Summer blues

MANILA, Philippines - There often comes a time — usually in early April — when the temperature’s risen to such a degree that it leaves you wondering if you’d made one snarky comment too many about your friend’s irredeemably lame attempts to improve her life via self-help books and gotten a fast pass to Lucifer’s digs. It’s hot as hell outside and the only recourse is to take a page out of the polar bear guidebook and hope that humans can hibernate during summer.

Barring that, invest in the coolest shade of summer. Blue — in all its dreamy incarnations — has emerged as the hero hue of the season. Think slate, cerulean, Tiffany, cobalt, cornflower and steel. Shipshape navy may have made the nautical trend but these days a lighter, paler shade of blue — whether peppered with romantic airy florals or embroidered with pastel patches — is certainly more of-the-moment than its midnight-hued counterparts.

Hippie-ish styles, like floor-sweeping maxi dresses and beat-up cutoffs with airy blouses, make for perfect summer staples. This summer, feeling the blues isn’t necessarily a bad thing.