'Black in summer has become shorthand for that Scandinavian cool girl look: all breezy fabrics, loose lines, but never shapeless'
You all noticed the heatwave, right? Folk barely mentioned it, did they? OK, they did. Quite a lot. Fashion-wise, the chatter was depressingly predictable, all: "Quick, buy a Sicilian-inspired printed sundress to wear to the office" or: "Get a little white dress like Pippa Middleton's" for a weekend barbecue. For those of us who like the inside of our holiday suitcase to resemble the midnight sky, it was more than a little annoying. Because received fashion wisdom is generally rubbish, especially if it encourages you to dress like a nice home counties girl. And besides, it ignores the fact that wearing black in summer is a bit of a Look at the moment.
It hasn't always been thus. Time was, wearing black in summer was a negative choice, a cop-out, an, "I can't be bothered to dress for the sun, so I'll sit out this round until it's cloudy again" kind of mentality. But lately it's become a positive choice. In fashion, it has become shorthand for that Scandinavian cool girl look: all breezy fabrics, loose lines, but never shapeless. Just ask Angelina Jolie, who has been doing it for years. (Actually, don't. You'd be on a hiding to nothing trying to emulate someone as ferociously beautiful as her.)
But Jolie does make black for summer look intentional (consider her spaghetti strap vests: not exactly wintery) and I think that's right. Black in summer can't just be winter stuff without a coat on top. It has to be a sundress with a slinky back, or a structured dress with a bright, strappy sandal, or a jumpsuit with a bare shoulder (and no apologies for the singular there). And summer-ready exfoliated skin. It won't work otherwise.
You won't be able to tell from the picture, but the stuff I'm wearing feels night-time holiday-ready. It's what I would describe as a fashionable take on a Florida retirement tracksuit: The Golden Girls meets Scandi blogger, if you will.
One last styling footnote: make sure the fabric is loose and light. Silk, sheer panels or lightweight jersey all do the trick in the heat. And that's not received fashion wisdom. That's just the wisdom of common sense.
• Imogen wears *top*, £160, gerarddarel.com. *Trousers*, £345, by Stella McCartney, from harveynichols.com. *Heels*, £62, topshop.com.
Stylist: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Sharon Ive at Carol Hayes Management.
Jess Cartner-Morley is away. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.
You all noticed the heatwave, right? Folk barely mentioned it, did they? OK, they did. Quite a lot. Fashion-wise, the chatter was depressingly predictable, all: "Quick, buy a Sicilian-inspired printed sundress to wear to the office" or: "Get a little white dress like Pippa Middleton's" for a weekend barbecue. For those of us who like the inside of our holiday suitcase to resemble the midnight sky, it was more than a little annoying. Because received fashion wisdom is generally rubbish, especially if it encourages you to dress like a nice home counties girl. And besides, it ignores the fact that wearing black in summer is a bit of a Look at the moment.
It hasn't always been thus. Time was, wearing black in summer was a negative choice, a cop-out, an, "I can't be bothered to dress for the sun, so I'll sit out this round until it's cloudy again" kind of mentality. But lately it's become a positive choice. In fashion, it has become shorthand for that Scandinavian cool girl look: all breezy fabrics, loose lines, but never shapeless. Just ask Angelina Jolie, who has been doing it for years. (Actually, don't. You'd be on a hiding to nothing trying to emulate someone as ferociously beautiful as her.)
But Jolie does make black for summer look intentional (consider her spaghetti strap vests: not exactly wintery) and I think that's right. Black in summer can't just be winter stuff without a coat on top. It has to be a sundress with a slinky back, or a structured dress with a bright, strappy sandal, or a jumpsuit with a bare shoulder (and no apologies for the singular there). And summer-ready exfoliated skin. It won't work otherwise.
You won't be able to tell from the picture, but the stuff I'm wearing feels night-time holiday-ready. It's what I would describe as a fashionable take on a Florida retirement tracksuit: The Golden Girls meets Scandi blogger, if you will.
One last styling footnote: make sure the fabric is loose and light. Silk, sheer panels or lightweight jersey all do the trick in the heat. And that's not received fashion wisdom. That's just the wisdom of common sense.
• Imogen wears *top*, £160, gerarddarel.com. *Trousers*, £345, by Stella McCartney, from harveynichols.com. *Heels*, £62, topshop.com.
Stylist: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Sharon Ive at Carol Hayes Management.
Jess Cartner-Morley is away. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.