It’s 2021, but Rihanna’s latest ensemble looks straight out of 1920.
On Monday, the single-designer-makeup mogul stepped out in New York City, wearing a black lace teddy dress by New York-based label Vaquera over a visible lingerie set. Adding to the flapper-like style of the dress were layers of pearl necklaces. A velvet shoulder bag from Tom Ford’s 1997 Gucci — a coveted era in the brand’s history on online resale marketplaces — courtesy of archivist @lab2022, completed the retro-heavy look.
This is not the first time the “We Found Love” singer has channeled the Jazz Age, either. In 2014, she attended the CFDA Fashion Awards donning a Swarovski-encrusted pink naked dress with matching headpiece and fluffy boa by Adam Selman. Back then, she also let her lingerie, in the form of a thong, peek out.
For weeks now, the singer has kept the paparazzi busy in New York City, donning some memorable looks. On June 23, she stepped out wearing a pink slip dress from Dior’s 2002 collection, paired with a matching fluffy hat and Tom Ford gold heeled sandals. A few days later, she went business casual with a Junya Watanabe oversized gray blazer and white pumps, paired with a navy baseball cap.
If you’re looking to channel Rihanna’s flapper look on your next post-vaccine night out, here are some slip dress options to choose from, including the exact dress she wore.
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On Tuesday, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood star Margaret Qualley took a trip down the aisle for Chanel’s fall ‘21 Haute Couture show. For the show’s finale, the actress and Chanel ambassador walked the runway in a high-neck, long-sleeved gown, paired with a polka-dot veil, a pillbox hat, and a pink-and-purple bouquet. At the end of her walk, she tossed the bouquet into the crowd. InStyle Editor-in-Chief Laura Brown caught it.
Seeing a wedding during a couture show finale is pretty standard at this point — couture shows have included bridal finale looks since the early 1900s; it became a standard practice by the ‘40s. Chanel, in particular, has followed the tradition, closing out its biannual spectacles with a model bride — Claudia Schiffer, Alek Wek, Cara Delevingne, and more — since the ‘80s. Artistic director Virginie Viard went a step further, sending out another wedding-appropriate frock — a white tiered gown with pearl flowers embroidered on the bodice — as well as chic alternatives to bridesmaid dresses — a gown embroidered with delicate lace flowers and a black, bow-embellished frock with tulle details — for the new season.
For the remaining looks in the Couture collection, Viard took inspiration from Impressionist painters like Berthe Morisot and Édouard Manet, creating gowns, skirts, and headpieces that matched those brought to life in the 19th-century paintings. “There are dresses embroidered with water lilies,” Viard said in the show notes, in reference to Claude Monet’s 250-plus-piece collection of paintings of the flowers. “[There is also a] long white satin dress punctuated with black bows like Morisot’s,” she continued.
Pops of color were another point of inspiration for the designer, who selected the location — the City of Paris Fashion Museum, called the Palais Galliera — specifically because of its contrasting muted exterior. Included in the collection were hot pink feathers and drape-y suits, mint green slip dresses, and baby pink bustiers, which were styled alongside low-waisted floral pencil skirts. According to the show notes, Viard wanted the pieces to look “just like splashes of paint.”
See the full collection in the video, below.
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If you’ve clicked yourself to this page, then you’re here for all the need-to-know info on Nordstrom‘s biggest annual event — the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale — and we’re ready to type it to you. The reader-favorite retailer’s highly anticipated shopping spree is kicking off this month with a bevy of scorchin’-hot deals on top brands across fashion, beauty, home, and beyond. Although general and early access to the sale has yet to open up, Nordstrom launched its preview deals today — meaning you can get started on browsing the markdowns and building your wishlist before the event officially kicks off and sell-out chaos inevitably ensues. Below, peep the answers to any Nordstrom Anniversary Sale queries along with a smattering of top preview deals Nordy Club members will be able to shop early. Bookmark this page because there’s more to come.
When is the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?
The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale officially runs from July 28, 2021, through August 8, 2021. However, early access for the sale kicks off as early as July 12. (More on that below.)
How do I shop the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale early?
Depending on your Nordy Club member tier status, you can shop the Nordstrom Anniversary sale as early as July 12 — which is less than a week away! Icons get first dibs, followed by Ambassadors (July 14) and Influencers (July 16). According to messaging on the site, shoppers who aren’t yet members can still apply to get approvedfor a Nordstrom credit card for early shopping access plus a $60 Bonus Note offer for new cardmembers.
