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2016 has been a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long year. We are still living in the year in which Leonardo DiCaprio won the Oscar for eating raw bison liver in The Revenant. When faced with a year this long, the only way to look back in an unbiased way is through the magic of ✨ data ✨.
And even data will surprise you, though not in the now familiarly traumatizing manner of 2016. The below facts, provided by Lyst, are not scary.
Patagonia Fleeces Were the Most Popular Men’s Item
The shopping site reports that men searched for nothing more than they searched for Patagonia fleeces. A real crowd pleaser, the fleece boasts utility and warmth, the brand champions eco-friendliness, and its normcore style is almost nostalgic at this point. Searches for the style have quadrupled since the beginning of 2016. This red and blue Synchilla style, in particular, was the most searched.
Shocker: Gucci Slides Were the Most Popular Item on the Women’s Side*
In much less surprising news, women desperately searched Lyst to get a piece of Gucci, the hottest brand of 2016. At $290, the most popular Bloom slides won the award for least expensive way to work Gucci’s over-the-top aesthetic into your wardrobe. The item that garnered the second-most searches on the women’s side was also unsurprising: leggings.
*Of new items introduced. The most-viewed style on Lyst was actually the Converse Comme des Garçons sneaker, which was introduced in 2015.
Puma Is Making the Hottest Sneakers in the Game
Rihanna, Kylie Jenner, Cara Delevingne, and Rae Sremmurd are confirmed game-changers. Puma has been reporting increased sales all year, and Lyst’s data backs that up. The brand saw an 183 percent increase in popularity, according to the site. It’s not hard to parse out who is making the biggest impact. The most-viewed Puma style on Lyst is Rihanna’s creeper.
But the Brand Still Can’t Touch Nike
Nike’s domination remains untouched. On Lyst’s rankings of the most searched for brands, Nike came out on top in both the men’s and women’s categories. Not a huge surprise considering one-fourth of Lyst’s visitors were shopping for shoes.
The rest of the top ten in both categories doesn’t have any huge upsets (the one outlier on the men’s side might be Moncler). The list is more shocking when you consider who didn’t make the cut. While Gucci makes an appearance on the women’s side, men apparently weren’t as captivated with Alessandro Michele’s designs. Vetements was also left off both lists, while the Demna Gvasalia-led Balenciaga made it to the top ten for both men’s and women’s.
Everyone Is Predictable
Did you shop for a puffer, choker, vintage T-shirt, slip dress, logo-fied item, or Tumblr pink item in 2016? Lyst’s data says yes, probably. All these items made the site’s top trends of this year.
The 2016 Trend That Still Hurts
“From January to November pantsuits saw a 460% increase in searches with a 24% average increase each month,” Lyst reports. Hill, our magnificent trendsetter, we miss you.