The irony of summer trends— or any trend, for that matter— is that if you wait just long enough into the season to discern what they are, you are almost always a bit too late to jump on the bandwagon and start shopping. Already into July (and with stores transitioning to fall and your wallet rapidly thinning), has the deadline passed to begin browsing the only-now apparent trends?

While I often fall victim to this same delay, this summer I avoided it months ago with a stroke of forethought, a summer light-bulb moment in the rainy depths of April: rompers.

Call them onesies, playsuits, jumpers, or “shrants” (“shorts-dresses-pants”— a catchy combo, no?)— whatever the term, rompers are unquestionably the fashion of the season. A fashion blog junkie myself, I was already jonesing for a romper back in early April, and I fulfilled said desire most satisfactorily when Topshop opened its doors that month. Waiting till the temperature topped at least 70° to break out my little floral ray of sunshine, however, proved a more difficult feat.

By now, my Topshop romper is well-worn and the trend is clear. Walking the city streets at any given moment are tight strapless denim onesies, tailored black cotton rompers dressed up for work with heels, bright American Apparel styles suited for the beach, and tons of other variations of the adult onesie in all its summer glory.

Such a playful, gutsy trend has invited inevitable backlash, most likely from embittered women who deep down feel themselves unable to pull this one off. Bloggers bemoan the trend and fashion journalists cynically join the crowd of nay-sayers. A journalist for Double X online mag dubbed one romper-wearer a “slutty toddler” and categorized the style among other “infantilizing sartorial choice[s].” New York Magazine’s The Cut threw in its two cents: “We’ve never supported the trend because they don’t look good on 99.9999999999999 percent of the population. Only tall model-y girls pull them off truly well.” Well excuse me. I beg to differ. And it seems I have all the streets of Manhattan to prove it.

It’s not too late in the season to try a romper on for size- check out some cute playsuits from APC, Juicy Couture, Free People, Aqua at Bloomingdale’s, American Apparel, and, of course, Topshop. Think you can pull this cute trend off?