Best Fashion 2022
The best-of-2022 guides - dresses, handbags, jeans, shoes, reading, shopping and social media
Time to increase your knowledge about the best clothing, shoes and fashion accessories of 2022 - certainly a year to remember. This section helps consumers of fashion navigate the trends of the year in seven guides: the best dresses, the best handbags, the best designer jeans, the best shoes, the best fashion reading, the best fashion shopping and the best social media of 2022.
The seven guides answer seven different questions. Three are about things you wear - gowns, bags, denim and footwear, each named piece by piece. Three are about how fashion reaches you - the publications worth reading, the boutiques and stores worth shopping, and the platforms where style now spreads first. The dress guide sits between the two groups, because a great gown is both a garment and an event.
The Best of 2022 Guides
Seven Guides to One Year
Each guide in this section is a short, argued list rather than a catalog. The dress guide names six gowns and gives each a construction story - floral threadwork embroidery on silk, sequins scattered like a starlit sky on tulle, a bubble hem made of ostrich feathers. The handbag guide names six bags, from a braided chain shoulder bag to a nano bag covered in rhinestones. The jeans guide takes the opposite approach: instead of a few pairs, it rosters the designer denim brands of the year, because in 2022 denim was a field, not a shortlist.
The shoe guide names seven pairs and, like its 2021 predecessor, leans toward boots - biker boots, lug boots and a trail ankle boot stand alongside platform sandals and a metallic mesh runner. The reading guide lists twelve fashion news sources, the shopping guide moves from five boutiques through five brands to four stores, and the social media guide explains why TikTok earned the headline spot after years off the list.
The Trends Behind the Lists
Four expected trends frame everything in this section. One of the biggest was the use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials: many brands invested in materials such as bamboo, organic cotton and even recycled plastic, reducing the footprint of the fashion industry while creating pieces that are both stylish and sustainable. The shopping guide shows that forecast landing in real stores, where one boutique on the list is built entirely around sustainable, ethically sourced clothing.
Smart fashion was the second forecast - garments and accessories designed to be connected to the internet and to respond to users' needs and preferences, such as a jacket that might detect the temperature outside and adjust itself accordingly. Athleisure was expected to remain popular, combining athletic-inspired clothing with traditional fashion pieces for people who want to look fashionable and comfortable at the same time. And bold prints and colors were set to continue, from animal prints to bright, eye-catching colors. The social guide is where those trends actually surfaced first, which is why it earns its place beside the product guides.
How the 2022 Section Compares With 2021
The best fashion of 2021 section ran to four guides plus a trend page, organized around a year of going out again cautiously. The 2022 section is broader and more confident: dresses and designer jeans join as categories of their own, social media returns after a gap of years, and the pandemic guide disappears - its subject had become background rather than news. The wider best of fashion for consumers collection gathers these year sections together.
Do you use social media to explore the world of fashion? The social media guide covers the platforms, and a linked page explains how to get more follows on them. Read in sequence, the year sections show fashion's attention moving: 2021 watched masks taper and boots return; 2022 watched a video app set the agenda while gowns came back to the calendar.
A Historical Record of 2022
These pages are kept as a historical 2022 record. The products, boutique lineups and platform rankings describe that year: prices and availability have changed, several featured pieces were seasonal, and social platforms have shifted since. The brand, store and publication links are the place to check what each one offers today.
We hope this section helps you find what can become your favorite dresses, bags, jeans and shoes - and understand what people reached for in 2022, and why. Thank you for using the Apparel Search website. Start with whichever guide matches what you are looking for, and the rest of the section is one click away. Learn more about consumers and consumer fashion across the site.
Common Questions
What categories does the best-of-2022 section cover?
Seven guides: dresses, handbags, designer jeans, shoes, fashion reading, fashion shopping and social media. The dress guide names six gowns, the handbag guide six bags, the shoe guide seven pairs, and the jeans guide rosters the year's designer denim brands.
What were the big fashion trends expected for 2022?
Sustainable and eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, organic cotton and recycled plastic; smart fashion connected to the internet; continuing athleisure; and bold prints and colors, from animal prints to bright, eye-catching shades.
How is the 2022 section different from 2021?
It is broader: dresses and designer jeans get their own guides, social media returns after a gap of years, and there is no pandemic guide - by 2022 the subject had become background rather than news.