The year was 2022. I found a black lace poncho at a local flea market — complete with trailing tassels — and felt oddly compelled by it. Why, I wondered, was a poncho calling my name when the last time I’d worn one was in 2004?

I should have known then that a future trend was woven into every stitch of that delicate crochet: ponchos were making their way back into the zeitgeist. It might have taken three or four...