We're toasting the start of the party season with the ultimate dress guide to help you make a stunning statement at your next Summer soiree. Make your mark at the next rooftop party in a printed number from Thakoon or opt for a minimal little black or white dress from Halston for date night.
Source: Phil Oh
Finding a chic carryall that can easily take you from lounging in the sand to drinks afterwards is a seasonal essential. This Summer, beach-worthy totes from Club Monaco, and Marc by Marc Jacobs feature a range of water-resistant and lightweight silhouettes that are as cool as they are functional.
We've got Summer on our mind, and the hot new arrivals at StyleBop are supplying us with a long list of must haves to add to our shopping list. We're coveting statement pieces like bright red bags from Salvatore Ferragamo, metallic leather flats from Chloé, and statement jewels from Shourouk. Even more, easy, breezy dresses from Vanessa Bruno and Missoni, along with cool denim basics from J Brand and Victoria Beckham are sure to give your wardrobe a stylish revamp. See and shop our editor's top 12 picks below.
Midi skirts — that's a hemline that hits below the knees but above the lower calf — are an easy way to inject ladylike flair to your style. Since the style is notoriously tricky to pull off without feeling conservative, overly covered up, or, at worst, frumpy, we have the key tips on how to make this skirt flirty and fun (and office-appropriate, if that's what you need). Including solid, printed, muted, and bright colored styles, we culled 14 of our favorite picks for you to shop. But first, a few quick styling tips to help you nail the look every time.
Diane Kruger kicked off the promo tour with a book signing in LA for her new movie, The Host, where she stars alongside Max Irons and Jake Abel. We love seeing Diane on the red carpet, and lucky for us, this movie means we'll be seeing a whole lot of red-carpet style from the German actress. Showing off her svelte frame, Diane chose a look consisting of a Carven crop top and a Vanessa Bruno red leather skirt. This is just the first of the style setter's promotional looks, so stay tuned as we document all of Diane's red carpet cameos! On Allison McNamara: BCBG Max Azria jacket, Zara blouse, Club Monaco pants, Kenneth Jay Lane earrings.
It's not her Oscar gown that has us fixated; as of late, it's Anne Hathaway's brand of casual-chic that's inspiring our current outfit obsession. While skinny distressed denim and a basic tee is always on par for a lazy weekend look, Anne's cool-girl Vanessa Bruno tweed jacket, printed scarf, vegan Stella McCartney Falabella bag, and sweet ballet flats introduce a little more sophistication that takes about five extra minutes (if that!) to throw together. Your Saturday brunch crowd will be wondering just how you managed to appear so effortlessly pulled together in so little time. Shop our editors' picks to channel Anne's perfect live-in-it-all-weekend-long ensemble right here.
Shop clockwise from top left: C. Wonder oversize rounded square sunglasses ($68), Vanessa Bruno Athé tweed jacket ($429), Zara shopper with zips ($100), LOFT Madalyn bow ballet flats ($60), Reiss Adelaide dapple-print scarf ($85), Joe's Jeans skinny vintage jeans ($167)
Reese Witherspoon exited a medical building in Beverly Hills looking cheery in this Vanessa Bruno pink floral dress ($334, originally $478). To give her summery dress a Winter spin, the actress paired it with black fringe booties, a Rag & Bone bag ($725), and oversize sunglasses. Score Reese's exact dress and bag to re-create her latest LA street style. If it's too chilly where you live, just throw on black opaque tights and a coat for warmth.
Outside of the Grand Palais — the venue for Vanessa Bruno's Spring '13 show — our style director, Noria Morales, and Fashionologie editor, Christina Pérez, give us their fresh-off-the-runway thoughts. The verdict? It was an ultrapretty mix of streamlined separates (think printed pants, wispy slipdresses, and the perfect Spring jacket) that balanced out Bruno's ever-present bohemian spirit. And we think Noria summed up the show's looks exactly — it inspired a bout of "I want that, I want that, I want that" in the best sense possible. See what else they had to say about Vanessa Bruno's latest collection when you press play.
Sometimes a hard-working girl just needs to get on a plane and spend a few days underneath a palm tree in Mustique, and from the looks of things that's exactly the girl Vanessa Bruno was thinking of when she designed her Spring 2013 collection. The suiting was professional and appropriately androgynous, but what got tongues wagging were the day dresses. A restrained palette of rose, beige, and cream dominated in these pieces, and a few were accented with silvery sequins or ostrich feathers that exaggerated movement. But the cuts were body conscious in a languid way — almost as languid as a well-deserved vacation.
There are some shows that feel so effortless, so on point, and so simple, you leave feeling light and happy and wishing you had the biggest closet in the world. That was the feeling after leaving Vanessa Bruno's light-as-air and totally pretty Spring 2013 show. Having ended up with a stroke of luck that put me in the front row, I got to witness the soft silk dresses that floated on the models, the way Bruno's sharply tailored jackets were cut to make everyone look 10 times better, and the hugely covetable leather strappy ankle booties that had a fresh gladiator vibe. Vanessa Bruno dances the delicate line between bohemian and polished, and the clothes here always felt put together (I saw at least 10 outfits I would love for my work wardrobe) but with a loose, bohemian spirit. The dresses were gorgeous — particularly the ones with embroidery and eyelet. If I could tell you to invest in anything next season, it would be one of Bruno's fabulous blazers and one of these soft dresses. Some shows are inspiring because they're so innovative, but this one was so inspiring because it was simply so pretty.
