The look... THE GRAB‘N’GO GOWN
THE NEW FUSS-FREE WAY TO ADD DRAMA TO YOUR DAYWEAR STARTS WITH AN XL DRESS
The dream dressing formula is being able to chuck something on and still look like you’ve put in effort. So we’re thankful that designers have reinvented the bag dress. You know the one: a roomy frock with a swing, which you reach for on warmer days. We think of it as the grab ’n’ go gown, a quick day-to-night style.
The high-volume shapes are a simpler alternative to the look-at-me ‘big dress energy’ styles that dominated last year’s catwalks. It has the levity of a babydoll smock with its trapeze silhouette, not fitted to the waist or hips. But it’s more grown-up, with a longer length resting at the calf or ankle, and either big ruffled-cuff sleeves or a pie-crust collar. All of which gives this simple smock the kind of drama that saw designers – including Balenciaga and Victoria Beckham – close their shows with it. ‘This is a fresh take on dresses,’ Beckham said at her SS2O show. ‘They are sexy in a demure way. They’re easy to wear: the silhouettes aren’t complicated, and feel light and flattering.’
‘The secret to ensuring they look grown-up is adding a slick, cool touch,’ says says ELLE accessories editor Molly Haylor. ‘Layer chunky polished metal accessories, mixing yellow and rose gold, gunmetal and silver, and try a deep side-parting in your hair, amping up the gloss with a wet-look product.
If you really want to emulate the runways, invest in an XL sheer gown and layer it on top of the dress, as we saw at Valentino and Simone Rocha.’ So buy now and get ready to say: ‘This? Oh, I just threw it on.’