Brad Pitt + The British Summer Trends

Trust Brad to ensure that we all fall in love with pastels, linen, tennis and English sunshine

I spent the better part of July cruising the British summer, which seems like a silly thing for a South African to do given that we have arguably The Best Summers Possible, but there I was, enjoying all the jollities of the music festivals*, pop-up riverside restaurants** and unexpected showers***. And it was utter bliss. It has also given me some insight into the season ahead which I plan to share with you thanks in no small part to the fact that us South Africans are all freezing and we could do with the ray of (warming) hope that is the idea of summer (eventually!).

*Amazing for me, embarrassing for punks.

**Amazing for all of us

***Bloody annoying and apparently also my fault (teens, what can I say?!)

If you were watching Wimbledon (and who wasn’t?!) then you’d be forgiven for assuming that the whole of the next fashion season involves blue and white and a straw hat. And Brad Pitt. Side-track: did you see Brad watching the men’s finals? I squeaked (there’s no other word for the noise I made) so loud that even the semi-comatose teens were roused from their convos. Not only have I not gotten over my Brad Pitt-sized crush, but none of you have either… Every single woman I was watching tennis with – and many beyond the confines of my own four walls – messaged about The Brad Sighting. And all of us a) still want Brad and b) DEFS want his current wardrobe. What is with those minty fresh linen jackets and soft knits. Just hand them over already. Okay, so Brad was at Wimbledon.

The rest of the summer-ready crew rolled in on the daily in blue and white, which is very Wimbledon but also terribly au courant if the London high streets are anything to go by (spoiler alert: they are). I’ve been obsessed with Sienna Miller since she dated Jude Law (deep in my celebrity fashion media days) so I can tell you that if you take her lead on anything you’ll be fine. Case in point, her summer tennis attire

Also, The Stripe is err’where. Many of you will never have packed this pattern away, so you can keep rolling. The rest of you, grab your stripes - Breton, pinstriped, twill, all are welcome! Spotted (excuse me) even on skinny tubular pencil skirts, which I didn’t even bother to attempt. Yikes! But those looked bloody great on the punks. Fresh as a Breton daisy paired with sneaks.

Also in: hats. Not just at the tennis or in the sunshine, but on heads… And not boring trucker caps – thank fork, we’re finally moving on from the early 2000s – but stiff-brimmed bolero hats, Panamas, fedoras, Stetsons… In fact, so much so that I spotted more than one Stetson store in London – yip, milliners selling just Stetsons. And yes, it was HELLA tempting. And no, I didn’t. But only thanks to Crystal Birch – local hat maker of my dreams.

So, what about bags? Everything and I do mean everything - from oversized shoppers to bijou cross-body minis are woven. From Prada’s woven beachy numbers to YSL’s little buckets and every iteration of the high street in between, bag yourself a woven bag before summer starts. Go au naturel or a lighter shade of cream, offset with brown or black. Or white. And go!

And sandals? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that Birks remain as ubiquitous on summer feet as they were the last few seasons (DECADES?!)… Look out for the trending Milanos - they’re the two-strap Birks with the back-strap, making them slightly more like a dad shoe from the 70s, but also So Hot Right Now. Up the ante by investing in their luxe big buckle style or, better still, a patent leather, or better better still a big buckle patent PASTEL style. They mimic the shoe of the season which had to be Chanel’s black quilted sandals that everyone - and I do mean everyone - has copied. By that logic, you could just go for a black pair of Birkenstock Milanos, but I think the colours are irresistible.

So, what now? It’s obviously not warm enough for any of this. And Brad Pitt has yet again refused to mysteriously appear in my local Tamboerskloof coffee spot. Fear not, I have found the transitional weather lewk of dreams thanks to Ashley Olsen - yes, every now and again those ridiculously stylish twins pop back onto my radar… Its the jeans plus scarlet coat plus gold loafers. And I love it.

I also love (bear with me for this pop culture wormhole) that Ashley Olsen is one of the designers behind luxury brand The Row. The Row is one of the brands most often quoted when referring to stealth wealth and quiet luxury aka the luxury that doesn’t require giant logos, that whispers instead of shouts. Quiet luxury popped into global consciousness recently thanks to shows like Succession. Succession put the final nail in the coffin of big bags with Tom Wambsgans now viral “ludicrously capacious bag” spiel. Who’s touting a big bag? Why, Ashley Olsen of The Row. Take that. Tom.

“What’s even in there? Flat shoes for the subway? Her lunch pail? … it’s monstrous. It’s gargantuan. You could take it camping. You could slide it across the floor after a bank job.” Withering.

Okay, that’s me. Winter can pack its ludicrously capacious bag and feck off now. I’m back in the swing of things, so we’ll chat again next week xx