Trying Out Summer 2025 Trends

Without buying anything new, of course

Once you get into fashion Instagram, you start seeing microtrends emerge that all the fashion girls on Instagram begin wearing. Another source for trends is Leandra’s Substack, which catches a lot of early movements. Some immediately intrigue me, and others aren’t really for me - but you can’t really know until you try them out. So here’s what I noticed this year and decided to test out:

Cocoon Pant-Skirts

Left to right: Toteme dress and skirt (sold out), Tibi Jalouise skirt, Cos asymmetric draped skirt

To be honest, I’m not sure what the technical term for this style is, but basically it’s a skirt with a lot of volume underneath that’s connected in an asymmetrical way - sometimes between the legs - turning it into a kind of pant. I think I first spotted it on Leandra’s Instagram, where she shared a harem-pants look. Tibi nodded to the trend with their Jalouisie skirt, and Totême’s version is the cherry on top - absolutely ethereal. COS quickly embraced it with their interesting asymmetrical pooled skirt. In any case, I found it’s fairly easy to recreate this look if you start with a full skirt - just tie it in between the legs. Note: it’s easier to tie it properly with the skirt off and then pull it on like pants.

Both: Tibi skirt, Tibi sandals. Left: The Frankie Shop vest (old), Flattered bag. Right: Cos silk blazer (old), L.K. Bennet bag (old).

The result? I love it! I immediately wore the vest outfit to run some errands and really enjoyed it. There’s something about pairing a structured top or a short dress with this skirt that makes the look come together, and the sandals add to that “Marrakesh” vibe. Sure, the Totême skirt is more polished - and maybe still a worthwhile investment (too bad it’s sold out) - but I loved this look nevertheless.

The verdict: Love love love! New and fresh skirt-pant look.

Lingerie Lace Shorts

Lace silk shorts from Rohe and satin shorts from J.Crew

The lingerie trend has been around for a while, but this year it's even stronger—especially the silk lingerie shorts. I tried the J.Crew ones in-store, and they looked so bad on me that I didn’t even take a picture. There’s something about the underpant-like cut of these shorts that feels a bit childish, and paired with my legs that have seen life, it just didn’t work. Nevertheless, I’m giving it a second chance by trying to recreate the look with my nightgown and some shorts.

Left: Cos silk blazer, Arket denim shorts, Tibi shoes. Right: Tibi dress, Tibi shoes.

I used my old denim shorts and a nightgown underneath and tried to dress it up as much as I could. Because of the nightgown, the look isn’t as smooth as the ones on the models - but it still screams “no” at me. A lace nightgown under a dress, though? That’s a different (and much better) story. I quite like the lace peeking out from under a structured skirt. In practice, though, I’ve layered two skirts before for an event, and it’s a bit tricky to make sure only the intended element is visible - not the whole thing.

The verdict: Still very much a no. But I’m open to a lingerie-style skirt.

Sea Jewelry

The original Juju Vera shell pendant, Alighieri 'The Gone Fishing' Necklace, Levens Jewels shell necklace, Ulla Johnson seashell necklace.

I think this theme started with the Juju Vera shell pendant, that was everywhere. For more comprehensive review, have a look at

Irene Kim (김애린)

’s full post on fish jewelry and

Laura Kirk De Valencia

’s launch of her own dolphin collab with Gushi studio that quickly sold out. I personally love these ocean-inspired jewelry pieces, but jewelry can be an investment, and I’m not 100% sure I want to commit to a trend. Nevertheless, I decided to experiment with my existing pieces and also popped into a nearby bead store.

The stone above is kind of similar to a fish? No? Still, I liked the combination of an old pearl bead necklace with this oval stone. At the bead shop, they only had gilded shells (thank you, no), so I ended up with this piece of coral to add a pop of red to my outfits. These will be my placeholders for now—but overall, I really like this trend.

The verdict: A cool trend with some great pieces available online.

Scarf-Belt on Pants

When I saw this, I thought - what an easy and widely popular style hack. This trend has been everywhere. I assumed it would be a simple upgrade for any basic outfit - but then I tried it and was disappointed.

Both: Pret a Manger scarf. Left: Tibi Newman jeans, L.A. Apparel shoes, The Curated top. Right: Tibi Stella pants, Uniqlo satin top, Jil Sander slides.

As you can see, I’m not enjoying this look. It takes a lot of precision to place it just right so that it doesn’t slide and actually looks good.

The verdict: A very promising trend - but not for me!

Peep-Toe Shoes

Buco slingback by Gray Matters

Little by little, the peep toe is being modernized and creeping back from clearly dated into up-and-coming territory. You can see iterations popping up everywhere - from Zara to Gray Matters. I personally like this trend, especially the ways you can play with it using colorful socks. I believe it will fully come into its own this year and enter more mainstream territory next year.

The verdict: I love this trend. No experimenting yet, as I don’t have any peep-toe shoes at my disposal. That said, the Buco slingbacks from Gray Matters have definitely caught my eye, and if the interest holds, I might seriously consider them for summer 2026.

The Verdict

So here we go:

• Cocoon Pant-Skirts – yes yes yes!

• Lingerie Lace shorts – a definite no.

• Sea Jewelry – yes, but not an urgent buy.

• Scarf-Belt on Pants – high hopes, but not for me.

• Peep-Toe Shoes – yes, but I’ll explore this more next year (I’ve got plenty of summer shoes for now).

What trends are you excited about this year?