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So summer’s not quite here yet, but I think it’s safe to officially send the clean girl packing once and for all.

Don’t cry.

After all, whispers about her impending demise did start up a couple years back.

She’s had a good long life, her 15 minutes in the sun and all the rest, and now fashion’s (and even interior design’s) pendulum is swinging the other way.

Suddenly, we can’t help but do a double take at the new kid in class.

Maximalism, or what I like to call messy chic style, is often jarring, asymmetrical, clashy, and imperfect. In an otherwise bland fashion landscape, she’s the graffiti.

Here’s an invitation to relinquish the pressure of always needing to look perfectly groomed, even at the gym.

In fact, messy chic says Forget the gym. Let’s eat pizza in bed…but, like, only if you want to.

Because, above all, she makes a lot of room for you to experiment and push your fashion boundaries as far as you’d like.

So this isn’t just maximalism returning. It’s a rejection of:

With that said, here are two online shops I’m recommending for your summer of mess—but, like, only if you want one. :)

I don’t hear much talk of APOC anywhere online.

how come?

because it’s made up of indie designers??

because the fashion industrial complex isn’t pushing it???

Whatever the case, the APOC store’s one to watch, offering options ranging from wearable to wonderfully bizarre.

For if you like it normal-ish

For if you like it pretty weird

So, maybe you don’t need that perfectly curated capsule wardrobe this summer.

After years of neutral supremacy and clean lines, can we get back to playing around—even a little—with our personal styles, please?

And what better time to do it than with a new season just around the corner?