Top 10 trends of 2009 we didn't hate

1. Lady Gaga

She was an interesting distraction from all the crap that was going on during the year and made us believe in fashion brazenness, irreverence and humor. Why wear fur when you can wear frogs? — ANC

2. Platforms

If you’re wearing a six-inch heel that only takes up a centimeter of ground space, aren’t you glad you have those two-inch platforms to take the weight off — literally! YSL’s Tribute platform is uber-sexy but, without those added toe cushions, walking becomes unnecessary.                              —AGK

3. Reinvention

Thanks to the critical acclaim A Single Man garnered shortly after its debut on the film festival circuit, Tom Ford successfully turned around what most considered a foolish career change headed for doom. Naysayers — his own friends included (a feature on Ford in the New York Times boasted this quote: “I had one friend whom I’ve known for 15 years who said, ‘I’ve always thought of you as a beautiful black lacquered box with a platinum handle from the 1920s, but I never knew there was anything inside the box,’ ” Mr. Ford said. “I was, like, ‘You’ve been my friend, and you did not know there was anything more than the surface?’”) — were plenty. Ford’s slinky, sexy sensibilities couldn’t possibly translate to film, yet the soulful results are proof that underneath Ford’s polished, beautiful image is a polished, beautiful film waiting to get out.

Numerous folks in the fashion industry have attempted to reinvent themselves: Amber Valetta and Gemma Ward have moved on from stills to moving pictures, hoping to make a similar break that propelled the likes of Ford to critical acclaim and big screen blockbusters. Proof that Madonna isn’t the only queen of reinvention.

Here’s to seeing more change and more experiments from tastemakers willing to challenge themselves in arenas outside of their comfort zones.         — BJL

4. Messy hair

Bed head done right looks great with red carpet outfits! — CRL

5. Architectural silhouettes

From nipped waists to trapezoidal shoulders, fashion’s 2009 take on geometry added new dimensions to our wardrobes. The comeback of the padded shoulder became a bit more acceptable with rounded rather than runningback shoulders, and Victoria Beckham’s new fashion line had us flaunting those sculpted hips. — AGK

6. Fashion docs

The September Issue gave us a peek into the rarefied world of Vogue as they closed their heftiest issue ever in 2007…five months before it hit the newsstands. A definite eye-opener for local magazine industry people who work with peanuts for budgets and don’t have the luxury of flying the crew on location — only to shoot against a white background inside a house. Valentino: The Last Emperor chronicles the final act of celebrated designer Valentino, who has been decking out red carpet ladies for 50 years, steadily oblivious to the changing business of fashion that resulted in his company having to be sold. These films hardly demythologize the fashion world — it is still exceedingly glamorous — but they make the faces of the powers-that-be all the more human.         — ANC

7. Zoe inspired

The New York Times, upon the debut of Rachel Zoe’s show on Bravo last year, called the celebrity stylist a “pox on humanity.” But two seasons in and we’re hooked on the inane dialogue and banal plot twists. Zoe’s catchphrases “That’s bananas” (which she trademarked) and “I die” are so ridiculous they’re fabulous.  — BJL

8. Taylor Lautner

This is one well-cast werewolf. I’m not a fan of the Twilight flicks but this boy can howl at my moon any time.   — AGK

9. High-low collabs

Not a new trend, but one that is firmly becoming a fact of the new fashion dynamic. Alexander McQueen and Anna Sui for Target, Jil Sander for Uniqlo and Sonia Rykiel and Jimmy Choo for H&M are some of the couture names who went slumming with retail. These partnerships are proof that luxury labels are losing their luster and we’re slowly rehabbing ourselves from the carefree days of credit card abuse. — ANC

10. Shaggy coats

Yeah, looking like Chewbacca and Big Foot is something we should all aspire to. Even Karl Lagerfeld agrees, having placed one in Chanel’s 2010 pre-fall collection. Some might argue that adorning yourself with what generally amounts to a fuzzy bath mat isn’t a good thing. We beg to differ. It takes a certain amount of chutzpah — and a resistance to hot flashes — to sport these dazzling coats. — BJL