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If you’ve looked out of the window today, or worse, been dragged kicking and screaming onto the Monday commute, you’ll notice we appear to have skipped summer entirely and plunged straight back into winter. We’re being subjected to the kind of relentless drizzle that makes you remember that the clichés about British weather are founded in reality and not simply mistruths spread by Americans who think we all stop for high tea at 3pm every day.
Confined indoors by the downpour, my screen time has been astronomical this weekend, but what else is there to do when leaving the house requires Duke of Edinburgh-level gorpcore? Between Dua Lipa’s wedding festivities and Addison Rae’s Primavera set, Instagram scrolling has become one long exercise in FOMO. Still, thanks to the modern art of live-posting, you no longer need to physically attend an event to absorb the atmosphere or judge the outfits.
Flooded with snaps from Palermo and Primavera alike, I muted many (sorry Dua), while keeping one eye on what festival-goers were wearing. Off-stage, it was all bikini tops and basketball shorts; on-stage, it was Breton stripes and push-up bras.
Below, a few style lessons to take from the first major festival of summer.
French-girl favorites are forever
Olivia Rodrigo, who is currently deep in a Francophile phase, combined two forgotten staples from very different corners of culture: a striped agnès b. knit with American Apparel disco shorts, thus uniting messy-haired, Lou Doillon devotees and 2010s Topshop crop-top club girls in one unconventional pairing.
Beloved by Noughties-era Kate Moss and Sienna Miller, the Breton stripe appears to have clawed its way out of the Mini Boden catalog and back onto the main stage. Although the metallic micro shorts transported me (and any other zillennials out there) back to the dark days of underage clubbing and Carnaby Street American Apparel circa 2014, the trick to dodging the Tiger Tiger look is skipping the back-combed hair and Barry M crackle paint.
Britpop lives on
For many reasons I won’t unpack in this piece, existing in Britain can feel somewhat embarrassing at present, but thanks to PinkPantheress, there are rumblings of a Cool Britannia revival, brought to us one Union Jack-coded outfit at a time.
Performing in head-to-toe Gimaguas, the Noughties nod to Catalan cool-girl style felt like a fitting choice for a Spanish festival with an audience of east Londoners, with the ever-eclectic songstress introducing an unexpected contender for summer dressing: the one-legged tight. Initially confusing, the semi-ventilated approach is adaptable and practical should the sun decide to shine. Off-stage, we can learn much from Pink’s wardrobe of Vivienne Westwood and tartan tights. Early aughts optimism may be a distant memory, but Britcore is forever.
It’s still a soft-boi summer
And finally, to any performative men reading this and feeling left out, fear not. For the mustached and slightly malnourished, I direct your attention to Cameron Winter, the Geese frontman who took to the stage in the classic combo of crumpled button-down shirt and black jeans. Perhaps not the obvious festival choice, but a reminder that retaining composure amidst the heat and hedonism can sometimes work in your favor.
In pale blue cotton, the classic shirt swerves any accidental Goldman Sachs associations and keeps you firmly in Hinge standouts territory. Pair with a battered paperback, straggly locks, and a penchant for ghosting, and you’ve got the makings of a failsafe soft boi wardrobe.
Alternatively, there’s Role Model (also known as Tucker Pillsbury or Dakota Johnson’s new man), whose wardrobe paid homage to eternal style icon Serge Gainsbourg. In Repetto Zizis (the jazz shoe du jour), straight-leg Levi’s, and a custom belt buckle, you can’t go wrong. Add a striped knit in solidarity with Olivia Rodrigo, and you’ve got yourself a stage look capable of carrying you through a string of summer situationships.
This article was originally published on British Vogue.
