Tank tops and camisoles have long been staples of my summer wardrobe, but they always present two problems. While they may be comfortable and easy to coordinate, they look unprofessional, more appropriate for a bar or a hike than an office. Though a tank top may seem perfect in the morning – when you learn that the day is going to be scorching – the moment you step into an over-air-conditioned room, you wonder why you decided to forgo sleeves.

This summer, however, I found a solution: the long-sleeved cropped shrug. It happened over Fourth of July weekend on a trip to California when I noticed a friend wearing a simple black wrap over a white tank top.

The knot in the center of the little garment created two longish trails of dangling material. It seemed like such a basic design, more substantial than a shawl or pashmina, and far more fashionable than the sweaters I carry around in fear of ending up in an icy-cold restaurant or theater.

The garment seemed so smart that I quickly purchased one from HardTail, designed with a swirl of light pinks and yellows. On my way out of the store, I pulled off the tags, slipped on the shrug, and happily knotted the two long ties.

At last, I thought, the fashion industry has created an article of clothing that is a perfect combination of form and function. For the rest of the afternoon, I searched for wraps and shrugs in every store I walked into, trying to figure out when they had become popular, how I had missed their introduction, and why I wasn’t seeing them on more women.

But in the same way that you become aware of Spanish conversations around you when you’re learning the language, I started seeing shrugs, cropped jackets, and little wraps everywhere. Women around Manhattan have been wearing them in a variety of colors and shapes. Last week, Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova wore a short-sleeved cropped jacket at a press event to show off her tennis apparel for the U.S. Open. And several permutations of the look are popping up in store windows for fall.

They’re hitting the chain stores, like Old Navy and Mexx, and are being featured in the fall collections of designers such as Chaiken and BCBG Max Azria, who have moved the trend forward with luxury fabrics and new shapes. Calypso, too, has wraps in silky knits, lace, and wool with woven metallic threads.

My summer shrugs – I now have three – have become conversation pieces. Almost every time I wear one, somebody asks where I got it or what it’s all about. One friend bought one at BCBG, where a saleswoman referred to a half-silk, half-merino wool item as a “cardio-wrap”- part cardigan, part wrap. And a male friend has curiously taken to calling them “breast shirts.”

Whatever you call them, they’re taking the place of other layering pieces. My friend’s wrap has replaced a long, knit sweater that tied at the waist and used to serve as her protection from chilly evenings. And she’s already thinking of buying a cashmere wrap for the winter.

At the Calypso store in East Hampton, manager Jutta Verderosa says they’ve been more popular than the pashminas that she sells. “Pashminas have been around for a long time,” she said. “They’re still luxurious and nice, but people are looking for something else.”

Though that “something else” was a straightforward shape this summer, the trend will evolve this fall. But rest assured, I’ll be keeping my summer versions. For next year, and beyond.