Tube Dresses Are The Comeback Style Trending This Summer

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Shutterstock (314079d) VICTORIA BECKHAM BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR DAVID FURNISH – 1999

From Kate Moss-approved slip midis and puckered popcorn dresses to tube minis, the late-‘90s and early-‘00s were full of memorable frock styles. The latter style, in particular, was a staple at every shopping mall brand and an omnipresent fixture in pop culture. Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker made strapless tops a red carpet mainstay. Britney Spears wore a black tube dress with matching opera gloves as an honoree at the 2003 Glamour Women of the Year awards. And Victoria Beckham made form-fitting minis part of her signature Posh Spice uniform. Despite their ability to evoke human sausage casings, or tightly bandaged mummies, tube dresses were also a hit among runway designers such as Calvin Klein, Versace, and Tommy Hilfinger. 

As a teenage girl, I swooned over the strapless dresses that appeared everywhere from music videos to TV shows and films. I would sift through my favorite magazines Tiger Beat, Seventeen, and YM looking for the newest tube dress styles that I could pin to my wall for outfit inspiration. But while I desperately wanted to have one in every color for every mall outing, there was a drawback to this style: It was deeply uncomfortable, requiring constant tugging and pulling at the neckline to keep the look from falling and exposing its wearer. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the style fell out of favor in the mid-2000s, giving way to more comfortable staples like baby tees and velour tracksuits. 

Having packed away my tube dresses and tops in the back of my childhood closet alongside my hoarded magazine posters and teenage crush dreams, I personally never imagined this trend resurfacing. But in 2022, tube dresses are back. According to the experts at shopping platform Poshmark, in the last five years alone, the demand for the dress style has gone up by 313%, with the biggest spike happening over the last year.

“The tube dress is seeing a summer resurgence, and for good reason. It is easy to perfect for warmer weather and offers a dose of that feel-good nostalgia we’re all craving — that minimalist silhouette is a total Jennifer Aniston in the ‘90s vibe,” says Chloe Barfet, Poshmark’s curation and merchandising expert. “The [traditional] skin-tight tube dress is still a thing, but we’re also seeing more sophisticated adaptations take hold, from the structured and architecturally inspired tube dress to the sleek silk charmeuse black tube dress paired with a barely-there strappy kitten heel to the country club-esque crochet-knit tube dress.” 

It’s true: The Blumarine spring ‘22 runway sent out a rose-adorned tube top in a Paris Hilton-approved shade of pink. Meanwhile, Alexander McQueen showed a denim dress reminiscent of Spears’ 2001 American Music Awards look — made modern with the addition of corset-like leather detailing. 

The silhouette has also become wildly popular among TikTok tastemakers. On the app, #TubeDress has 52 million views driven by influencers who offer a modern approach to the trend with styling tips and shopping suggestions. And while a lack of size inclusivity in the ‘90s and ‘00s, with models such as Moss and Naomi Campbell and celebrities like Posh Spice and SJP modeling tube dresses, left many plus-size women feeling unable to wear the look in its first heyday, this time around, women of all sizes and body shapes are embracing the trend. (It helps that more of today’s popular brands are offering a bigger range of sizes, too.)

A number of different factors have led to the tube dress’ resurgence. For the past couple of years, we have spent a great deal of time indoors wearing loungewear and oversized clothing, and it makes sense that the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction. While in the ‘00s, we traded the form-fitting style for Juicy Couture sweatsuits, having spent the last two years in sweatpants, we are willing to give up the comfort for any occasion to wear a party dress. Then there is the general resurgence of ‘90s and Y2K fashion on the runways and on social media platforms which has brought back other relics of the era like bandage dresses and low-rise jeans.

Personally, I have found my way back into the tube dress recently after finding a pink Fila number that hearkened back to my teenage years. In this dress, I recall the moments I spent in the malls trying on colors and styles that reminded me of the ones I saw in the magazines. But I no longer feel the need to compete with my school-aged friends. Nor will I be storing the style in the back of my closet anytime soon.

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Aura Photo-Inspired Prints Are Summer’s Most Alluring Trend

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 25: Lizzo attends Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrls Watch Party at NeueHouse Los Angeles on March 25, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for Amazon Studios)

Getting dressed isn’t usually considered to be a spiritual activity. When you’re running late for work, you just want to make sure your underwear is on the right direction and you don’t spill coffee on your white button-down while you ride the subway. But when Loewe’s Spring 2022 runway show included a swirled abstraction of painter Jacopo Pontormo’s 1528 piece “The Deposition From The Cross,” it called to mind something unexpected: the soft glow of an aura photo. 

The brand’s designer Jonathan Anderson’s hazy swirls of color may be the most notable iteration this season, but he’s not alone — emerging labels like Binya, Barragan, and Chet Lo, along with known industry veterans like Off-White and LaPointe, have adopted the tie-dye-esque, highly-saturated gradient look. “I think it’s a moment of experimentation,” Anderson told Vogue of his post-pandemic attitude. “If you’re going to reset after this period, you need to allow a moment to birth a new aesthetic. Start again.”

If you aren’t familiar with auras, Sara E. Silverstein, the founder of Inner Light Aura, describes them as “the invisible energy field that is always surrounding all living beings. It is the energy that we as individuals create that cannot be seen by the naked eye, but we can often feel it.” Aura photos, which were popularized with the invention of the AuraCam 6000 during the 1980s, use hand sensors to allegedly expose the electromagnetic field around an individual. The result is a colorful cast over a more standard Polaroid portrait. 

