I don’t care what the Pagasa weather bureau says. It’s officially the dry season, or what summer is in the country—at least according to my heat rash.
I haven’t experienced prickly heat rash since the 1980s, so I can confirm that all the ’80s trends are making their way back—whether we like it or not. Crochet, raffia/straw purses, blue nail polish… they’re all back for the summer, but in interesting iterations.
Woven bags
Straw bags used to be the province of women who wore long, floor-sweeping dresses to work with thong sandals, pretending they were on the beach instead of a dank office with a temperamental air-conditioner. Remember them?
Turns out they were right all along, and the rest of the world is just playing catchup. Now you can find woven bags at Zara, Mango and other fast-fashion outlets.
But you can also support the OG and local bag weavers like Aranaz who’ve been doing this since the beginning of time.
Abaca (abacastore.com) merges modern and rustic with production that directly benefits local communities—a portion of proceeds goes to Right Start Foundation, a nonprofit, nongovernment organization for underprivileged children.
Prairie style
I’m not into the Mormons, but I’m very much into the sister-wife aesthetic: prairie meets parson.
Doen, an LA-based label led by two women working to eradicate the gender pay gap in the supply chain, seems to have perfected the style, with wispy cotton tops and dresses in breathable fabrics.
If you have difficulty accessing the online-only brand, this can easily be hacked. Simply unearth your most schoolmarm-ish sleepwear, preferably something with a bib and lace, and chop it and pair with jeans or shorts.
Crochet everything
I’ve seen a lot of crochet trend cycles throughout my life. I feel I can track every iteration through Rachel Lobangco’s Boracay residency. (If you don’t get this reference, you are way too young and this may be the first time you’ve come across crochet.)
Crochet showed up on accessories over the past year, such as the kitschy, coaster-inspired embellishment on JW Anderson bags.
This summer, you’ll be seeing more crochet dresses appear in sexy skin-baring patchwork that brings to mind a young Lobangco.
Easy linen
Linen is an ’80s summer staple—whether in a waisted shirtdress, like what my mom wore, or a sister-wife style smock that my grandmother wore—that has returned in its full glory.
Easy to wear and tropic temperature-friendly, linen captures the season in a nutshell. Designers like Maryam Nassir Zadeh have brought the fabric to life in button-down shirtdresses or puff-sleeve blouses.
Vania Romoff, at her Bench show last month, reimagined eveningwear in linen—showcasing her signature ruffled silhouettes in the easygoing fabric.
The looks recall mint juleps, garden parties and expensive yet impractical footwear—essentially my ideal summer situation.
Frosted tips
No longer a sign of hypothermia (unless you’re in Iceland, then maybe have that checked), blue nails signify summer: the ocean, clear skies, and my favorite protein bar flavor, blueberry.
The standout blues I’ve seen so far come from two polish mainstays: Deborah Lippmann’s full-coverage, vibrant blue crème Boys of Summer in cerulean, and Chanel’s Le Vernis 624 Bleu Trompeur which comes in a rich moody blue.
Charms and layered necklaces
Jade Jagger is the patron saint of layered necklaces, known to cull charms and pendants from her trips across India and Asia. Now even the rest of the population not born to Mick Jagger can enjoy the trend.
Thomas Sabo launched a collection of pendants featuring arcane emblems, symbols from the horoscope and the odd cacti or two. You can also find surprisingly good options at Mango.
