Best of 2012: Fashion Flashback & Fashion Forward Trends That Won’t End Soon

Posted by Lina Lecaro on 09 Jan 2013 / 0 Comment

Unique hair, makeup and nails dominated LA divas’ and fashion denizens’ looks last year. In fact, they were as important as any frock or piece of clothing. Floral prints, acid wash, spikes and sheer fabrics all provided fun and sexy ways to make an impression, and these fab finishing touches made for style statements that were anything but demure. More of it is all to come in 2013 too. Is this a good or bad thing? Take a look at our Top 10 trends seen out and about, and decide for yourself…

10. FADE INTO YOU- Ombre hair color gave way to full-on sherbert-hued hair combos last year, and all the LA gals with the muted rainbow-fade look, in our opinion, looked as sweet as a bag of Skittles. We see this trend continuing into 2013, a colorful yet subdued complement to basic black and Winter-white monochromatic get-ups.

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9. ACID QUEENS- As with most trends, if you wore it the first time, you really didn’t need to rock it again. We were never a fan of acid wash anything, even when Guess was hot, preferring dark denim classics like Levi’s. Still, the 80s sorta-faded/sorta-not jean thing worked on cute ladies with the bods to wear it right, in tight stretch dresses and skirts. Most had the savvy to style it with ironic embellishments that worked and winked at the wash.

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8. HAIL NAIL ART – What girl didn’t see her fingertips as tiny canvases last year? Even more minimal, conservative ladies were tempted to try one of the hot nail trends of 2012, whether it be adhesive design, multi-colored ombre looks or detailed little masterpieces like Katy Perry’s awesome ode to this blog above. Ok, they’re actually a homage to Hollywood movies (popcorn, 3D glasses)… We knew this would be a big deal, so we devoted a whole week (posts here, here, here, and here) to all the various newbie nail looks last year. But will fancy fingers still be tops for 2013? You bet your tips they will.

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7. MESSY UPDOS & DON’TS- Sumo wrestler buns and dis-sheveled unicorn do’s went beyond the gym (and home) a lot last year…. The bunhead look may have added an effortless flair to fancy fashioned femmes who didn’t want to appear to fussy, but there were definitely some babes we wanted to hand out brushes to. How about you?

6. PINK LADIES – 2012 was the definitely the year to be pretty in pink. From Fall fashion mags to wigs to lipsticks, girlie glam shades conjuring Barbie, bubblegum and shocking 80s neon were everywhere. The “It” color of 2013 is reportedly going to be green, but we see pink staying strong too, a preppy contrast that’ll continue to add a feminine feel to frocks and face.

5. BRIGHT EYES (& LIPS) – Sephora, MAC and even the drugstores seemed obsessed with vivid colors more than ever last year. Color “tattoos” for eyes in purple and blue or hot pink and orange lips were the preferred shades to make the features pop first.

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4. PATRIOT POP – The Olympics and the election made us all want to paint the town red… white and blue. Flag print shirts and pants, striped tops, and star-printed everything made USA pride something we just couldn’t hide.

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3. SHEER HERE- The appeal is transparent. Sheer fabrics made for a seductive way to layer or show off undies (if you dare) after dark. Lace, mesh, fishnet and crochet materials provide a peek-a-boo chic that will endure throughout 2013.

2. SPIKE LIKE - The Jeffrey Campbell spiked Lita boot transcended its original rocker girl fanbase last year and went totally mainstream. So much so that it was knocked off all over the mall (from Forever 21 to Steve Madden) and on Hollywood Blvd. We also saw spikes on accessories, tops and pretty much everything in between. Weapon-ish wearables are both practical and impractical… but we hope in 2013, spikes are more about looking tough than actually having to be tough.

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1. BRAINY BLOSSOMS- It may be an oxy-moron, but sexy wallflowers were everywhere last year. The look had a decidedly 80s school teacher flair with floral print dresses and spectacles the preferred combo for nights out at the club. What made these smarty/arty chicks so cool? Funky hair (See #10 & #7), vibrant makeup (#6) and punky footwear (see #2). Yup, this head of class had sass.