Our advice for non-cardmembers: scour the sale preview early to set up a game plan of what you actually want to shop for. If you log in, you can save your most coveted items to your wish list so they’re all in one place to easily add to your cart once you get access to the sale.
What are the best Nordstrom Anniversary Sale deals?
As with previous years, you can expect the steepest savings on Nordstrom-exclusive labels like Zella leggings and BP wardrobe essentials. That said, longtime Nordy stans know that there are just as many amazing deals on big-name brands like Nike, Alo, Calpak, Kiehl’s, Charlotte Tilbury, Oribe, and more. Plus, as an extra-special treat, Nordstrom has added several new-to-Anniversary-Sale offerings from Teva (!), La Ligne (!!), and Dyson (!!!) to name a few.
What are the best Nordstrom Anniversary Sale early access deals?
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Bloom’s bib, unofficially called a “harness,” featured a navy and black swirl-print and a breast pocket for god knows what. He wore the accessory with a simple white button down, black trousers, and lug-soled Oxfords. To an innocent bystander, it looked like the actor was wearing a letter “H” across his body.
Bibs of this nature first garnered attention back in 2019, when Chalamet arrived on the Golden Globes red carpet wearing an all-black Louis Vuitton by Virgil Abloh look that included a sequined version of Bloom’s swirl-print top layer. The item became a sartorial talking piece for the evening, with many wondering what the fashion item even was. When asked about it on Ellen, the actor sounded only somewhat less confused: “I thought it was a bib. They told me it was a bib,” he said to host Ellen DeGeneres.
A few weeks after Chalamet’s Golden Globes appearance, another bib showed up on the red carpet, this time on Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan, who wore a floral printed version on top of a navy blue and black double-breasted suit at the 25th annual SAG Awards. Like both Chalamet and Bloom, Jordan’s was Louis Vuitton (shocker!).
The only real difference between the bibs appearing on Chalamet, Jordan, and Bloom is that the latter wore his at a later date, when the puzzlingly popular harnesses were already a top trend in fashion. From Zara to Dion Lee and Alexander McQueen, leather harnesses have become as much a must-have accessory — for men and women alike — as a tiny bag or a pair of cowboy boots. And now that Orlando’s strapped one on, we can only assume the trend will continue be in bloom throughout the remainder of 2021, if not for more seasons to come.
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An entirely new class of rich, entitled teens matriculates in HBO Max’s newGossip Girl, with fresh dramas and storylines engineered to scandalize a 2021 audience. But one thing from the original, which ran from 2007 to 2012, remains constant: The fashion gets the top billing.
Not even 15 minutes into the premiere, a Constance Billard upperclassman sizes up the new girl, Zoya (Whitney Peak), and sniffs, “She has … a headband on.” In the freshman’s defense, it was only a decade ago when hair accessories, famously worn by alpha-girl Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), telegraphed social supremacy. Almost 10 years later though, and the new class at Constance Billard and St. Jude’s leans into sports- and street-wear, gender-neutral silhouettes, and socially conscious messaging, even if the wardrobes are still stacked with designer bonafides.
Since the first class of Gossip Girl graduated from the small-screen, much has changed. Gossip now spreads on Instagram and TikTok, and even though the show is still narrated by the all-knowing titular narrator (a returning Kristin Bell), this time there’s a significant twist. Not to worry, though, as the aforementioned fashion-policing portends: Each episode of the new series, out on July 8, is packed with Easter Eggs that will delight die-hard fans. A great deal of them come courtesy of Eric Daman, the costume designer who worked on the original series and returns as the wardrobe wizard.
In the first series, a younger Daman — armed with a 2002 Emmy win, as part of Patricia Field’s team onSex and the City — reinvented how to wear heritage brands (see: Serena van der Woodsen’s yellow floral Ralph Lauren gown turned into an edgy bridesmaid dress). He also helped then-under-the-radar, downtown cool labels, like 3.1 Phillip Lim and Proenza Schouler, enter the sartorial lexicon. This time around, for inspiration, Daman turned to social media — exactly as the show’s Zoomers, particularly Instagram influencer Julien (Jordan Alexander), would do.
