The Summer Style Edit: Teens ☀️💗
Trends, Personality and Finding Your Own Style
Teenage fashion is where things get interesting.
Because this is the point where getting dressed stops being entirely about what your parents put in your wardrobe and starts becoming:
Who am I?
And, perhaps equally importantly:
What is everyone else wearing?
Those two questions don’t always produce the same answer.
For the teenage chapter of our Hayls Beauty Tales Summer Style Edit, I’m not interested in creating a list of clothes every teenager supposedly needs.
Trends move far too quickly for that.
Instead, we’re building a summer wardrobe that leaves plenty of room to experiment.
Start With the Basics — Then Add the Personality
Every wardrobe needs a foundation.
A couple of good T-shirts or baby tees, shorts, jeans, a skirt if you wear them, perhaps some lightweight trousers and a hoodie or sweatshirt will get you surprisingly far.
Then comes the interesting bit.
What makes it yours?
Maybe it’s oversized graphic tees.
Maybe you’re the girl who wants everything pink.
Maybe it’s football shirts.
Maybe you love bows and pretty skirts.
Maybe you’re currently committed to wearing black despite the fact that it’s 29 degrees outside.
Your wardrobe doesn’t have to fit neatly into an internet aesthetic.
It just has to fit you.
Trends Are for Trying, Not Obeying
Teen fashion moves at approximately the speed of light.
Something is everywhere.
Then suddenly it’s embarrassing.
Then three years later everyone decides it’s cool again.
So my rule with trends is simple:
Experiment cheaply before you invest heavily.
Try the trending colour in a top rather than buying an expensive coat.
Try the accessory.
Borrow something.
Look second-hand.
Style something you already own differently.
If you still love the trend after the internet has moved onto its next obsession, then perhaps it’s worth investing.
The Graphic Tee Is Your Friend
I love a graphic T-shirt for teenagers because it immediately says something.
A band.
A film.
Anime.
Gaming.
A favourite character.
A place.
A completely ridiculous slogan.
Wear it oversized with cycling shorts, tuck it into denim, pair it with a skirt or layer it under an open shirt.
This is one of those pieces that can feel completely different depending on who’s wearing it.
Which is exactly what teenage style should be.
Denim Is Doing the Heavy Lifting
Shorts.
Jeans.
Skirts.
Jackets.
Denim earns its wardrobe space because it goes with almost everything.
For summer, relaxed denim shorts are an obvious choice, but don’t overlook a denim skirt or lightweight wide-leg jeans for cooler days.
And a denim jacket?
That’s essentially the unofficial uniform of the British summer evening.
We’ve discussed this.
Britain cannot be trusted. Bring a layer.
The Cute Top + Casual Bottom Formula
This worked in our women’s edit and it works beautifully here too.
Take something simple on the bottom — jeans, denim shorts, cargos or a skirt — and let the top do the talking.
Think little camisoles, crochet, interesting sleeves, stripes, sporty tops, pretty prints or whatever currently makes you happy.
It’s an easy way to experiment without needing a completely new outfit every time you leave the house.
Yes, Teenagers Can Have Cargos
I know.
First I criticised men’s cargo shorts.
Then I granted children an exemption.
Now I’m allowing teenagers to have cargos too.
Apparently this series has become an investigation into my complicated relationship with pockets.
But relaxed cargo trousers can be genuinely useful.
Wear them with a fitted tee or vest to balance the proportions, add trainers and you’ve got an easy outfit that still feels styled.
And yes.
You can put your phone in the pocket.
Revolutionary.
Trainers Are Basically Non-Negotiable
If we’re creating a small teenage summer wardrobe, I’d put a decent pair of trainers fairly high on the list.
They work with jeans.
Shorts.
Skirts.
Dresses.
Cargos.
And they’re practical enough for days when you’re actually going somewhere rather than simply posing for the outfit photograph.
Add sandals, ballet flats or another shoe that fits your personal style and you’re pretty much sorted.
You don’t need twenty pairs.
Despite what TikTok may suggest.
Accessories Are Where You Can Really Experiment
This is the fun bit.
Sunglasses.
Bags.
Hair clips.
Scrunchies.
Jewellery.
Caps.
Belts.
Phone charms.
Whatever little extras are currently having their moment.
Accessories let you change the mood of basic clothes without buying another complete outfit.
A white T-shirt and denim shorts can become sporty, girly, alternative, preppy or completely eclectic depending on what you put with them.
That’s the difference between owning clothes and styling them.
Beauty Joins the Summer Edit 💄
And obviously, we need a little beauty.
Teen beauty doesn’t need to mean a huge makeup collection.
Summer particularly lends itself to lighter products.
Think SPF, lip balm or gloss, a little mascara if you want it, cream blush, fun nails and hair accessories.
Or wear absolutely no makeup whatsoever.
Beauty should be something you get to play with, not another thing you’re required to perfect.
If you’re experimenting for the first time, start small.
Your face doesn’t need a 14-step routine because somebody on social media owns a suspiciously beautiful bathroom shelf.
Second-Hand Shopping Is Brilliant for Experimenting
This might be one of my strongest recommendations for teenage fashion.
If your style is changing quickly, second-hand fashion gives you room to experiment without spending a fortune.
Charity shops.
Vinted.
Clothes swaps with friends or siblings.
Vintage shops.
You might find something far more interesting than whatever happens to be sitting on the front mannequin of every high-street shop.
And developing personal style often starts with finding the slightly weird thing nobody else has.
The Teenage Summer Capsule
If I were starting from scratch, I’d build around four or five tops, a couple of great T-shirts, denim shorts, jeans or lightweight trousers, a skirt or dress if you like them, one hoodie or sweatshirt, a lightweight jacket, trainers, another summer shoe and a handful of accessories.
Then I’d leave some room.
Because your style might change.
Actually, it probably will change.
That’s part of the fun.
You Don’t Need an Aesthetic
This is the thing I really want to leave teenagers with.
The internet loves putting personal style into boxes.
Clean girl.
Coquette.
Preppy.
Streetwear.
Y2K.
Minimalist.
Whatever arrives next Tuesday.
You can love something from one aesthetic and something completely different from another.
You’re allowed.
You don’t need to turn yourself into a perfectly coordinated Pinterest board.
Wear the thing that makes you grin when you look in the mirror.
Try something.
Get it spectacularly wrong.
Look back at the photographs in five years and wonder what on earth you were thinking.
That’s practically a teenage fashion tradition.
Because this is when personal style begins.
And I think it should be allowed to be messy, experimental and completely your own.
Next in our Summer Style Edit, we’re going tiny: the Baby Edit — adorable summer outfits, sensible fabrics and the important question of whether anything that cute can possibly survive lunch.
Love,
Hayls x