, the above-the-ankle length for trousers has continued to grow in popularity. We're now at a point where "cropped" is pretty much the de facto choice for anyone who wants to wear pants—including men. Men's fashion moves slowly relative to women's, but I recently read one article claiming that cropped pants are the norm for males right now as well. That's how you know a trend has fully taken hold.
"Guillotoe" is a word I made up to describe the type of sandals with hardly anything holding them on except for a lone toe strap so skinny, it might as well be the blade of a guillotine, ready to slice your toes off at a moment's notice! This style has been the reigning champion of the available options at all my favorite shoe-shopping websites over the past year. Pair them with the already ubiquitous around-the-ankle straps (which are, if possible, even more prevalent than they were last year!), and you have a shoe that is quintessentially 2018.
Among the fashion publications I read, a debate rages: are leggings pants? The old-school among us still say no (I assert that anything that runs the risk of revealing panty lines and camel toe in one fell swoop is a little too chancy!), but it's clear that popular opinion is not on our side. Around my campus, almost all the female students head to class in a veritable uniform of leggings and a short loose top. Supermodels get photographed running errands (or whatever it is that rich people do) in skin-tight pants and crop tops. No one bothers to cover their butt. It's a new world out there.
10. Split overskirts and pants
As I mentioned in September, I felt like every awards show in the first half of the year had at least one person rocking the strange combination of a cape-like (dare I say "mullet?") skirt and pants. By summer, the look trickled down to the masses in the form of skirted rompers. This is a trend that I haven't seen much of since winter hit, but I'm hoping for a revival in the coming year!
9. Tropical leaf motifs
Over the entire last year (and much of the previous one), huge leafy designs dominated everything, not just clothing, but also decor! One specific type of leaf seemed particularly overrepresented. It took me until June before I learned its name was "monstera."
8. High-cut swimsuits
I enjoyed the (early 2000's) era of boy-short bikinis immensely, but it seems that over the past 18 years, the leg holes in swimwear have just been going up, up, and away! I myself am not a fan of the high-cut look, but who am I to control the tides of fashion? I just ride them out in my slightly dated swimsuits, and hope one day that the Baywatch look will go back out of favor.
7. Tie-back boots
It's a little detail that could easily be missed, but when you're shopping for boots and almost every pair that pops up has it, you start to pay attention. I'm talking about laces in the back. Nearly every boot I purchased in 2018 had this detail, even the vintage boots that were probably not of this millennium!
6. Leopard Print
Animal print has never been so much a trend as a perennial favorite. I'll be honest, I haven't seen any more people wearing it this year than any other time, but the fashion mags just couldn't stop gushing about it (leopard in particular), and I found enough of it online to concede that they just may be onto something. I have never been much into the stuff (I think it's overly sexualized and don't much fancy the idea of wearing animal skin), but after months of being bombarded with claims that it's the next big thing, I weakened enough to buy both a leopard- and a zebra-print sweater. So even if the trend never really takes off elsewhere, it at least made it into my closet.
5. Ankle boots
Ankle boots have reigned supreme as fall and winter footwear for more years than I can count. They made their way up the list so insidiously that I never even thought to mention them as a trend until this year. While over-the-knee boots have held their own for a few years, I hear they're now on the way out. The ankle-high variety, on the other foot (har har), proves a lot more practical, and people are wearing them with everything. When the girls in my college town go out at night, I never see them wearing pumps—it's black mid-heeled ankle boots all the way!
4. Cropped Pants
What better way to show off your ankle boots than with a pair of high-cut pants? Since I first observed culottes making headway into the world of everyday fashion, the above-the-ankle length for trousers has continued to grow in popularity. We're now at a point where "cropped" is pretty much the de facto choice for anyone who wants to wear pants—including men. Men's fashion moves slowly relative to women's, but I recently read one article claiming that cropped pants are the norm for males right now as well. That's how you know a trend has fully taken hold.
3. "Guillotoe" Sandals
"Guillotoe" is a word I made up to describe the type of sandals with hardly anything holding them on except for a lone toe strap so skinny, it might as well be the blade of a guillotine, ready to slice your toes off at a moment's notice! This style has been the reigning champion of the available options at all my favorite shoe-shopping websites over the past year. Pair them with the already ubiquitous around-the-ankle straps (which are, if possible, even more prevalent than they were last year!), and you have a shoe that is quintessentially 2018.
2. Leggings as pants
Among the fashion publications I read, a debate rages: are leggings pants? The old-school among us still say no (I assert that anything that runs the risk of revealing panty lines and camel toe in one fell swoop is a little too chancy!), but it's clear that popular opinion is not on our side. Around my campus, almost all the female students head to class in a veritable uniform of leggings and a short loose top. Supermodels get photographed running errands (or whatever it is that rich people do) in skin-tight pants and crop tops. No one bothers to cover their butt. It's a new world out there.
1. Wearing a fanny pack as a cross-body bag
And now, my pick for top trend of 2018! It's bizarre, unflattering, highly impractical, and strongly features an accessory that was the butt of many jokes over much of the last two decades. It is one of the top identifying characteristics of the mythical "hypebae," but I have actually seen it on real people on the street and in the airport! It's a fanny pack! When I first heard that fanny packs were coming back (early 2018), I made a beeline to my thrift store and purchased the first one I found.
I hate carrying things on my shoulders (makes my whole arm ache after just a few minutes no matter how light the load, so I generally try to distribute all the weight-bearing work to my hips. When I go hiking, I suspend so much stuff from my belt, I look like a dancing hippo!), so I was thrilled when I found out fanny packs were expected to become a socially acceptable alternative to the backpack!Unfortunately, it never really panned out that way. Instead, everyone who wore fanny packs wore them slung over their chest and shoulder, totally defeating the purpose! I still have my fanny pack, unworn. Maybe people will come to their senses and start wearing them the way they were meant to be, in which case I'm standing ready with my stash of embellishments!
Predictions
Last year, I bet that fashion flip flops would make a big showing in the near future. I wasn't totally off-base—I did see one pair of wedge flip flops for sale on one shoe site, but that's hardly what I'd call a huge trend. A stronger indication that I was on the right track was the fact that, apparently, New York Fashion Week attendees turned out in droves wearing your standard-issue beach sandals with their avant-garde ensembles. Perhaps dressy flip flops are next! I already have one pair in reserve and I'm planning on buying more, if I find them at the right price!
As for this year's look into the future, I'm once again foreseeing a footwear trend. This time, I'm banking on tall socks. To wit, mid-calf, sporty crew socks! Partly this is wishful thinking, because that was always my favorite style, and I feel it looks much better with short shorts than the present ankle-high or no-show options. But also, I think it's a fair likelihood. Low-cut socks have been pretty much the only option for women's athletic outfits in many years, and it's about time for a change. With sock boots saturating the market last year, and ankle boots still going strong, I feel like people might be primed for the mid-calf silhouette. Also, I've been hearing that designers are pushing the socks-and-sandals aesthetic, which would lend itself well to a higher style of sock. I'm going all-in on this future trend—I have crew socks on my shopping list, and I'm just waiting until I find them in a cheap multi-pack!
No comments:
Post a Comment