“[Social media is] such an important part of the storyline and what the plot is dealing with,” says Daman. “But, also, what is influencing trends — and what’s going on in fashion — is coming out of social media, in particular, Instagram.” In preparing for the show, he fell into an IG rabbit hole studying celebrity street-style stars, including Sofia Richie and Kendall Jenner, and tracking the brands they wear and tag. “I’m a big fan of Adut Akech, who is a big influence for Julien,” Daman says of the South Sudanese-Australian model whose off-duty style has made waves. “[Studying fashion’s accounts] led me to LaQuan Smith and Christopher John Rogers, ” he adds, naming some of the cutting-edge designers whose pieces feature on the show.
He compares his process, of examining influencers and mapping out their connections to brands and designers, to creating an “amazing string map.” The approach also illustrates how the new Gossip Girl class — that rules the schoolyard, the Met steps, and the exclusive members-only Dumbo House (which conveniently doesn’t card minors) — is made up of discerning tastemakers and style-spotters in their own right. “It’s so important to the [show’s] original DNA to continue that trajectory with New York designers and how the cast dresses,” says Daman. “It’s really important to infuse it with these new and upcoming New York designers that aren’t as established as a Gucci or a Saint Laurent.”
The brand lineup also reflects the new Gossip Girl’s plotlines and characters, who care about social and political issues (sometimes, anyway) and Gen Z values. Daman sought out to incorporate BIPOC-owned, women-run, eco-friendly, and gender binary-breaking contemporary labels, such as Noah, Rowing Blazers, Collina Strada, Bode, Danielle Guizio, Monse, and Wales Bonner.
In initial discussions, Daman recalls, “a lot of producers and higher-ups” floated “big, big establishment names, like Tom Ford or Marc Jacobs” for the premiere’s runway moment. However, “the more we got into it and discussed what it really meant — and what is relevant to what Gossip Girl really is and what people love about Gossip Girl — is these up-and-coming New York designers,” says Daman. Enter: a theatrical (and fictional) Christopher John Rogers Spring 2021 runway show. It makes sense: Real, plugged-in New York City “cool kids” like Julien, the shaved-head queen bee who closes the runway show in the premiere, would be more likely to wear Rogers’ label and rub elbows with fellow fashion power players than to swan around in head-to-toe establishment couture.
Rogers, who won the 2019 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and the 2020 CFDA American Emerging Designer of the Year awards, is firmly established in his own right, but the timing of the collaboration with the TV show could not have been more propitious. Leading up to filming, Rogers made headlines when Zendaya appeared at the virtual Emmys last September wearing a sculptural, plunge neckline dress from his Fall 2020 collection. Then, in January, Vice President Kamala Harris championed the young designer by wearing an amethyst coat and dress to the Inauguration. “His talent was so incredible and the color and the vision — and how he was casting his shows — and the imagery he was projecting just felt really right for the kind of the progressive, inclusive vibe that we’re trying to promote,” says Daman, who still seems in awe of the spectacular sequence of sartorial events. “I’m so grateful that the internet led me here.”
Because of the pandemic, Rogers presented his Spring 2021 collection — a whimsically bold grab bag of Crayola colors, eye-popping graphic prints, and dynamic embellishments — as a digital lookbook. Now, the full-blown runway show appears on the Gossip Girl premiere. “A little bit of a feather in our cap,” says Daman.
In another fantasy-meets-realism moment, Julien’s scheming sidekicks, clout chaser Luna La (Zion Moreno) and her de facto social media manager Monet (Savannah Lee Smith), both wear looks from the designer’s previous season as a “nod” to what really happens at NYFW. “These fans would be like, ‘I’m wearing Christopher John Rogers to the Christopher John Rogers show’ because that’s how it goes,” says Daman.
In the sophomore episode, Julien flexes in a ripped-from-the-CJR-runway denim bustier gown, “which also makes sense as part of this world where, ‘Okay, I was in the show, now I have this gown that isn’t even available yet,’” explains Daman. To further muddle reality and fantasy, paparazzi photographs of Alexander filming the outdoor scenes in the not-yet-available dress caused a frenzy in November. “Art imitating reality and reality imitating art,” Daman says with a laugh. “That is also this insular fashion world that we’re living in.”
