Say Hello to Spring in One of These 11 Floaty Floral Frocks
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In these deeply divided political times, let me declare one of my staunchest positions: I am a proud proponent of the gossamer, floaty floral dress, no matter what the month, no matter what the temperature. But may I also declare upfront that I am not one of those women who wafts around half-naked in her sheer frock, even in brutal weather. Though plenty of my friends are bare-leg fanatics—one of them even likens tights to prisons for legs—my limbs always spend the winter encased in those woolen jail cells. I also tend to top my floaty florals with a mammoth sweater, a look that fashion historians who may be reading this will recognize as having been pioneered almost three decades ago by Marc Jacobs in his infamous grunge collection.
Though we wear them all year round, floaty dresses really come to full flower—so to speak—in the summer months, when you can chuck the cardis, liberate your legs, and drift down the shoreline with your airy-fairy dress billowing around you. But fair warning—your life is not a magazine spread! I found this out the hard way, when a wave on Fire Island broke over my dress, and I had to go to brunch in a soggy number while my more sensible friends—who donned their pretty dresses after they left the beach—sipped their Long Island Ice Teas, dry and happy.
So, okay—maybe I won’t wear it so near the Atlantic this summer. But I would still love a new floaty dress to greet the new season. And there are so many wonderful ones to choose from right now; maybe from my new fave rave Cecilie Bahnsen, or my best buddy Simone Rocha? Or maybe I will channel my European aristocratic heritage in Etro (newsflash—I did ancestry.com and it ain t so). Finally, I could break out—and break the bank—with a patchwork extravaganza from the cult brand Vetements, comprised of gorgeous leftover fabric swatches, making my new frock not just attainable, but sustainable.
Here, a roster of scrumptious possibilities:
