We never thought we would be asking this question, but do you remember the shrug? Often paired with a satin bubble-hem cocktail dress or a t-shirt and plaid

bermuda shorts

combination—perhaps with a Motorola Razr nestled in the pocket—the shrug was the Y2K antidote to the dilemma of transitional dressing. Try your best to divorce this resurrected

early 2000s trend

from any fashion faux-pas associations you may harbor, because 2020’s renditions are sleek, cool, and, dare we say, modern.

Photo: Courtesy of Peter Do

A shrug is essentially a set of detachable sleeves—

modular fashion

at its finest. Unlike its counterparts of decades past, the shrugs of today are often connected in the front, functioning more as an extremely cropped sweater than a jacket. At last February’s fall ’20 fashion week, designers gave this new style their stamp of approval.

Dion Lee

showed sexy form-fitting shrugs layered over skimpy tanks.

Peter Do

selected a chunky knit shrug worn over a leather dress complete with a plunging neckline for a flash of skin. Most recently, Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton resurfaced the style for spring, pairing a simple knit shrug with a corseted, full-skirted evening dress, proving the range of the garment. And lest we forget, Rosie Assoulin debuted her

thousand-in-one-ways

sweater in her pre-fall ’20 collection, which promptly took Instagram by storm.

Photo: Courtesy of Alexander McQueen

When it comes to styling for a non-runway setting, we recommend either matching exactly or contrasting entirely. By that, we mean you should either create a coordinating set between tank and shrug of like fabrics, or clash a cable knit with a crisp white tee. While it may not appear so, this resurrected style is oddly practical to brace your arms against subpar heating systems. Plus, it’s itching to make an appearance on your next Zoom meeting—a webcam-friendly accessory.

Shop Our Favorites:

Cutout Super Cropped Sweater

$56 at Etsy

Rib Shrug

$590 $342 at Ssense

Hosiery Stirrup Top

$451 $428 at Farfetch

Chain Link Knit Bolero

$105 at Pixiemarket

Knit Shrug Set

$175 at Thefrankieshop

Crop Wool Ribbed Sweater

$72 at Thesourceunknown

Melon Convertible Stretch-tencel Lyocell Jersey Bodysuit

$98 at Net A Porter

Cashmere Cropped Shrug

$150 at Cosstores

PW Basics 08

$75 at Ptcwrkstudio

Faux Leather Shrug

$1,160 $464 at Mytheresa

Thousand-in-One-Ways Wool-cotton Sweater

$750 at Modaoperandi
Buy at Coveteur

Top photo: Courtesy of Alexander McQueen

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