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 02: Jordan Alexander, Whitney Peak and Eli Brown are seen at the film set of the ‘Gossip Girl’ TV Series on June 2, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 23: Whitney Peak is seen filming a scene for ‘Gossip Girl’ in the Upper East Side on November 23, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)
He leaned into another Gossip Girl signature — bags — this time to express Zoya’s activism and socially responsible values. “We reached out to Black-owned bookstores to make sure she’s carrying totes that represent that [spirit] in New York,” explains Daman. Some of the businesses that made it into the show include Revolution Books in Harlem; Adanne in Dumbo; Word Up in Washington Heights; and Community Bookstore in Park Slope. Zoya exercises her voice sartorially in pieces by social justice and graphic art brand Philadelphia Printworks; political call-to-action T-shirt line, All Riot; diaspora-celebrating Melanin Apparel; and bAnchored, which supports mental health professionals and social workers. It all adds up to “a way for us to incorporate those voices are very very important,” says Daman.
Zoya, a transfer student from Buffalo, also serves some throwbacks referencing her predecessors. While her plaids, flannels, and vintage (or vintage-inspired) aesthetics speak to character, Zoya’s grunge-y looks convey another meaning. “There’s a nod to Jenny Humphrey in there,” says Daman.
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 23: Tavi Gevinson is seen on the set of ‘Gossip Girl’ is seen on November 23, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 20: Emily Alyn Lind seen on the set of ‘Gossip Girl’ in the Financial District on November 20, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)
The costume designer took liberties with schoolday accessorizing, like long wool socks that bring Serena’s stellar over-the-knee game to mind. “We played with socks and tights in a new way, but also that harkens back to the cool-girl vibes,” he says. The introduction of fashion darling and media multihyphenate Tavi Gevinson as the mysterious Kate Keller also nods to an iconic moment from the original. Gevinson wears a camel blazer, navy-and-cream striped sweater, and silk neck scarf in the premiere that mirror Serena’s debut in a caramel leather peacoat, Breton top, and neckwear at Grand Central Station. “It’s like that first Serena moment, and then we get this Tavi moment and you don’t know: ‘Is Tavi coming? Is she a student? Who is this new outsider?’” says Daman.
Elegant, sharp-tongued Audrey (Emily Lind), whose mother (Laura Benanti) is also a big-time fashion designer, seems like Blair’s heir apparent. But “if Blair was Audrey Hepburn. Audrey is a little more like Grace Kelly,” says Daman, referencing the original show’s homages to Breakfast at Tiffany’s star. “They both harken back to beautiful, old-world classics,” he says. For the aforementioned gala, and the ensuing steamy trysts, lingering glares, and public meltdowns, Audrey wears an elegant bustier-topped black gown by Rasario. “To me, it is a very contemporary version of Blair Waldorf,” says Daman.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 20: Jordan Alexander is seen at the film set of the ‘Gossip Girl’ TV Series on May 20, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
With an expanded cast — including dreamboat Maxwell (Thomas Doherty), pink-haired skater boi Aki (Evan Mock), and filthy-rich do-gooder Obie — as well as more scenes set at school, Daman enjoyed even more creative freedom with the already envelope-pushing uniforms that would result in suspension in real life. He initially proposed trousers instead of skirts for the girls, but then another bolt of online inspiration struck, leading to Julien’s notable play with athletic gear which includes bike shorts. “There is this timeline of Hailey Bieber emulating all these iconic Princess Diana varsity sweaters and shirts and biker shorts. It was such a great look,” says Daman, who clocked Jami Gertz in an oversize athletic-striped pink sweatshirt and cycling shorts in the 1987 movie, Less Than Zero. “It’s all trend-driven,” he adds. “Again, re-driving the trend.” And, so the updated uniform, of louche button-ups, roomy collegiate knits, elevated letterman jackets, and detention-flouting hot pants, was born.
Deeper into the season, Daman pushes the dress-code boundaries to an absurdly chic degree, with getups like Monet’s clavicle-baring Fleur du Mal cut-out shirt accessorized with a Gucci bow brooch or Julien’s cable-knit Polo V-neck over a billowing white button-up shirt, thigh-high Stuart Weitzman boots, and no pants. “This was full-blown, like a Pandora’s Box fully exploded,” Daman says with a laugh.
