Complex's Best of 2009: The Top 25 Style Trends

#25: FAIR ISLE SWEATERS
• Who said it wasn't cool to look like your grandma knitted all of your clothes? Well, maybe that's an overstatement, but during the latter part of '09 these cozy Scottish-bred sweaters were on point.

#24: KHAKIS
• Worn rolled up or just like jeans, khakis were a preppy denim alternative in any situation. Just make sure your cuff game is proper.

#23: BUTTON-DOWN VESTS
• Sure, these jumped the shark in '09, but in the early part of the year, vests deftly toed the line between casual and formal for fake dress-up events everywhere.

#22: FIELD JACKETS
• Military-inspired wear was another huge '09 trend, exemplified in the simple field jacket, which was tweaked into dope variations by all of your favorite brands and designers. Bang! Bang!

#21: POCKET SQUARES
• Pocket squares added flavor to any penguin-suit get-up this year, reemerging as an essential accessory in an assortment of colors and patterns. Plus, handy for wiping away the tears of the girl whose heart you just broke into a million little pieces. Awww.

#20: STARTER JACKETS
• Bring back your middle-school cool-kid days with these satin bombers. If you didn't have one then, all the more reason to rock the hell out of one now. Gotta be cool some time right?

#19: GRIZZLY BOOTS
• Want to know where luxury met gully in '09? Nah, not when Drake was introduced to Wayne, but in these here boots, which combine a tough leather outer layer with a soft sheepskin lining to keep you toasty in rugged style.

#18: STRIPED SWEATERS
• Naval style has been on-trend for a minute, and so were these sailor-inspired sweaters. Everybody loves seamen? Ehhh....

#17: SHAWL COLLAR CARDIGANS
• Yawn, cardigans. While Mr. Rogers' favorite sweater has been mainstream for a few years, '09 saw a proliferation of different variations of the cardigan. Best of these was the shawl collar, which broke the usual monotony of the look while also adding warmth. Is that a win-win we smell?

#16: WING TIPS
• As much as we love sneakers, you can't rock them to everything. Wing tips have been around for about a century now but regained popularity this year to put a little zest into the world of hard bottoms. Zest...hard bottoms...yeah.

#15: VINTAGE DENIM
• Whether homemade or bought in the store, vintage (or vintage-looking) denim was the move. The best jeans should age like wine...or Marisa Tomei.

#14: DOWN VESTS
• These sleeveless jackets were perfect transitional gear for the unusually long fall season—plus they gave you a good reason to show off your huge collection of hoodies.

#13: COTTON SNEAKERS
• It started before '09 but the trend toward simpler, cheaper, less exclusive sneakers was big this year. As a result, plain cotton sneakers—breathable and available in a wide array of colors—were big winners. Chill on that patent leather, son!

#12: CUFFED PANTS
• Rollin' on muthafuckas, what! Cuffing your pants was cool when you were little and now it's cool again. Nope, not one leg up like Kevin Bacon in Quicksilver, but both legs up like, uh, Ashley Dupre. OK, cheapshot. But you get the picture.

#11: PLAID SHIRTS
• Plaid, plaid, everywhere. Just about everybody you know rocked a plaid shirt in '09, and you can bet it'll be more of the same in 2010. Resistance is futile!

#10: DUFFLE BAGS
• With all the negative hype about manbags floating around, rocking any luggage was beginning to look a little sus'. Duffles had just enough gym-class steez to get you from point A to point B with all your belongings—and manhood—intact.

#9: WAXED COTTON JACKETS
• If you're gonna get caught in inclement weather, you might as well look like a well-to-do British gentleman. These versatile jackets lent an aura of rustic refinement (and surprising warmth) in brisk conditions. Now where did I leave my pipe...

#8: 5 PANEL HATS
• Fitteds will never die, but when they started to get mundane, we turned to five-panel hats to switch things up. You already know that we like dome in a variety of ways, yeah?

#7: DUCK BOOTS
• Whether tromping through rain or snow, these impermeable boots kept your feet warm dry and comfortable. Rubber chain-tread bottoms ensured you nor your style would be slippin' in this pair.

#6: DENIM JACKETS
• Simplicity was the trend for '09, so denim jackets were a natural choice. Easy to match, easy to layer, easy to rock in a variety of ways. They're jeans for your upper half, how could that go wrong?

#5: WORKWEAR BOOTS
• Here's another product of the '09 vintage/Americana movement. If you couldn't track down an authentic vintage pair, you could at least distress your own to get the look.

#4: RETRO PLASTIC SUNGLASSES
• When the recession hit, it rendered $250 sunglasses almost obsolete. No worries though: a $12 pair of plastic lookalikes did the job all the same. Word to Canal Street!

#3: BOAT SHOES
• During the summer months, these became the go-to non-sneaker footwear—perfect for showing your girl you could switch up your style even if the only deck you saw was behind your parents' house.

#2: CHAMBRAY SHIRTS
• Everybody loves denim jackets, so why wouldn't we love these lightweight denim shirts? No Marlboro Man steez here, strictly versatile workwear for you Parliament Dudes.

#1: LEATHER BOMBER JACKETS
• Leather jackets were the dominant '09 outerwear, and bombers were king. Fonz x Top Gun...yeah, we can dig it.