DO-IT-ALL DRESS
SAY HELLO TO THE
IF YOU THINK OF an It dress, it’s probably short and black, or long and white, bejewelled and bedazzled, or barely there at all. It’s a head-turner. A scenestealer. A complete and utter knockout. The truth, however, is far more modest.
Right now, online brand Kitri’s Gabriella dress has official It status. When it went on sale last month, it sold out in under an hour and now boasts a waiting list of over 1,000 people desperate to get their hands on it when it arrives back in stock later this month – unprecedented demand for anything previously sold by the year-old brand. And the dress itself ? An emerald green shirtdress with a ditsy floral pattern.
So why all the fuss about a not exactly ground-breaking design? Well, the Gabriella speaks to how most women want to get dressed: with zero fuss. Throw it on and you’re set for the day. Thanks to the belted waist, pleated midiskirt and button-fastening front, it’s universally flattering. The bold green shade renders it a statement, without veering into difficult territory. It’s stylish but not too fashiony. In short, it’s the ultimate do-it-all dress.
Not that Kitri is the only brand turning out do-it-all dresses. Right now, fluid, sleeved mididresses with nipped-in waists and bold but not overbearing prints are selling out across the board, from highstreet steals to high-ticket designer pieces. Their perma-appeal lies in their flattering silhouettes – you don’t need a thigh gap or control pants to pull them off. As Henrietta Rix, co-founder of Rixo – another Brit label turning out excellently printed midis – puts it, ‘ They cover areas that we as women can be quite conscious of, and might not like to have on show, but in an elegant and cool way that doesn’t feel too intentional. It’s a style that does all the work for you.’
These do-it-all dresses are also perfect for spring ( by which we mean real, British snowing-one-minute-blazing-sun-the-next spring, as opposed to a bucolic fantasy of the season). They’re made for dealing with commitment-phobe weather: lightweight enough to layer over roll necks and under jackets, substantial enough to go it alone with sandals when the moment’s right.
Indeed, the crux of these do-it-all dresses’ appeal lies in their versatility – not just according to weather, but occasion. The Gabriella is a no-brainer for weddings; but blogger Charlotte Groeneveld (aka Fashion Guitar) wore hers with a puffer jacket and Balenciaga Triple S trainers at New York Fashion Week. Kitri founder Haeni Kim’s planning to wear her Gabriella with bare legs and ankle boots, or over jeans and a T-shirt. Not that she’s actually managed to nab one yet. It might be easy to wear but, when a dress is this good, we never said it would be easy to get hold of.