There’s no doubt about it: fashion is a beautiful thing. Creating and following a trend can be exhilarating, rewarding— educational, even. But occasionally we see one that doesn’t quite pass the smell test; it’s everywhere, but it’s awful. “Did we miss a memo? What is everyone thinking?” Even the chicest of the chic have their WTF moments. Here are the top 10 style obsessions that we here at Paste will never understand.
First of all, this is obviously cheating. Sneakers and heels? No. Either wear the pumps or the trainers; you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. Wedge sneakers are clunky, confusing, and generally a shoe embarrassment. Even designer Isabel Marant, who debuted the trend in 2012, is admitting defeat here.
Anne Hathaway wore one of these during her “fashion transformation” montage in The Devil Wears Prada, evidently confusing the audience into believing that this is a valid accessory. Come on, guys, it’s named for the hundred-year-old career of an adolescent boy, and hats are pretty questionable as it is. Not exactly modern muse material.
These knee-length inseams have us a little baffled. Is it a skirt? Pants? Why would anyone intentionally wear something that limits his or her range of motion while vaguely resembling a diaper? Just the thought of trying to exit a taxi in these makes me flinch.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the idea that it’s supposed to be warm on the inside of shoes? It looks like someone gave frosted tips to a herd of unsuspecting guinea pigs, and then superglued them to each foot. Where did these come from and what was everyone thinking? No more, please!
At this point, we’re fairly confident the world has learned to take Kanye’s advice with a grain of salt, but this trend must have been a global moment of weakness. They literally limit your field of vision. You see less! They do the opposite of what any glasses are supposed to do! Stop wearing these!
Unless you’re a camp counselor or nurse—in which case these are encouraged since they’re water-friendly and close-toed—crocs are not an acceptable form of footwear. I don’t care if you’re just wearing them to run errands. Minus 10 for you. Minus an additional 10,000 if they’re button-covered, fur-lined or heeled.
Jason Mraz stole this trend from the 20s and made them popular as part of his beach-bum musician persona. They’re super-chill and come in about 100 different styles, but they also scream, “please don’t ask me anything, I’m stoned off my ass.”
Fishnets are good for two very specific events: raves and Halloween. If you’re furiously gyrating to Skrillex or hitting up a costume party, I actually encourage these. But wearing them anywhere else is just indecent exposure … unless you’re Kendall Jenner on the Marc Jacobs runway, in which case everyone will have a meltdown about your nipples.