Deja View
Fashion fiends dust off some familiar duds
Call it fashion fatigue or just an acute appreciation of eras past. Either way, the year’s most ubiquitous trends were far from avant-garde. But did the hipster homage improve on the original? We pit inspiration against imitation to see whose style was victorious.
GLADIATOR SANDALS
First spotted on: The strapping slaves
of pre-Jesusian Rome.
2008 revival popular with: Secretly flush
hipsters (most pairs cost about $100).
Who wore it better: The original. Fighting
footwear is less successful outside the ring.
THE LUMBERJACK SHIRT
First spotted on: Legendary axe-wielder
Paul Bunyan.
2008 revival popular with: Value Village
devotees and Lindsay Lohan wannabes.
Who wore it better: The imitation. Fitted flannel is fashionable and patriotic. What’s not to love?
THE BOYFRIEND JEAN
First spotted on: The hunk in biology.
2008 revival popular with: 30-something fashionistas eager to abandon the very literal trappings of skinny jeans.
Who wore it better: The imitation. Denim has come a long way since the acid wash era.
THE HIPPIE HEADBAND
First spotted on: The pot-smoking
flower children of the Age of Aquarius.
2008 revival popular with: The pot-smoking teens of the Age of Excess.
Who wore it better: The original. Much like patchouli, this hippie staple belongs in the ’60s.
Photographs: Model by Lisa Kannakko; lumberjack from Corbis; others from Photofest
More from our 2008: Year in Review
• The Temperature: The winners and losers of 2008
• Man of the Year: Richard Florida
• Drop Zone: Toronto the crunched
• Bad Boys: Local lads land in infamy
• Party: A year of boozy bashes
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