Worst Shoe Trends of 2008

Kori Ellis — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:35:10 +0000

It’s New Year’s Eve. Time to celebrate with friends, set goals for the upcoming year, and reflect on 2008. When it comes to footwear, there were plenty of hot shoe trends that we all loved including animal prints, glossy patent leather and anything purple. However, 2008 also featured some shoe trends that we’d like to quickly forget.

Gladiator Sandals

They started out innocently enough. But before we knew it, gladiator sandals were everywhere. And they were getting taller and taller – and I’m not talking about the heels. These sandals were crawling up the leg and pretty soon knee-high (and higher!) gladiator sandals were on the runways and the city streets. Unfortunately, it looks like gladiators are back again for Spring 2009. Hopefully, this time they’ll stay under control with simple styles and basic silhouettes.

Open-Toe Booties

One of the hottest (and perhaps the most illogical) trends of Fall 2008 were open-toe booties. Boots and booties are supposed to keep your feet warm in cold weather. Therefore, it doesn’t make much sense to have your toes sticking out. But it seemed every shoe designer was hot for open-toe booties, and consumers were as well. Maybe I’m a little old fashioned, but I’ll save the open-toe shoes for spring and summer.

Architectural Heels

Designers went crazy with architectural heels and art noveau designs. They were modern, hip and totally not wearable. Interesting, sometimes. Practical, absolutely not. From cut-out heels to heels that didn’t even exist, these shoes were far too trendy for their own good.

Military Boots

I’ve never been a fan of military boots for women. They are clunky, junky and just plain ugly. This year when ladies were pairing military boots with feminine dresses, it was enough to make this girl gag. Hopefully in 2009, military boots stay were they belong – on military men.

UGGs and Crocs

These boots and shoes would probably be on my list every year. Though UGG did put out some decent styles this year, the UGG Cardy Classic won’t seem to die. And as for Crocs, I’m not sure what to say, other than they are really just gardening shoes and should stay in the garden! I don’t want to see them on the streets, and I certainly don’t want to see them at nice restaurants.

I wish you all a Happy New Year. And here’s to plenty of peep-toe pumps, sexy sandals and patent boots in 2009.