Happy New Year!!!

Now that our holiday champagne buzz is nothing but a distant memory, we're finally able to take a sober look back at the year that was. Truth be told, we're sort of using this as a distraction because our strict new year's diet has us bouncing off the walls, but that's beside the point.

In classic FF style, we're going to count down our picks for the top 5 fashion moments of 2008. Hope you enjoy it. It's about the only pleasure that we've got left, now that chocolate is off the table - at least for this week...

No. 5: Vertiginous Heels

Okay, I know this won't be on everyone's list, but you should know by now that we at Fashion File are fervent shoe aficionados - and the higher the heel, the better! This year we saw sky-high heels on every runway from Rodarte, to Alexander Wang and nothing makes us happier than that. Balance be damned!

Giambattista Fall 2008

Rodarte Spring 2009

Balenciaga Fall 2008

Rodarte Fall 2008

(photos: style.com)

No. 4: Italian Vogue's All-Black Issue

July's ground-breaking issue of Vogue Italia featured all black models including Sessilee Lopez, Jourdan Dunn and the incomparable Naomi Campbell. Time magazine's Jeff Israely sums it up: "After the original run of the July issue sold out in the U.S. and U.K. in 72 hours, Vogue Italia has just rushed to reprint 30,000 extra copies for American newsstands, another 10,000 for Britain and 20,000 more in Italy. The only complaints about the reprints might come from those currently trying to sell copies on eBay for $45 apiece."

(photos: blackbookmag.com)

No. 3: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy And Michelle Obama Acquire First-Lady Fashion Icon Status

Who says the first-lady uniform has to be a bland pant suit? These two women join the ranks of Jackie Kennedy and Imelda Marcos with their chic, yet sensible style. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, a former fashion model, brought her fashion know-how into the Elysee Palace and has even graced the covers of Elle and Vanity Fair this year. Not to be outdone, Michelle Obama has single-handedly brought glamour back to U.S. politics, with almost every major designer now vying to dress her. Equally impressive, she's already helping to stimulate the economy by putting young up-and-coming American designers like Peter Som on the map.

Carla Bruni walking for YSL in Paris in 1995

Michelle Obama in her now iconic Narciso Rodriguez dress

(photos: nytimes.com, michelleobamawatch.com)

No. 2: The Death Of Yves Saint Laurent

The fashion world was rocked by the news of Yves Saint Laurent's death at the age of 71, in June. The man changed fashion forever. Lucky for all of us, his legacy continues to inspire the greatest designers of today.

(photos: Andre Rau)

No. 1: The Recession

As much as we consider fashion an essential part of life, like everything else in this world, it was unable to escape the effects of a declining economy this year. Many fashion retailers worldwide are scaling back (Gap, Macy's, Eddie Bauer, etc.) and some are even closing their doors for good. All the job cuts at Conde Nast have stifled any dreams of working for Vogue. And 'recessionista' has become an everyday word. We're not sure what dire turn of events await the fashion world in 2009, but in the meantime, we'll be taking advantage of all the incredible sales!

(photos: la.racked.com)

Posted by HAZEL