After years of wearing a tried and true uniform of stripes, denim, and boots, I found myself drawn to some out of character trends this summer. I honestly attribute much of it to the NaturallyCurly team stepping up their style game in the office (which we’ve been documenting for you in our #OOTD series”>. While you can see I still haven’t let go of my stripes, I have embraced some new-to-me trends that I’m not ready to retire yet. Here are the summer ’17 trends I’m taking with me into fall.
1. Menocore
Perhaps you’re familiar with normcore, the fashion movement circa 2014 in which people dressed like characters from Seinfeld. If normcore was inspired by the frumpy, high waisted jeans and puffy white sneakers of dad fashion, then menocore might be described as mom fashion. I learned the term while browsing Man Repeller, “Picture a 50-something-year-old woman who doesn’t care what other people think and just wants to be supremely comfortable.” Writer Harling Ross went on to conjure up the image of “a mom in a Nancy Meyers movie or an eccentric ceramicist exiting her beach house studio or Blythe Danner on a solo bird-watching expedition in 1997.” Think billowy white linens and a ponytail in a scrunchie. This white duster is a good example.
2. Sleeveless turtlenecks
I consider this trend to be the female version of men wearing beanies with tank tops. And yet, I purchased several sleeveless turtlenecks this year. In the summer it feels too hot to wear them, and in the winter you have to cover up, making fall the perfect time to finally rock them. I wonder if that’s how men justify their beanies.
3. Kids’ shoes
This summer I have been loving any shoes 5-year old Cristina would have worn. Think chunky shoes with Velcro and jellies sandals. When our Social Media Manager Leslie walked into work wearing light-up sneakers a la LA Lights this summer I almost pounced on them. I may or may not have even browsed the kids’ section of a department store because I liked their shoes better than the boring age-appropriate shoes in the womens’ section. They’re cuter and cheaper, and actually make me appreciate that I stopped growing in the 7th grade.
4. Duster jackets
I’m quite certain that in 2018 I will look back at 2017 with a big question mark, “what was with the duster jackets?” As a short girl, the proportions don’t do much for my figure, and they provide no warmth or practical use. But much like my 2017 obsession with wearing pajamas in public, this to me feels like getting away with wearing my bathrobe out of the house.
5. Unexpected layering
In Texas, where our humidity index tipped our temperatures into the 100’s this summer, I inexplicably fell in love with the trend of wearing multiple layers of clothing. I have been loving the look of a dress over pants, a shirt under a sheer dress, or as I mentioned, a duster over anything. It makes everything a bit more interesting. In this outfit, I wore a form fitting dress but due to my outer layer I didn’t have to worry about sucking in a food baby after lunch or whether my underwear lines were showing. It’s a very carefree approach to dressing and once the temperature dips below 90 degrees (any day now, fingers crossed”> it will make a lot more sense. Next time you’re staring at your closet wondering what to wear to work, I suggest you try a dress over pants.
While it was too hot on this day to wear my hair down, I do want to mention one more bonus trend: curtain bangs. One of the NC team members who is a former hair stylist cut my hair for me (a perk of working at NC”> and I am absolutely loving bangs. The weird caveat is that if I don’t style my curls just right, this cut very closely resembles a mullet. Most mornings I wake up with a mullet, but a quick refresh and a blast with a diffuser usually sets me straight (not straight, you know what I mean”>.
I’d love to hear what trends you’re loving right now that may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Is it a mullet? Children’s light-up sneakers? This comments section is a judgement free zone!
Clothing by Beehive Boutique
Photos by @Cassandra_jk
