Photo by Greg Hollar
In these deeply divided political times, let me declare one of my staunchest positions: I am a proud proponent of the gossamer, floaty floral dress, no matter the month, no matter the temperature. But may I also declare that I am not one of those women who wafts around half naked in her sheer frock even in brutal weather.
Though plenty of my friends are bare-leg fanatics—one of them even likens tights to prisons for legs—my limbs always spend the winter encased in those woolen cocoons. I tend to top my floaty florals with a mammoth sweater, a look pioneered almost three decades ago by Marc Jacobs in his infamous grunge collection.
Though we wear them all year round, floaty dresses really come to full flower—so to speak—in the summer months, when you can chuck the cardigans, liberate your legs, and drift down the shoreline with your airy-fairy dress billowing around you. But fair warning: your life is not a magazine spread! I found this out the hard way when a wave on Fire Island broke over my dress, and I had to go to brunch in a soggy number while my more sensible friends—who had donned their pretty dresses after they left the beach—sipped their Long Island iced teas dry and happy.
Photo by Greg Hollar
So, okay—maybe I won’t wear it so near the Atlantic this summer. But I would still love a new free-floating dress to greet the new season. And there are so many wonderful ones to choose from right now…maybe from my new fave rave Cecilie Bahnsen, or my best buddy Simone Rocha? Or maybe I will channel bold Italian prints in Etro. Finally, I could break out—and break the bank—with a patchwork extravaganza from the cult brand Vetements consisting of gorgeous leftover fabric swatches, making my new frock not just attainable, but sustainable.
WORDS & STYLING: Tanvi Asher
DRESSES: Half Penny London & REVOLVE
MODEL: Kaji Modi HAIR:
Brittnay Lane MUA: Joseph Rothrock
