Florals for spring (er, summer)? Groundbreaking. In a tropical pin like ours, a floral print is always a given, but as the years drone on, trends shift, and the truly style-savvy must learn to adapt. Here are three chic, of-the-moment routes to updating your garden-green thumb.
1. Voluminous prairie dresses
The overarching idea is that you're wearing a petal-dusted cloud floating merrily over the American pioneer plains. Fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books? That's the spirit!
Though more classic, streamlined versions are still as relevant (Google Batsheva and The Vampire's Wife right now. That's an order), there's simply no denying that Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen's billowing, tentlike frocks are the takes du jour.
A glance at her latest collection (which included a cool collaboration with luxury outerwear specialist Mackintosh) reveals a combination of architectural volume and sculptural shapes that offer a contemporary take on femininity. Softness meets structure.
For optimum nowness, team similar pieces with long sport socks and bejeweled platform velcro sandals or clunky black combat stompers.
2. Mutton-leg sleeves
Hey, meat-lover. Meet the gigot sleeve, which is also aptly called the "leg-of-mutton" for its obvious resemblace to a sheep's hind stem. It'd be a falsehood to state that that ultra-popular, certified Instagram-famous Rotate minidress started it all—although we do give it credit for bringing this literally centuries-old lewk back into the scene—because, if you're the fashion history fiends we're always trying to be, you'll know that this big, bold limb was actually first spotted in the 1500s.
Every day is arm day if we're talking statement sleeves. It's proof that party threads don't always have to be dark: Choose instead some glitzy brocade peonies in a borderline neon colorway.
3. Bodycon blooms
Spurned on, perhaps, by those ubiquitous, form-fitting Marine Serre moons, Paloma Wool's zany spin on skin-skimming loungewear, and Vetements' gloved high-neck tops, 2019's obsession with bike shorts has morphed into the inevitable full-on return of leggings and leotards. Cue somersaults.
Balenciaga, for example, advises that you go nuts and pile the prints on, then finish off with a bladelike, logo-smattered mule. Cream cork-heeled boots will more than do, too.
Hey, Preview readers! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, and Twitter to stay up to speed on all things trendy and creative. We’ll curate the most stylish feed for you!
