Fashion and Fruit: A Pairing I'm Sweet On

If you've seen Call Me by Your Name, it's safe to say that you'll never look at a peach quite the same way. Well, scrolling through your Instagram feed, you might have noticed that fruit, in general, seems to have hit a certain cultural note, becoming the It accessory on Instagram. Lounging on the beach with a perky, plump bag of cherries, stuffing your see-through bag with exactly three oranges—the phenomenon knows no rules but still manages to achieve a dreamy (dare I say sweet?) result.

Since it's inception, Instagram has been both critiqued and celebrated as a space that curates an aesthetic as opposed to a reality. But while early fashion bloggers projected a sense of perfection—polished outfits, rehearsed poses—today, many up-and-coming influencers favor a certain candidness in the images they share.

So what does a veritable fruit salad have to do with what we wear? I wonder if creatively it creates a certain nonchalance, and while there's something aesthetically pleasing about fruit, a slice of watermelon here or grapefruit there also seemingly take the fussiness out of posing. In the same way that a practical forest of houseplants lends a certain casualness to a stark room, a sharp stiletto or crisp top needs balance that an imperfect little doughnut peach can easily offer.

There's also the undeniable sensuality inherently tied to summer fruit. The scent and feel are things every viewer can connect to instantly (even without that graphic scene CMBYN fans know so well). And while a half-eaten peach isn't needed to indicate the romance of a delicate blouse or cheeky swimsuit, it sure helps. And while for the most part, Instagram's fashion bloggers haven't quite reached Georgia O'Keeffe levels of symbolism, the unspoken sexuality is there. 

As someone who has a poster of summer fruit hanging proudly in her kitchen, I'd make the argument that sometimes I just tire of sharing selfies and photos of my clothes—I really am eating those cherries. The apple that's become a signature part of the #EvaChenPose is a real snack for later. Sure, there's an artistic element to the slow creep of fruit into our Instagram feeds, but in part, it's because of the fact that it happens to be something we probably all have on hand.

But knowing that toting around a lemon may not always make the most practical choice, I'm ending this narrative with a bit of a pivot: shopping picks that feature fruit all on their own. Below, you'll find a few of my favorite styles that highlight peaches, cherries, and watermelon without ever needing the real thing.

Shop Fruit-Inspired Pieces