Making Kitschy Classy
For when want to wear fruit and sardines!
I live in a neighborhood that has “Cherry” in the name and I learned, this summer, that means I’m meant to wear lots of cherry garb to kid’s sporting events. Lucky for me, wearing fruits is kind of “in.” Just ask the brilliant
who is a fashion merchandiser and writes a truly A+ newsletter on trends and thoughts on brand marketing.Evonne wrote this awesome newsletter about the proliferation of fruit in our fashion, specifically accessories. I’ll be honest, I was a little skeptical of the whole idea because (she whispers) sometimes these things can lean a little too kitschy for me.
However, Evonne opened her newsletter with this image from Paris Fashion Week and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.
If kitsch is classically thought of as tacky or cheap; this is the part of kitsch that is playful and ironic. And we are truly living in a season where irony reigns; we love wrong shoes and contrast. So much of fashion feels touched by nostalgia; from fruit prints and sardine shaped necklaces to bracelets reminiscent of summer camp crafts.
Other kitschy trends will continue,
is the very best newsletter for spotting trends among Gen Z predicts hibiscus flowers, lobsters and olives are coming to clothes.I’ve been slow to warm up to some of these nostalgia driven trends, the items that teeter on the edge of cheesy. But seeing as I couldn’t get the above image out of my mind, I figured it was a chance to deep dive into why the watermelon purse feels right when the cherry baseball caps of my neighbors feel wrong. How can I wear kitsch while still feeling mature?
The answer, it seems, is another nostalgia driven, kitschy-adjacent trend; the bag charm. As I’ve watched this, specific, trend dominate street style images from major fashion weeks, I’ve noticed a few things that we can translate into mixing kitsch into our wardrobe without going full tilt.
Start Subtle
You’ve probably watched the growth of the paracord trend; from the miu miu sandals of 2024 to the diamond + paracord jewelry of 2025. There’s no denying the resemblance of these items to camping shoes and friendship bracelets traded on playgrounds.
The easiest way to play with any of these trends is to start with subtle nods to the trend in the form of accessories. Which is to say, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to try adding some of the trends to your wardrobe.
Off-Set Kitsch With Elevated Pieces
If you haven’t already heard of the Labubu bag charms (photographed above), allow me to explain; Labubu is a decade old character created by an artist in Hong Kong. In 2024, Lisa, a member of the K-Pop group Blackpink was seen with a Labubu key-chain on her designer bag and launched a viral trend. Now these key-chains sell out in seconds. But- as best I can tell- we aren’t putting them on our boat tote. No, the bag charm works especially well on a designer bag.
Again, it’s the work of contrast to put a colorful, garish key-chain on a leather bag with shiny hardware and impeccable stitching.
So if you are just wanting to dip your toe into the waters of the graphic trends, I like putting them with pieces that really elevate. I love a graphic element paired with either (1) structure in a blazer, pant or even purse OR (2) a grounding tone (black, navy)
Finally…
Use the Leopard Litmus Test
As I put this piece together, I kept thinking about the way that we have re-framed leopard as a “neutral.” Using leopard print as a litmus test, I think we have a pretty good road-map of how to wear a graphic print or novelty accessory while still looking really modern and elevated. This thought can be applied to any graphic trend that crops up from polka dot to gingham (shout out
for clocking this patterned trend).If you sub the leopard print for a kitschy print; you can see how each of these accessories still feel refined.
And- in outfits- you can see how leopard is often on a classic silhouette. Again, trying mentally substituting the leopard for a tomato print.
You can see how the outfits on the right with kitsch are riffing off similar concepts as outfits featuring leopard print.
And I just had to include this one because if you can do a double-leopard outfit then who says you can’t do a double-fish one too!
Whether you are wanting to dip your toe into some of these playful motifs or dive head-long; here are some places to shop for kitschy fun.
Etsy ($-$$$): Etsy is a genuine treasure trove of finding kitschy fun accessories. Pick whatever side of the trend attracts you (fish! fruit! etc!) and you’ll get 25 pages of results. My tip is always to filter by vintage to find stuff that feels a bit more unique.
sardine tee ($25) // shrimp hat ($35)// sardine necklace ($20) // fruit necklace ($48) // paracord necklace ($65) Anthropologie ($$): I really love the kitschy stuff that Anthropologie puts out! It’s probably the first place I would look for these things because the price isn’t too high but the quality is. It feels important to me to buy something that is good quality to prevent it from looking too cheesy.
sardine hat ($60) // sardine slides ($100) // sardine tee ($98) // strawberry earrings ($38) // cherry sweater ($475) // pineapple key-chain ($40) // watermelon tee ($58) Staud ($$$): Staud may be the original purveyor of sardine related purses but they have expanded hard into vegetable territory. They make some really gorgeous beaded or knit pieces that are kitschy but almost feel like a piece of art.
green fish purse ($295) // b&w fish purse ($395) // swimsuit ($275) // beaded vegetable bag ($295) // tomato skirt ($225) // carrot slides ($295) // tomato cover up ($295) // tomato vest ($245)
Girl, Hollister just released hibiscus motifs and I feel OLD. This was also a reminder to myself that I still want the Staudines beaded bag. Plus, I'm super into the paracord & rope jewelry that's having a revival - summer camp chic for adults brings a little bit of nostalgic joy to adulthood. I'm babbling. This was fun
You are SO good at spoon feeding me what I need to know, but you make it fun - like the spoon is the airplane, and I am the baby waiting to be served! And serve you do! Also? My boss is now collecting Labubu dolls and I’m sort of obsessed and want them for my kids (or are they really for me?)