
Call it the shop-girl’s version of March Madness—the day you realize you can actually buy an item of clothing that serves a purpose other than basic survival. Now that our toes have thawed, we’ve loosened the wool around our necks and we can actually venture outside without fearing our faces may freeze into a permanent pained scowl, it’s all we can do not to Pretty Woman-up every store we enter.
Bathing suits that don’t smell of last year’s chlorine! Hemlines of non-sister wife lengths! Makeup that won’t have flaked off by the time you get to work! Shoes you can wear without having to spray them with a questionable water repellant first!
Get in, losers, we’re going shopping.
The name made our inner wannabe-Parisian perk up faster than a carton of technicolor Ladurées, and the swimwear itself made us swoon. From demure ‘60s silhouettes and geometric bralette tops to head-to-toe Breton stripes (someone alert Reese Witherspoon!), the suits have a tomboy quality that makes us want to ditch our florals for a cerulean one-piece. And a Poppy Delevingne collaboration doesn’t hurt, now does it?
1.
DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: SOLID & STRIPED
The name made our inner wannabe-Parisian perk up faster than a carton of technicolor Ladurées, and the swimwear itself made us swoon. From demure ‘60s silhouettes and geometric bralette tops to head-to-toe Breton stripes (someone alert Reese Witherspoon!), the suits have a tomboy quality that makes us want to ditch our florals for a cerulean one-piece. And a Poppy Delevingne collaboration doesn’t hurt, now does it?
Previously relegated to the Disney Channel costume department and Rihanna’s legs, embellished denim is back with a studded, baubled, shredded vengeance. When we spotted the jean version of those don’t-even-get-us-started bejeweled Dolce & Gabbana headphones, we were instant converts. Don’t be fooled by the rocks that we got [on our pants].
2.
EMBELLISHED DENIM
Previously relegated to the Disney Channel costume department and Rihanna’s legs, embellished denim is back with a studded, baubled, shredded vengeance. When we spotted the jean version of those don’t-even-get-us-started bejeweled Dolce & Gabbana headphones, we were instant converts. Don’t be fooled by the rocks that we got [on our pants].
Take it from those of us who’ve shed half a kimono after a particularly enthusiastic shimmy—if you’re going to do fringe, do it right. Cheap out and you’ll end up leaving your mark with a breadcrumb trail of tiny strands. Suffice to say, we’ve taken to a more, er, fanciful fringe in the form of Proenza leather and Aquazarra suede. Just beware the escalator.
3.
ON THE FRINGE
Take it from those of us who’ve shed half a kimono after a particularly enthusiastic shimmy—if you’re going to do fringe, do it right. Cheap out and you’ll end up leaving your mark with a breadcrumb trail of tiny strands. Suffice to say, we’ve taken to a more, er, fanciful fringe in the form of Proenza leather and Aquazarra suede. Just beware the escalator.
Call it Shark Week foreplay—we’ve been hunting and gathering these predatory accouterments like our lives (read: outfits) depend on it. Whether it’s a Givenchy drop earring or a Great White pendant necklace, there’s something about deep-sea dressing that gives us a little confidence boost. Trust us, nothing says #girlboss (or, you know, ‘bite me’) like a jagged incisor dangling from your left lobe.
4.
SHARK BAIT
Call it Shark Week foreplay—we’ve been hunting and gathering these predatory accouterments like our lives (read: outfits) depend on it. Whether it’s a Givenchy drop earring or a Great White pendant necklace, there’s something about deep-sea dressing that gives us a little confidence boost. Trust us, nothing says #girlboss (or, you know, ‘bite me’) like a jagged incisor dangling from your left lobe.
It only takes one overzealous application of champagne-hued luminizer to learn the hard way that hunks of glitter aren’t the prescription for a natural-looking glow. Nothing blows a born-with-it cover quite like tiny flecks of the Demitri Martin-coined ‘herpes of craft supplies’ clinging stubbornly to our cheeks for three days, right? Suffice to say, we’ve found our lit-from-within, pregnant-lady glow in the form of dewy serums and prismatic primers.
5.
SPRING GLOW
It only takes one overzealous application of champagne-hued luminizer to learn the hard way that hunks of glitter aren’t the prescription for a natural-looking glow. Nothing blows a born-with-it cover quite like tiny flecks of the Demitri Martin-coined ‘herpes of craft supplies’ clinging stubbornly to our cheeks for three days, right? Suffice to say, we’ve found our lit-from-within, pregnant-lady glow in the form of dewy serums and prismatic primers.
—Chelsey Burnside