Summer hots up at Penneys: Top ten summer trends

With temperatures on the rise and the first BBQs of the season fired up, it’s finally safe to pack away the Snuddie for now. With 37 Penneys stores located in 20 counties across Ireland, and thousands of customers passing through the doors each day, here’s what Penneys is seeing its customers snapping up for the summer:

1. Beat the Heat: Lovin’ Linen – Cool, breathable and stylish – linen is back in a big way this summer and Penneys launched its biggest ever women’s linen collection to date with linen-blend and 100% linen options including dresses, trousers and blazers.

2. Nightwear as Partywear – Nightwear is no longer reserved for the bedroom, with more people choosing to wear it out on the town. The exclusive Primark Bridgerton collection featured corsets and chemise which have been spotted at parties and events.

3. Boho is back – ‘Hip Trip’, this year’s core summer collection, is inspired by Morocco and features boho silhouettes, broderie detail and paisley prints. The collection runs across adults and kids and has flown off shelves since launching earlier this month. Bestsellers include the Broderie shirt and printed shirt dress.

4. Men’s Flexi Formal: smart casual is seeing menswear go from day to night – Smart casual is here to stay, and traditional formalwear has continued to evolve into ‘smart separates’. The latest collaboration with Kem is the largest to date and features premium t-shirts and sweats designed to be styled with smarter pieces to create a look that works for the office and then into the night.

5. Festival is in fashion – As festival season kicks into gear, unitard sales are soaring and the iconic butterfly bralette has taken fashion lovers back to the 2000s. It’s also been generating conversation on social media with 3.5 million views of our exclusive peek on TikTok. Band tees also continue to be a festival staple across men’s and women’s.

6. Packing up – Suitcases are one of the most searched items on the Penneys website lately. There’s been a seen a shift away from cabin size to full size bags, which means people are definitely getting ready for a proper summer holiday. Travel accessories are having their biggest year yet, with packing cubes soaring in popularity thanks to social media.

7. Beach-robe: beachwear has evolved to a standalone style category – This year, customers started shopping earlier for holiday essentials. The days of packing just a swimsuit and a towel for the beach are gone, with beach shirts and dresses more popular than ever. Women’s swimwear is up by more than a third on last year, with the mix and match separates the favourites. Across men’s the block colour swim short has been the top seller so far.

8. Finishing touches – There’s been a boom in affordable accessories, as people look to style up old favourites with new style accents for the summer:

• Sunglasses – With the sun well and truly out, sunglasses sales have been on the up. Across men’s, wayfarers are the number one style this summer, while on women’s cat eye and square styles are the leading shape of this summer.

• Hats – Sales of hats are up on last year, with baseball caps experiencing a surge in popularity and driving hat sales as the most popular style.

• Bags – Straw bags have been popular across women’s but it’s not just for grown-ups: Kids are also snapping up summer bags, as seen with the popularity of our current kids’ collaboration with Stacey Solomon.

9. Purse friendly pampering – The trend for more comprehensive, multi-step skincare regimes is not going away. Skincare sales are up around 50% on last year with the Hyaluronic Face Mask our best skincare seller.

10. Alfresco dining – Demand for picnic blankets and cooler bags has soared with the hot weather, up 200% on last year. Our outdoor entertaining ranges, led by our Golden Hour trend, are set to sell out, with our ceramic serving bowls and plates the standout customer favourites.

And coming up…

• Barbie is set to be the style icon of the summer with the hotly anticipated Barbie® movie launching next month. In partnership with Mattel, Primark is launching a new extensive collection in celebration, running across womenswear, accessories, nightwear and menswear, to home and beauty. The collection, which launches in store from 3rd July, includes the iconic Venice Beach athleticwear which became an internet sensation, so everyone can unleash their inner Barbie and Ken this summer.