37 Pieces of Clothing That Will Convince You Tropical Prints Can Be Chic

Tropical prints, which have historically been reserved for touristy dads and frat bros who can’t be bothered to assemble real outfits, aren’t the kind of thing one might immediately deem stylish. Charming? Sure. Cute? Maybe, in a dad kind of way. But chic? Probably not.

The thing is, tropical prints are chic. According to Pinterest, social media users are pinning “tropical prints” to their digital vision boards 182 percent more frequently than they were last year. Style-conscious people are wearing tropical prints to fashion shows. Brands are filling their stores with tropical print clothing—and tropical print-inspired accessories.

What is going on? The short answer: Tropical prints embody the best of fashion.

MORE: How to Wear Tropical Prints Without Looking Like a Dad on Vacation

The fun of fashion lies not in shopping sprees or summer sales (though those things are undeniably wonderful). The real fun of fashion lies in taking something unexpected and elevating it—turning a kitschy, ugly, or underrated thing into must-have item, through the simple practice of sartorial creativity.

Think about it. There’s nothing inherently pretty about tiny sunglasses, straw bags, or the color orange. But when we have fun with them—when we experiment with different looks, color combinations, and outfits—these things become a hell of a lot cooler.

Through fashion, we can liberate these things from their cultural constraints; they can stop being the accessory that looks like it belongs on your American Girl doll, the bag that you can only reasonably carry to the beach, or the color that you should only wear during the month of October. Instead, they can become another resource in your fashion arsenal—another way to express yourself on any given day.

MORE: Summer’s Kitschiest Earrings Will Make You Want to Play Dress-up

Much like summer’s other surprising trends, tropical prints aren’t supposed to be cute. But with a little imagination, they can quickly become that way.

Here, 37 tropical print clothing items and accessories that you can shop right now. And hey—even if you’re not ready to commit to this out-of-the-box trend just yet, you can still flip through the slideshow to get a glimpse at what tropical print items are out there. Who knows? You might walk away from this story ready to think up the next unexpected trend to pervade the style universe.