How to bring your fave 2018 trends into 2019

Makeover time.

Generally speaking, hindsight is a beautiful thing. Occasionally though, hindsight can also be an assault on the eyes. Like when you’re attacked with a Facebook memory from many years ago, and you’re drinking a green apple UDL while your hair is in a quiff, for example.

Reflecting on previous fashion choices is a dangerous game. Why did I wear my hair like that? Why didn’t someone tell me those sunglasses didn’t suit me? Can I still pull off white hot pants? It can also show us that some — no, most — fashion trends are best left in the past, while others just need a lil’ dust-off before they can be welcomed back into the ’drobe.  

2018 was a huge ass year for trends — and many of them are still going strong — but if you want to keep wearing them through 2019, you gotta know how to refresh them. Rework them. Breathe new life into them. Here’s how.

Chunky sneakers

In 2018: It was all about the dad sneaker. If you couldn’t imagine it on Seinfeld, you may as well not bother. We wore them with everything too, from relaxed suiting to frilly dresses. Nothing in our wardrobe was safe from their ugliness.

In 2019: We’re taking it outside with the hiking trend, and everyone from Yeezy to Zara are already on board. Chunky sneakers will blend with hiking boots for a bigger utility vibe — think higher ankles, harder soles and laces you might buy from Kathmandu. Still comfy though.

Neon

In 2018: We all put on our teeny, tiny sunglasses to protect us from the UV rays, because neon was back to blind us, whether we liked it or not. I AM GIA had us dressing in hi-vis puffer jackets and snap pants, Blake Lively convinced us a slime green suit was a good idea and Kim K made us forget all of our 2007 neon sins.

In 2019: We’re older and wiser now, and we’re thinking maybe the slime green suit wasn’t such a great idea, after all. This year, neon seems to be taking a bit more of an effortless approach. It’s a fluoro yellow turtleneck layered under a slouchy blazer, it’s an acid green tank peeking out the top of a camel or khaki utility dress, and it’s a sexy black suit paired with neon pink kitten heels.

Athleisure

In 2018: We wore the athleisure trend for the 65th year running, and it won an award for the Most Overdone Trend of Our Generation. Was there really a need to ‘get ready’ anymore? We woke up, slipped into our bike shorts, threw on our bum bag and slid on our speed dealers before heading out the door to enjoy our day. It looked like we were going to the gym, but plot twist: we weren’t.

In 2019: In a strange turn of events, athleisure — or more specifically, bike shorts — has been given an ’80s-corporate-woman makeover, because everyone knows bike shorts are just made for the office. We’ll now be pairing them with oversized, belted blazers and ladylike shoes/accessories for a new take on ‘business at the top, party at the bottom’. It’s confusing I admit, but hey, I don’t make the trends — I just pass them on.