8 fashion thoughts i had watching 'the summer i turned pretty'
why a viscose reformation dress perfectly represents belly and jeremiah's relationship, my theory on agnes and conrad sharing a wardrobe, and the only reason I can finally tell the dads apart.
Count me in with the legions of women above 30 who have been losing their minds (and free time) to Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty (TSITP).
But you know what??? I’m trying to be more shameless about it.
Because everyone thinks it’s just this silly teenybopper TV show until they really give it a chance—and next thing they know, they’re rewinding the *surfboard accident scene* and humming Wild Horses while doing the dishes. It’s campy and unserious at times, but you’d be surprised how delightfully bingeable and tearjerking it is as well. For me, enjoying the show is about unabashedly connecting with my inner teenage girl. It’s what Susannah would have wanted.
I’ve always loved this show from the start, but there’s something especially soul-gripping about the romantic tension of this final season. Also, the music budget goes hard. I’ve never seen a fanbase get this excited about song/needle track predictions.
To tide us over till tomorrow’s new episode (pls pls pls let us get the grand love confession on the beach), I’m sharing 8 fashion thoughts I had watching the season thus far. Includes spoilers.
My commentary is more focused on the hilarious accuracy of the costume design and how they make the characters feel like real style archetypes, rather than Easter egg-type insights—I’ll leave that to the TikTok sleuths!
And even if you’re like, *Viv I have no idea what this show is*, you’ll probably still recognize and enjoy these examples of character-building via fashion.
All images courtesy of Prime Video/The Summer I Turned Pretty.
1). Laurel is such a slow fashion smock dress mom.
Age-wise, I’d say I am right between Belly and her mother Laurel, so I can genuinely relate to and appreciate both their fashion choices. But if I had to pick, I identify with Laurel way more. Maybe it’s because they made Laurel Asian in the show (vs. white in the books), but I just know this sort of woman so well. She wears lots of slow fashion brands like Apiece Apart, Black Crane, Ulla Johnson, Rachel Comey. But also mixes in simple t-shirts from Gap and Uniqlo. It’s about feeling polished but comfortable. Lots of linen and drapey cotton and easy shapes.
Her tote bag has an advanced reader copy of Pachinko, organic cotton menstrual pads, and a refurbished iPhone 8 from Back Market.
I would bet my life that Laurel has a Noihsaf Bazaar account where she buys these pieces secondhand because (1) it’s sensible/good for the environment (2) she’s on a modest writer’s budget. She oscillates between more structured pieces when she’s at work or being a strict mom, and more floaty smocks when she’s letting her tender emotions out more.
Honestly I could see Laurel finding out about Substack through her writer’s network, or Cleveland Castillo (I MISS HIM!!) mentioning that he has a newsletter about mental health breathwork tools for creatives. I bet she would be a paid subscriber to
for the blazer guides and jogger pant recs, and she’d keep up on book recs from .2). Did Belly inherit any of Susannah’s generational wealth (aka her Doen collection)?
Belly has been wearing a lot of Doen this season, mostly during her *will they won’t they* scenes with Conrad. As eagle-eyed internet fans pointed out, her outfit formula of Doen puff-sleeve top + jean shorts looks exactly like something Susannah wore in Season 1.
Aside from the narrative symbolism, I have to wonder if Susannah passed her clothes down to Belly. I think she would have.
3). Belly’s “wifey mode” dresses are synthetics trying to look like silk…symbolic of Jeremiah vs. Conrad?
What’s a girl to wear to her bridal shower for a marraige that she’s in complete denial about wanting??? A viscose Reformation dress, of course!
Disclaimer: I am not judging anyone for wearing Reformation viscose dresses!!!! I enjoy them from time to time, I’m just being real about what they are. Which is usually an overpriced viscose/acetate dress the brand is trying to pass off as “silky” or “silk-effect.”
In another scene where she and Jeremiah are apartment hunting, she plays the wifey role by wearing a green polka dot Ref dress.
And her “wedding dress” (actually $1K+ from Victoria Beckham but we’re supposed to believe it’s from a mall prom store) is made of an acetate-viscose blend. I checked.
Given the stark difference between the cotton Doen blouses and jean shorts she wears around Conrad, I like the idea that this is a costuming device to convey that her relationship with Jeremiah is similar to a viscose Reformation dress:
Cute, flirty, fun! But it’s viscose trying to look like silk (the real deal) and may fall apart after a few laundry cycles.
4). I can finally tell the dads apart!
I used to get Adam and John so mixed up because they genuinely look the same lol.
But now that Season 3 includes more scenes at Adam’s workplace, Breaker Capital, we get a better glimpse at his office fashion. He wears the classic finance bro vest, which signals his high position as (managing partner??? co-founder?? not exactly sure), while the analysts wear suits and ties.
This specific combo of the check shirt with the quarter-zip pullover is also very finance guy. Adam comes across as “big fish in a small pond” to me. He chases wealth and status, but doesn’t seem very smart and could neverrrrrr keep up at a place like Pierpoint in Industry. Harper Stern would destroy him in a day.
John, however, is usually in Costco-esque polos and dresses extremely plain.
Outside of Cleveland Castillo, he seems to be the only example of a healthy father figure in the show, and I wish he got more interesting scenes. Work-wise, he’s a history professor but you don’t really get that from how he dresses. I wish they played this up more—like a leather messenger bag, or corduroy slacks would be more convincing without looking like a caricature.
5). The girls can take a page from Conrad’s 90s styling too.
