Summer Fashion with a Cherry on Top

Summer Fashion with a Cherry on Top

By Maureen Mancini Amaturo

Cherries and lemons and pears, oh my! Whether Carmen Miranda bold or childhood short-set sweet, fruit prints are ripe for making a fashion statement this summer. Take a break from classic polka dots, stripes, and florals in favor of refreshing, colorful, graphic images.

Not that fruit fashion is new. In 1895, The Los Angeles Times cited fruits and nuts as the newest trim for hats. The New York Times talked about the artificial fruit trend as an accessory favorite in 1918. Then, of course, in the ‘40s and ‘50s you’d find them on dresses, shorts, tops, and handbags. And for the past three years, fruit has been a growing trend again. Reinvigorating the trend, Moschino and Stella McCartney, among others, featured fruit-print fashion on runways last spring to whet appetites for their burst of color, playfulness, and happy-go-lucky feel.

Color, Creativity, Cheer

Nature provided the fun color palette and graphic shapes, designers provided the variety of interpretations. Now, all you have to do is wear this trend your way. Small servings, abundance, or somewhere in between, fruit can be good for everyone’s style.

Balanced Diet. Wearing a fruit-print top? Keep the rest of your outfit low-key. Pair it with faded, denim shorts, boyfriend jeans, or a denim skirt and summer flats.

Mixed Fruit. Combine fruit prints with other prints — polka dots, stripes, gingham. You’ll find looks in fabrics featuring fruit mixed with other prints, or you can make your own mix.

Office Tasteful. A subtle fruit print, like watermelon, or a fruit print on a button-down is office-worthy and will work beneath a blazer. A fruit-print sheath is a sophisticated take on the trend, too, for a professional look.

Sweet. Go low-key by choosing fruit prints on a neutral background, in a smaller scale, or softer shades paired with a solid. The bigger the scale of print, the more you stand out. If wearing print on the bottom, wear a neutral solid top –white, black, or beige – whichever blends best with your print. Avoid strong-color tops with printed pants and keep your shoes quiet. Let the print do the talking.

Small Serving. Not ready for a graphic fruit print? Try it in accessory form –handbag, scarf, belt, socks, sneakers, jewelry. BTW, straw bags are perfect with fruit prints.

Fresh. Fruit prints in unexpected colors, i.e., blue pineapples, orange bananas, lemons on a blue background, fuchsia strawberries.

Lemons to Lemonade. Lemon prints are abundant right now. Perfect because yellow pairs well with so many colors: red, blue, green, cream/beige, black, purple, and pink to name top choices.

Picnic or Elegant Dinner. Fruit prints can be playful or sophisticated. They work with heels or sneakers, on midi-dresses or sexy rompers. Colorful and graphic doesn’t necessarily mean casual. Silhouette and tailoring call the shot on where the look falls on the dress-up scale.