7 Trends We Thought Would Be Everywhere in 2020 But Have Basically Disappeared

Earlier this year (and late last year, post-S/S 20 fashion month), we had many predictions as to what the biggest 2020 fashion trends would be. Then we were all instructed to shelter in place for months, and everything changed—including what we want to wear day in and day out. When it comes to trends, comfort has been the ultimate priority this year, and many of the trends we thought we’d all be wearing were replaced by far more comfortable ones.

That said, we’re not giving up hope that these trends will still come to be. We can tell that people are already anxious to take a break from elastic waistbands and things with the word “sweat” in the name, even if it’s just for takeout dinner at home. With big events like weddings, birthday parties, and vacations being sidelined for now, it can be hard to work up the motivation to try the latest trends, so we get it—trust us. With that, keep scrolling to find out which seven trends are on the back burner this year and what everyone is wearing instead.

Not sure about you, but we’re not exactly jumping at the chance to wear a tube top while lounging around at home. That’s not to say that we only want to wear oversize T-shirts and sweatshirts, though. A happy medium has turned out to be oversize button-down shirts, which go with everything from bike shorts to trousers.

In general, interest handbags have fallen by the wayside this year, so those big bags (almost comically so) that were being touted as the new accessory trend have been replaced by something people will actually see on the other side of a Zoom call: big rings that can be stacked and mixed and matched.

Perhaps shorts suits will get a fall revival, but with summer’s arrival and not many things to dress professionally for at the moment, we’re reaching for comfortable voluminous dresses instead.

Bra tops are one of the biggest summer top trends, which we’re not surprised by. We started seeing them when paired with matching cardigans months ago. Now, they’ve branched out on their own in many cases. Another spring/summer trend that we really wanted to happen is waistcoats. Fingers crossed that vests will make a return this fall and winter.

The colorful leather pieces we saw on the runways sure were chic, but practical they are not. A far more practical trend we’re seeing a lot of is tank tops with shoulder pads. They look a lot cooler than they sound on paper.

We talked a lot about flared jeans earlier this year and how they were destined to replace skinny jeans. But for obvious reasons, any type of denim hasn’t seemed all that appealing lately. A flared trend that has emerged at this time, though, is leggings (aka jazz pants).

Heeled loafers were the new “ugly” shoe trend we were all counting on this year, but they’re not all that great for lounging at home and trips to the grocery store. Similar to last year, flip-flops have risen to the top of the shoe-trend heap, both flat and kitten heel styles.

Next up, four unexpectedly cool trends coming at us this summer.