What Not To Wear This Summer: Avoid These 10 Trends

Because with the heat comes sweat and swelling (among other things), and the last thing we’d want is for you to feel sticky and full of regret while you’re trying to enjoy your favorite band play your favorite song. So before you pack up and head to the park, take a look at our list of the ten things that you definitely leave behind.

1. Leather Pants

You know what’s hotter than a pair of leather pants? The desert at noon on a Saturday in April. We know that there’s nothing quite as sexy and rock ‘n’ roll as tight black leather, but unless you’re cool with chafing and sweating profusely, we suggest skipping these in such high heat.

2. High Heels

It’s hard enough as it is to walk in heels, but walking in heels on grass and sand? You’re kind of asking to face plant. It’s definitely ideal to wear flats to a festival (and the beach), but if you’re petite and refuse to forgo a little extra lift, try a platform sneaker, or an espadrille with just a touch of height.

3. Head-to-Toe Black

We’re not saying that you can’t wear a hint of it, but all-black everything in the heat is generally not the best idea.

4. Butt-Cleavage-Exposing Shorts

We’re not ones to tell a woman to conceal her best asset (no pun intended), but shorts that ride up your you-know-what tend not to be the most comfortable, plus wedgies are pretty much unavoidable. So unless you don’t mind the people behind you watching you pick denim out of your behind instead of paying attention to M83 perform, stick to a pair of cutoffs that fall right below your crease line.

5. Exaggerated Slit

As if a normal slit isn’t enough, now women can buy clothing with slits so high they almost bare too much. And, truly, there’s no way one can wear underwear with an overly exaggerated slit running up to their waist. Imagine what will happen if a strong wind blows: the whole world will have a front row view to whatever is happening under said skirt. So avoid anything with an over-exaggerated slit.

6. Dark Lipstick/Makeup

Now’s the time to play around with lighter and brighter coloured makeup. So free yourself from the shackles of looking like Wednesday Addams and aim for a more Taylor Swift-esque, girl-next-door look this summer. Bonus: A light lipstick shade can do wonders to the face and mood.

7. DIY Distressed Denim

What is the point of destroying a perfectly good pair of jeans only to walk around in them? You will look like your cat attacked your pants. If you really want to wear this trend, leave the denim destroying to the pros (they’ll make the tears look more subtle).

8. High/Low Skirt

This has got to be the most confusing trends of them all — the bipolar skirt. It doesn’t know whether it wants to be long or short. Not to mention it’s fashioned after one of the most reproachful haircuts in hair history (‘sup mullet). Last summer, these bottoms were everywhere; they were seen on women of every age. This summer, let’s hope they’re replaced with something more flattering.

9. Flannel

Flannel was all the rage last summer, especially in the form of a shirt lazily tied around one’s waist. It’s not even like the shirt was being worn… it was an add-on hanging off people’s hips. How about we leave the extra material in the closet and save it for wearing (literally over the shoulders) in the fall?

10. Cutout Leggings

Three words… tacky, tacky and tacky. We don’t know why and how these ridiculous leggings came into style, but they’re a major faux pas. Leggings by themselves already have a bad name — adding cutouts to them is just plain wrong.