It was a year of contradictions and confusion for the fashion-minded as designers and retailers opened a grab bag of trends, hoping to recharge a lagging interest in shopping and dressing.
What to wear? Fashionables touted the return of "Conservative Chic," polished dressing patterned after legendary clotheshorses like Jackie O. and Grace Kelly. Male fashion took inspiration from "Forrest Gump," a film that launched "Geek Chic."
When to wear it? IBM demoted the suit and put the corporate stamp of approval on "Casual Friday." As others followed suit, Thursday nights became a nightmare of unscrambling dress codes.
Who's the leader? Boomers, having found truth and virtue in earth-friendly cottons and linens, were shaken to see Generation X-ers embrace industrial synthetics as fashionable alternatives. Teens dressed in laundry hamper fashion were turned on to "Clueless," a film that put Beverly Hills princess dressing back in favor.
What's next? Who knows? That's what makes fashion the fun game it is.
IN: Color, in every shade imaginable
OUT: Black, but only for a minute
IN: Short skirts and long skirts
OUT: The indecisive knee-length
IN: Mixing patterns, stripes and florals
OUT: Mixing shades of beige
IN: Polished and pressed chinos and khakis
OUT: Distressed denim
IN: Lean pants that ride the hip
OUT: Tight pants that hold on with stirrups
IN: Sabrina as a role model
OUT: Madonna as a role model
IN: Dressing up for dinner
OUT: Over-dressing for work
IN: Redheads
OUT: Blondes with black roots
IN: Blue-frosted eye shadow
OUT: White-frosted brunettes
IN: Bangs that are feathered
OUT: Bobs that look dated
IN: Pumps that can walk
OUT: Limousine stiletto heels
IN: Building a wardrobe
OUT: Shopping for clothes
IN: The Italian fashion houses -- Prada, Gucci, Versace, Fendi, Armani
OUT: The Parisian claim to fashion supremacy
IN: RuPaul as spokesmodel
OUT: Kathy Lee as spokesmodel
IN: Isaac Mizrahi as himself
OUT: Cindy Crawford as an actress
IN: Fur that looks faux
OUT: Faux that looks real
IN: Hush Puppies and variety store sneakers
OUT: Doc Martens and boots with aggressive tendencies
IN: Urban hipsters in prep-inspired designer wear from Boss, Polo, Nautica and Tommy
OUT: Raiders chic
IN: Baseball hats worn forward
OUT: Baseball hats worn backward
IN: Shoulder bags slung on the shoulder
OUT: Backpacks slung on the shoulder
IN: Unisex shared fragrances
OUT: Unisex dressing
IN: Classic and muted tone-on-tone ties
OUT: Conversational loony-toony ties
IN: Decorating your boudoir by letting Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein or Gianni Versace coordinate your paint, pillows, sheets and duvet covers
OUT: Faking it with a glue gun the Martha Stewart way
IN: Meat and potatoes as a rare treat
OUT: Treating sun-dried tomatoes like a precious commodity
IN: A microwave meal built from leftovers
OUT: A microwave meal from the carry-out
IN: A perfect martini
OUT: A questionable microbrew
IN: Cabbage as the coleslaw
OUT: Cabbage as the centerpiece
IN: Luxury sedans garaged in the country
OUT: Utility four-wheelers garaged in the city
IN: Well-behaved pooches
OUT: Jack Russell terriers
IN: Friendship
OUT: Networking