Numbers don’t always tell a complete story, but at the end of each year, we’re always curious to see which fashion items got the most clicks or highest spikes in search volume. Forget the runways; what did people actually buy and wear? More often than not, the “must haves” can be explained by major headlines or moments in pop culture. But in 2020, a year marked by a global health crisis, staggering unemployment, and a contentious election, what we liked and bought arguably meant even more. If we purchased anything new, it was likely comfortable—loungewear remains the best-selling category on the market—or sent a message about our beliefs.
Over the past few days, we’ve narrowed down 17 of the year’s most-wanted accessories, shoes, sweatshirts, and more. In some cases, we looked to data—see: Harry Styles’s TikTok sweater—while others came from our own observations, like Bottega Veneta’s oddly uplifting rainboots. Scroll through them all below.