5 Summer Trends We’ve Had Enough Of On Celebrities Over 40

Every summer brings a fresh crop of fashion trends we can’t wait to try. But by August? There are always a few we’d be perfectly happy never to see again.

Well, 2026 has given us plenty.

5 Summer 2026 Trends We’re Over

We’ve seen pajamas leave the bedroom, pants inflate to cartoonish proportions and celebrities wear shoes that look suspiciously like the ones we throw on to take out the garbage.

Even some of our favorite women over 40 have fallen victim.

Of course, fashion is supposed to be fun, and if you love any of these trends, keep wearing them! But from our perspective, these five Summer 2026 fashion trends have officially overstayed their welcome.

Summer White: Katie Holmes

Yes, we know. White for summer is hardly groundbreaking. That’s exactly the problem.

Katie Holmes attended the 2026 Guild Hall Summer Gala in East Hampton wearing an ivory Fforme Fall 2026 silk-cotton organza dress. With its column silhouette, raw-edged detailing and fringed finish, the dress certainly wasn’t boring on its own. And we appreciate that Holmes skipped predictable matching shoes and wore snakeskin pumps instead.

But another ivory dress in the Hamptons? We’re ready for some color.

White dresses, white linen pants, white button-down shirts, white skirts and head-to-toe cream have become such a default summer uniform that they barely register as a fashion choice anymore. After years of quiet luxury and neutral dressing, we’d love to see celebrities over 40 bring some personality back to summer.

Try tomato red, cobalt blue, chocolate brown, butter yellow or a fabulous print instead. Anything that makes us stop scrolling.

What to wear instead: Summer color, bold prints or even black. A black summer dress with great accessories can look far more unexpected than yet another white one.

Pajamas as Clothes: Anne Hathaway

We love Anne Hathaway. We love comfortable clothes. We even love a great matching set.

But can we please put pajamas back in the bedroom?

Hathaway stepped out in New York this June wearing a loose sky-blue button-down shirt and matching wide-leg pants. The look was breezy, polished and styled with kitten-heel sandals, oversized sunglasses and a Balenciaga Le City bag.

And yet…it still looked like pajamas.

Pajama dressing has been building for several seasons, and Summer 2026 seems determined to convince us that the ideal vacation outfit is something we could also sleep in. Emma Watson took the concept even more literally this summer, wearing an actual floral Pink City Prints pajama set to breakfast while vacationing in Venice.

We understand the appeal. Pajamas are comfortable. But so are plenty of clothes that don’t make us wonder whether you forgot to get dressed.

What to wear instead: If you love the ease of a matching set, choose one with some structure. A crisp cotton shirt with tailored shorts, a fitted knit set or a coordinating top and skirt gives you the same effortless vacation formula without looking ready for bed.

The Bandana Kerchief: Kim Kardashian

If 2026 had an official celebrity summer accessory, this might be it.

Kim Kardashian wore a cherry-red bandana tied low across her forehead during a Fourth of July getaway, joining the seemingly endless list of celebrities who have embraced the kerchief this summer.

And she is far from alone. Zendaya, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Elle Fanning, Dua Lipa and others have all worn versions of the trend. Vogue even declared the bandana kerchief the celebrity styling trick of Summer 2026.

Which is precisely why we’re ready to move on.

At first, the bandana felt charmingly retro. A little Jackie O., a little ’70s road trip, a little European vacation. But once every celebrity and influencer starts tying the same little triangle around her head, the styling trick stops feeling quite so spontaneous.

There is also a fine line between glamorous headscarf and “I’m cleaning the house,” and not every bandana manages to stay on the right side of it.

What to wear instead: Try a dramatic silk scarf tied under the chin, an oversized sun hat, a sleek visor or simply a great pair of sunglasses. And if you still love your bandana? At least skip the predictable red paisley.

Birkenstocks and Boring Flat Sandals: Julia Roberts

Comfort matters. Especially after 40. We will never tell you to hobble around your summer vacation in painful shoes.

But comfortable does not have to mean orthopedic-looking.

Julia Roberts recently stepped out in New York wearing an otherwise chic all-black summer outfit with metallic silver Birkenstock Gizeh sandals. Who What Wear called the Gizeh one of Birkenstock’s trendiest styles and praised the combination with Roberts’ balloon pants.

We have questions.

The silver helps. The thong silhouette is sleeker than the classic Arizona. And yes, Birkenstocks are famously comfortable. But we’re still looking at a cork footbed.

This summer’s obsession with Birkenstocks, Havaianas and ultra-basic flip-flops feels particularly disappointing because there are so many beautiful flat sandals available right now. You don’t need a four-inch heel to make an outfit look finished.

What to wear instead: Look for a refined leather flat with an interesting shape or detail. Yuko Imanishi makes sleek, architectural flat sandals that still look comfortable enough to walk in. Metallic leather, sculptural straps, toe loops, kitten-heel thongs and minimalist slides can all give you comfort without making your footwear look like an afterthought.

We want shoes that say vacation, not I just ran downstairs to get the mail.

Balloon Pants: Oprah Winfrey

We saved perhaps the most polarizing for last.

Oprah Winfrey arrived at Stella McCartney’s Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show during Paris Fashion Week wearing a salmon double-breasted blazer, crisp white shirt, pointed black heels…and enormous khaki balloon cargo pants.

From the waist up? Fabulous.

Then the pants happen.

Balloon pants are one of 2026’s biggest trouser trends, characterized by all that exaggerated volume through the leg before cinching or tapering dramatically at the ankle. Oprah’s version added oversized cargo pockets, because apparently these pants weren’t already doing enough.

We understand why designers love them. They’re architectural. They’re interesting. They’re certainly not another pair of straight-leg trousers.

But they’re also an awful lot of pant.

On the runway, exaggerated proportions can look directional and cool. In real life, balloon pants can easily overwhelm the person wearing them, particularly when they’re simultaneously oversized, cropped, gathered and covered in pockets.

And unlike a great wide-leg trouser, which creates one long vertical line, balloon pants deliberately create width before abruptly stopping at the ankle. That’s a difficult silhouette for almost anyone to pull off.

What to wear instead: Keep the volume but lose the balloon. Try a fluid wide-leg trouser, relaxed pleated pants or a softly curved barrel leg that doesn’t cinch dramatically at the ankle.

Are you ready to say goodbye to these summer 2026 trends?

None of these women suddenly forgot how to dress. Katie Holmes, Anne Hathaway, Kim Kardashian, Julia Roberts and Oprah Winfrey have all worn plenty of looks we love.

And that’s what makes fashion fun: even incredibly stylish women occasionally embrace trends that leave the rest of us asking, Wait…are we really doing this?

Maybe you adore balloon pants. Maybe you’ll pry your Birkenstocks from your cold, dead hands. Maybe you’ve spent the entire summer wearing white and have no intention of stopping. That’s okay.

But as Summer 2026 winds down, we’re ready for a little less sameness and a lot more personality.

Which Summer 2026 fashion trend are you most ready to see disappear?

—Simona Shemer 

Photos: WhoWhatWear, Vogue, Yahoo, Instagram 

You may also like to read more celebrity style posts like Easy, Breezy Celebrity Looks To Copy This Summer and Celebrity Style: The Craziest Looks at Cannes 2026 Were Also The Most Interesting.

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