The generous costume budgets made it possible to live out his dream of modifying designer jackets, in lieu of basic blazers. “I feel like [the students] would be buying the highest-end Balmain and Saint Laurent and Burberry, with school gear vibes that are on-trend, and then adding Constance Billard logos or the St. Jude’s crests,” says Daman. “It’s been a lot of fun to — I wouldn’t say, ‘corrupt’ those designer pieces — but they’re Constance Billard varsity jackets by Saint Laurent.” This fashion collaboration earns its A+.
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After a year of quarantine and welcoming her first baby, Sophie Turner is back on the party scene. And so are her on-trend looks. On Monday, the actress stepped out in Paris to attend a Louis Vuitton fragrance event with husband Joe Jonas, wearing a white patent leather dress with cape-like sleeves atop sporty boots and alongside the latest and greatest “It bag.”
Turner, who’s no stranger to sporting trends hot-off-the-runway, paired the coat dress with futuristic black boots, both from the brand’s Cruise 2022 collection. She also donned a metallic version of Louis Vuitton’s “Coussin,” a crossbody streetwear-ready purse already worn by Emma Stone and Jennifer Aniston.
Statement sleeves are one of this year’s biggest trends, with celebrities like Lady Gaga, Nicola Coughlan, and Ellie Goulding adding some drama to their summer looks with the voluptuous, feminine, and gloriously unrestrictive style. Brands like Selkie, Mango, and & Other Stories have also pushed statement sleeves from the runway to the summer streets with puffed, balloon, and ruffled shapes.
In Turner’s case, the sleeves formed a cape-like silhouette on the shoulders, providing a great balance to the coat dress’s under layer, with its closer-fitting pair of sleeves with metallic ribbons in silver and gold and double-breasted menswear-inspired buttons.
While the voluminous, uber feminine trend is still dominating this summer, Turner’s look is helping us figure out how to carry statement sleeves into the fall season by adding some shoulder flare to cold weather essentials. You can have it both ways, after all.
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And you thought your Fourth of July weekend was eventful. On Saturday, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, who announced their engagement in November, said “I do” in an intimate ceremony at the country singer’s ranch in Oklahoma. It didn’t take long for the couple to share the details of their surprise 40-person nuptials with the rest of the world on Instagram — including Stefani’s two bridal looks from the big day.
In a series of images posted on Monday, the former No Doubt member can be seen wearing a gown and a mini dress, both of which were custom-made by Vera Wang.
For the ceremony, the singer took the traditional route, donning a lily-white, silk-tulle gown with a high-low hem and a plunging neckline. “A gown for ROMANCE. BIG LOVE. FOREVER MORE,” Wang wrote on Instagram. Stefani completed the look with a cathedral-length veil, which was hand-embroidered by Wang’s team with the couple’s first names, as well as the names of Stefani’s three children with former husband Gavin Rossdale, Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo. Two white roses were also embroidered on the veil.
Stefani wasn’t the first celebrity to add a special touch to her wedding veil. When Hailey and Justin Bieber got married in September 2019, the model wore a custom gown-veil by Off-White which had “TILL DEATH DO US PART” embroidered on it in designer Virgil Abloh’s signature sans-Serif font. For her wedding look, Stefani chose the font from her Love. Angel. Music. Baby. album circa 2004.
More in line with what we’re used to from the singer was the reception dress, which featured a corset-like bustier bodice — a top bridal trend this summer — and an embroidered tulle skirt. “You need a party dress when u get to marry Blake Shelton,” she captioned a photo of the second look. According to Wang’s Instagram, the skirt of the mini dress featured two hand-sewn birds, a symbol of the couple. “They are joined by three baby love birds representing Gwen’s children,” she added. Accessories-wise, Stefani wore a cropped, bow-embellished veil (sound familiar?), fishnet tights, and matching mid-calf boots.
Leave it to Stefani to make fishnets look bridal-appropriate.
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The IRL shows also mark the return of street style. In Paris, couture show attendees gave their stamp of approval to one of fall’s biggest upcoming trends: menswear-inspired silhouettes, as was evidenced by designers like The Row, Gucci, Prada, and Alexander McQueen back in April.
Don't be fooled: This is not your father’s tailored Brooks Brothers suit. Instead, people are ditching suit shirts for a naked-like look, pairing belted blazers with flowy maxi skirts, and switching their long trousers for plaid mini skirts.
