10 Trends From 2012 We’ll Probably Regret

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Remember buying a pair of drop-crotch pants a few years back? Remembering detagging all those photos on Facebook of you in said drop-crotch pants? Remember when you dropped them off at your local consignment shop, never to return to drop-crotch land? Yep, this is kind of like that. 

Even we aren’t immune to flash-in-the-pan trends, and though we may have touted the awesomeness of some of these, we have a feeling that we won’t be pulling our mullet skirts out of the closet next year. Behold — our list of 2012 trends we’ll probably regret later on. Sorry, guys.

1. Formal Pajamas — This year, we channeled our inner-Julian Schnabel. Whether it was a collective effort to trick ourselves into thinking it was alright to wear sleepwear outdoors or not, this formal pajama phenomenon might be our decade’s version of the Juicy Couture tracksuit. 

Piamita Isabelle Top, $190, available at Les Nouvelles; Piamita Pajama Pant, $198, available at Les Nouvelles.

2. Box Clutches — A solid clutch should be able to hold your essentials (plus a little extra), tuck easily under your arm for easy double fisting, and be blingy enough to spot in a dark room. This year’s ubiquitous box clutch only satisfied one of these criteria. However aesthetically arresting these little guys were, we’ve spent too many nights out without our stuff to deem these as a passing fad. 

Accessorize Hardcase Clutch, $79, available at Accessorize

3. “Tribal” Prints — Those geometric, faux-woven prints have names, but last year really saw the unfortunate rise of the “tribal” or “ethnic print” — unfair monikers for really awesome, historically significant prints. 

Photo: Courtesy of She Inside.

4. Pilgrim Shoes — This year saw all manners of jolie laide-type shoes, but the ones that — in our opinion — were definitely more laide than jolie were those Marc Jacobs pilgrim boots with the rhinestone buckle. Where’s the The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test bus to cart these guys outta here? 

Marc Jacobs Silver Pilgrim Shoe, $1,315, available at Forzieri

5. Festival Fashion — Coachella started it, and electronic festivals made it crazier. The kind of outfit that involved destroyed tank-tops, fluorescent bras, micro-mini skirts, ripped jorts, floppy hat, beat-up boots, Spirit Hoods, American Flag bikinis, and way too many slashed tops (sometimes, all at once) really dominated the music-festival fashion circuit last year. 

Photo: Courtesy of Karma Loop.

6. The Sheer Mullet Skirt — Another fixture among festivalgoers and bloggers alike, this half-there, half-not skirt made us, well, conflicted. A seasonally ambiguous trend (because it’s long, yet doesn’t actually conceal much), the mullet skirt may become one of those trends that will make our future grandchildren giggle at us. 

River Island Black Double Layer Maxi Skirt, $24.38, available at River Island.

7. Muppet Pelts — Mitt Romney said it best, “I love Big Bird,” and so do we. But we’re not sure if Big and the Sesame Street gang would appreciate 2012’s popular plush footwear. Made famous on the Céline runway, these tricky pairs were a total head-scratcher. How and where do we wear them? Or, more importantly, do they need a regular trimming? For next year, we think we’ll strictly stick to fuzzy-lined house slippers or nothing at all. 

Photo: Courtesy of Celine

8. Day-Glo Jeans — We’re guilty on all accounts of partaking in this particular trend. Blame it on the bright colors for the initial oohs and aahs, but we have a feeling the shocking shades may have taken us into Pixie-Stick-legs territory rather than the rad colorblocking we love.

AE Skinny Jean, $29.99, available at AE.

9. The Extra-Wide-Brimmed Hat — While we usually love a good wide-brimmed fedora, there was a certain way of wearing it that really made us cringe. You know — pushed to the back of the head, worn with a center part, like Zorro if he was a 16-year-old blogger from Sweden. How does it stay on? Why would one need a vertical hat? Do these come free with round sunglasses? 

Warehouse Wide Brimmed Trilby, $27.63, available at Warehouse.

10. Round Sunglasses — Speaking of those round sunglasses, these specs — pardon the pun —round out our list. From Three Blind Mice miniatures to gigantic, Human Fly frames, these round glasses were the shape of the season. Looking through rose-tinted glasses may be nice and all, but let’s just make sure that the frames they come in for 2013 are a whole lot more attractive. 

Topshop Extreme Bug Sunglasses, $32, available at Topshop.

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