Swim shirts. For summer. Groundbreaking.

On fashion’s ability to reframe utility as desire + thoughts on expertise

There are so many things my husband wore before they were popular that I used to dislike. Only to end up buying them myself after I saw them on a “can do no wrong” style deity. Havaianas. Sambas. Doc Martens. His old ‘90s cargo pants. His old ’90s t-shirts. Bucket hats. Beanies. Dragon motifs— until I saw them on Valentino. His leather belt with the buckle that seemed too outdated and his knitted swim caps— until I saw them on Prada. The list is humiliatingly long.

Today’s turn goes to the SPF swim shirt, which I’m officially declaring my hero of summer 2025.

Sun protection swim shirt, Courreges skirt via TRR but here is a ‘90s pink Roxy one and here is a blue/grey one , Isabel Marant leather/wood slides via TRR

Swim shirts. Another thing I once dismissed as basic. The kind of thing only sun-fearing tourists wore in Cartagena—functional, yes, but with the charisma of an Apple Watch. Until last fall, when the swim shirt gained high-fashion status thanks to Maccapani’s own version. Colorful, splashed with a spray-painted flower, styled with long beaded necklaces, on a conventionally pretty model, and on Vogue Runway immediately signified “chic.”

The semiotics of it all.

Recently I saw a new lilac iteration on Margherita Missoni (Maccapani’s designer herself, one of those fashion women with “can do no wrong” status in my eyes):

Maccapani moto shirt

Sold.

Figuratively, at least, as the shirt has been sitting on my cart for months. Mostly due to the price. But also because I remembered that North Face shirt I got last fall during my Ross shopping spree, the one with the interesting purple/periwinkle sort of animal print:

The North Face swim top, Maccapani skirt.

Beaded necklace from my grandma’s closet but here is a very pretty alternative. Maccapani skirt worn over Negative Underwear boxers that truly feel like skin.

Worn here with Jeff’s favorite wool jacket I ruined so now I wear as an apron of sorts. Over Soeur chartreuse shorts. And red Steve Madden heels I wore to my MFA graduation. pretty but uncomfortable but pretty.

Prada sunglasses my grandfather gave me in 2005.

Worn with Tibi satin pants and Dries silk shirt as a scarf.

Yellow and purple are opposites on the color wheel, which means they enhance each other’s intensity and make both stand out.

Now purple + red Umbro shorts (similar here) I used to love stealing from my brothers’ closet

Sportiness constrasting with Brigitte Tanaka organza bag

Black hair down tying everything together. Could have added an earring.

Worn with an Alaia-coded bubble skirt and the Birks Becky Malinsky wears so beautifully.

Last December, however, I found the swim shirt I can’t wait to wear this summer: hand-painted by wildlife artist Tony Ivory, printed on SPF fabric:

Tony Ivory swim shirt, Courreges skirt with a surf vibe, mesh flats from Vorisvina on Amazon.com

Tony Ivory swim shirt worn with a Taffeta handmade skirt (here’s a similar skirt by Adam Lippes) and here is a bubbly, silky, luxe version by Khaite

Dezso by Sara Beltrán old coquito pendants, ojo de buey you all know, and shell pendants by Cotton Gunter Studio

Worn with COS scuba skirt (here is a pink one from Jil Sander), over Tibi brancusi pants and old Celine pumps (there’s a 36.5 pair on Poshmark)

One thing about SPF fabric is that it has a little shine which makes it interesting to contrast with other textures such as denim or velvet. A tool in your toolbox.

Ok moving on. There’s the one from Jeff’s closet, with sunscreen stains and all:

Uniqlo swim shirt, keeping the cool tones together and messing it up with a warm bone necklace (pretty similar here)

Last week I watched the debate between Douglas Murray and Dave Smith on Israel and Hamas, which turned into something else entirely: expertise. Which got me thinking: in medicine, we trust the doctor’s dose. In fashion, if we follow Vogue or Missoni’s prescription, we are labeled unoriginal. A try-hard.

So, is fashion expertise a myth? No absolute truths like in science or math? Just vibes? And if the issue is that there’s no objective truth in fashion, does that mean that no expert can actually tell us what’s “good”?

Not quite. In fact, my question misses the point: Fashion may not have absolute truths, or a periodic table, but that doesn’t mean all opinions are equal. There are better ways to see. Sources to investigate. And a wide variety of people to learn from.

What would Cathy Horyn say?