What we wore to death in 2008

If 2007 was the year of the “It Bag,” 2008 was the year of the “It Shoe.” Although there wasn’t just one must-have shoe, there were several.

It was the year designers tried to outdo each other by coming up with the most bizarre, almost gravity-defying shoes.

Some of them were like actual works of art, not meant to be worn, but to be displayed.

As for head-to-toe looks, there wasn’t one strong statement like boho-chic or the printed-dress trends of yore.

Here are some trends we wore to death in 2008. Which ones make you go, “I can’t believe I wore that?”

1. The gladiator sandals

They’ve been around for thousands of years, from the time of Jesus Christ. But instead of wearing them with a flowing white robe and walking on water, women wore them with breezy printed dresses for that luxe-boho look, or those crazy knee-high styles with short shorts.

While they still work as a comfy weekend staple, the gladiator sandal have reached the saturation point for now.

If you bought an expensive pair, don’t worry — they’ll be back in style in another couple of decades.

2. The colored opaque tights

We’ve been seeing lots of legs in black opaque tights for the past two years. The tights have evolved into colored opaque tights, which are slowly evolving into patterned tights. A fun look, but tricky to wear. If you haven’t got the personality to go crazy with the combos, you may find difficulty deciding what pair of colored tights to wear with what outfit and which shoes.

3. The platform heels

Short girls everywhere are rejoicing that this trend has still got legs (no pun intended)! However, the styles that were released last year were the most, er, creative so far. While some elicit the “how-the-hell-can-you-walk-in-those?” reaction, most were actually comfortable and came in versatile designs for all aspects of your life: work, weekend, evening, formal, etc.

4. Jeans or pants as leggings

So you bought that cute little mini dress and wore it to death — on its own, or with tights or leggings.

Now give them new life and wear them over your jeans as a tunic. Or maybe you bought that cute little mini dress, thinking, I just have to lose those last 10 pounds then I can wear it, but in the meantime you wore it over skinny pants and thought to yourself, these are so comfortable, I don’t have to lose those last 10 pounds after all!

5. The open-toe boots

These unusual boots, especially ankle-high ones, were treated almost like sandals. Especially when women got inventive by giving their precious little cocktail dresses some edge by wearing them with these boots. Kinda cool, kinda grungy.

6. The ‘My Pilipinas’ shirt

It was the great equalizer: the “My Pilipinas” shirt designed by Rhett Eala for Collezione C2. Everyone, from little kids running in the park to big government officials running the country, wore it last year. And if you wore it abroad, it felt like you were part of a secret club because only a fellow Filipino would recognize the Philippine map embroidered over one’s heart.

The message “I love my country” came across loud and clear.

7. Designer collaborations

While some collabs have been going on for years or were one-off projects, 2008 was the year of the collaboration for some established companies that wanted to amp up their image by attaching their name to a designer’s name (or was it the other way around?).

There will be more next year, just you wait.

Among the notables: Rhett Eala for Collezione, Kate Torralba for City Lady Stockings, Lesley Mobo for Bench Body, Rajo Laurel and Frederick Peralta for Canadian Bed Linens and Red Ribbon Bakeshop, Rajo Laurel for Plains & Prints, and Rajo Laurel for Brothers Burger. (Rajo Laurel was obviously one busy guy in 2008!)

8. The printed maxi-dress

This was the perfect dress to put on when you were on the beach or in a resort and it was time to have a nice little dinner out.

Then the dress found its way into the city — in malls, during nights out, even at the office! This strappy floor-sweeping easy breezy printed dress was best worn with flat sandals, natural hair, stacks of bangles or layers of thin necklaces, and a cute little purse.

9. The eco-bag

It was nice to see when women would pull out their own eco-bags when shopping. It was also nice to see retailers produce their own eco-bags for customers to take home and reuse when making future purchases in other stores (it was a great marketing tool, too, by the way). Some even recycled their billboards into tote bags. This is one trend that will probably continue next year and beyond.

10. Harem pants

Also known as Hammer pants, drop-crotch pants, diaper pants, genie pants, lawlaw pants.

This trend is just bubbling under and one to watch in 2009. After all the low-slung jeans, skinny pants, and wide-leg trousers that made their way into our closets in the last few years, designers decided it was time to shake things up and introduce a new silhouette into our wardrobes.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry—by this time next year, it’ll be a household word.

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Liza Ilarde is the editor in chief of Travelife magazine.