Photographed by Craig McDean, Vogue, March 2011
As the summer solstice
is celebrated across the Northern Hemisphere, party dresses are likely
to see the light of day far longer than usual tonight. Those extra hours
of sun are a good time to reconsider the usual classics of the season
too—basic tank tops, denim jackets, and crisp white button-downs that
can just as easily be taken into evening. Look no further than this
year’s Costume Institute Gala for proof. In keeping with the theme of the event, Jenna Lyons stepped out in a taffeta ball skirt, the perfect shade of Schiaparelli pink. The surrealist twist to her look? The denim J. Crew jacket she wore on top. Vogue’s Virginia Smith
struck the right note too that night, pairing Balmain’s super
embellished velvet pants with the simplest of unadorned white T-shirts.
From left: Jenna Lyons, Alexa Chung, and Virginia SmithPhoto (from left): Billy Farrell/BFAnyc.com; Sandy Young/Getty Images; Billy Farrell/BFAnyc.com
It’s a feeling that’s been brewing on red carpets across the pond
too, including this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where up-and-coming
French actress Leïla Bekhti was spotted wearing an intricate
Carven miniskirt with a crisp white button-down shirt. “There is
something fresh and completely carefree about it,” says designer Guillaume Henry.
“I think more than anything else young women like the confidence that
comes with adding something they might wear everyday to evening. It’s
unfussy and chic at the same time.”
Fashion writer Stephanie LaCava shares that sentiment. When she found herself scrambling in her suitcase for a party outfit on a recent trip to L.A., the one piece that would complete her look was an Anita Ekberg–print tee she had picked up in a vintage store just hours earlier. “The fact is, when you’re dressing up you don’t want to look like you planned it too carefully, you don’t want it to be too pulled together,” said LaCava who often wears a tee under a smoking jacket.
According to her, the trick to that
nonchalance is finding the one basic that you are absolutely comfortable
with—in her case, a Rick Owens T-shirt with extra-long sleeves.
Although it needn’t be designer; she’ll just as soon wear her peplum Jil
Sander pink skirt with a white American Apparel crewneck. Accessories
are important too—a bejeweled minaudière, for example, will elevate the
look in an instant. For Opening Ceremony buyer Kate Foley, finding
the sweet spot in her closet between day and night is particularly
important in the summer for practical reasons. “I’m at the office most
of the day and don’t have time to change for an event most nights,” says
Foley, whose 24-hour wardrobe often consists of a metallic leather
skirt, graphic sculptural heels, and a white tee. There’s a certain
spontaneity that comes when you combine something ultra-glamorous with
something unabashedly pared-down—and that’s the stuff that midsummer’s
nights dreams are made of.
Fashion writer Stephanie LaCava shares that sentiment. When she found herself scrambling in her suitcase for a party outfit on a recent trip to L.A., the one piece that would complete her look was an Anita Ekberg–print tee she had picked up in a vintage store just hours earlier. “The fact is, when you’re dressing up you don’t want to look like you planned it too carefully, you don’t want it to be too pulled together,” said LaCava who often wears a tee under a smoking jacket.
According to her, the trick to that
nonchalance is finding the one basic that you are absolutely comfortable
with—in her case, a Rick Owens T-shirt with extra-long sleeves.
Although it needn’t be designer; she’ll just as soon wear her peplum Jil
Sander pink skirt with a white American Apparel crewneck. Accessories
are important too—a bejeweled minaudière, for example, will elevate the
look in an instant. For Opening Ceremony buyer Kate Foley, finding
the sweet spot in her closet between day and night is particularly
important in the summer for practical reasons. “I’m at the office most
of the day and don’t have time to change for an event most nights,” says
Foley, whose 24-hour wardrobe often consists of a metallic leather
skirt, graphic sculptural heels, and a white tee. There’s a certain
spontaneity that comes when you combine something ultra-glamorous with
something unabashedly pared-down—and that’s the stuff that midsummer’s
nights dreams are made of.
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