As Anderson talks of rebirth, Susanna Merrick, the founder of Aurawear, explains that your unique aural color combination can change over time. “Each color of the aura has an archetype, an aesthetic of feeling that can resonate with the color itself,” she explains. Identifying with one color may not mean wearing it head-to-toe, but identifying with the energy that the color represents. Different days, months, or years of your life may draw you to certain hues.

Translating that energy into what you wear can mean anything from simply embodying a color’s energy to embracing the colorful swirl of aura photography into a piece of clothing. “I think as a culture we are all falling in love with understanding ourselves a bit better,” says Silverstein, attributing the rise of aura-like prints to a curiosity around the art. “Auras are blowing up in popularity right now. If people have an opportunity to wear a striking piece that makes them feel incredible, then they are going to flock to it.” 

Don’t write it off as just a passing trend: The colors you choose and the way you choose to style an aura-inspired piece might also offer a bit of insight into your sense of self. “My experience with processing energy and aura is a catalyst and a tool to communicate,” says Merrick. “Each color that is coming through, depending on when it’s coming through in your reading, is a catalyst for a message or information that you are meant to receive.” 

Merrick adds that the key to embracing the power of the aura in your wardrobe is the intentionality you put into getting dressed. “Whether color has an energetic effect on someone, or it is an emotional relationship they formed with that color since they were a child, it doesn’t matter. It’s the intention,” she says. According to Merrick, green, red, and purple are three particularly strong color archetypes — red “is about femininity on your terms,” green is “type-A energy,” and violet is “visionary energy” — that you can use as sources of power and inspiration. 

Regardless of what color makes you feel the most powerful, embracing the subtle swirling haze of aura-inspired prints can create the chance for you to explore what it is about wearing blue, green, red, or yellow that makes you feel like the best version of yourself. 

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The Future Of Lingerie Is Genderless

When Louis Dorantes moved to Brooklyn in the late 2010s, the Parsons-trained designer began making going-out looks for the queer parties he attended. “It wasn’t just casually going to the neighborhood bar,” he says of his reasoning for creating his own designs. “These were very curated spaces with a lot of very talented people.” In 2020, inspired by the creative spirit of this nightclub scene, Dorantes launched Leak NYC, a genderless lingerie brand. 

Dorantes’ clothes are a celebration of freedom and self-expression. Think: mesh bodysuits, neon colors, unexpected cut-outs, and sportswear-inspired corsets, a range of styles that have traditionally been marketed toward women but, under Leak NYC, are encouraged to be worn by all. “I grew up in the Midwest, and it was very conservative,” he says. “I always felt like I had my hands tied behind my back with how to dress, how to be male-presenting, so it was so liberating to run with it, finally being able to just let all that go and challenge the binary.”

While brands like TomboyX and Aisle have disrupted the industry by offering boxer-style underwear catered to women and non-binary people, the industry has been slower in offering genderless underwear in traditionally femme styles. Now, though, as conversations about genderless fashion are becoming commonplace, more mainstream brands are following in the footsteps of people like Dorantes and TomboyX and starting to offer gender-affirming underwear options. 

“From the early 2000s up to now, when [brands] talked about genderless fashion, they were marketing men’s clothes for women,” says Roman Sipe, creative director for popular lingerie brand Cosabella. “For the longest time, [the lingerie category] has been reserved for elegant women’s underwear, so to have that offering for everyone and have it be seen is great.”

In 2021, Cosabella debuted a gender- and size-inclusive collection, titled “For People,” which offers the brand’s signature lace and mesh lingerie in over 100 colors. Around the same time, Savage x Fenty and Fleur Du Mal have introduced silky boxers, luxurious robes, and lacy underwear targeted toward men and non-binary people. (In the swimwear department, Chromat has long pushed the boundaries of swimwear with the brand’s newest collection dedicated to trans, non-binary, and queer folks.)

According to TomboyX’s CEO, Leslie Garrard, mainstream fashion’s embrace of genderless underwear is propelled by a consumer-backed push to erase the gender norms, focusing on comfort and fit. “It starts with, ‘How do you want to flow in the world?” Garrard says. “Women’s bodies, non-binary bodies, come in all different shapes, sizes, curves, depending on the day. I would want to have the most comfortable underwear imaginable in a wide range of cuts.” That’s exactly what TomboyX has done over the past decade, providing styles that are meant to “discard the old idea of shopping by men’s or women’s and just democratize underwear,” from boardshorts and adaptable bras to comfy period underwear and boxer briefs. The success of trailblazing brands like TomboyX has certainly provided a blueprint for the lingerie industry to market traditionally femme styles to all bodies. 

“We are flipping from just marketing women’s underwear for men to marketing everything for everybody,” says Sipe who, before joining Cosabella, was the designer and the founder of Menagerie Intimates, a lingerie brand focused on male-identifying bodies. Take, for example, the company’s lacy thongs and jockstraps that were launched under the brand’s “Never Say Never” category, which Guido Campello, the managing director of Cosabella, says is the first of more inclusive collections to come: “We’re already working on the second generation, which is really, what are the products that should cross over?” As Cosabella is venturing into marketing lingerie staples like bikinis and thongs for men, Campello says that the market is still catching up to what consumers have been demanding for a long time: “The idea that anyone could have elegance…  that’s really missing.” 

From his personal experience with creating Leak NYC, Dorantes sees the benefits of genderless underwear and customers easing into their bodies and self-confidence. “One thing that always really touches me is people who have never been comfortable with their bodies or have always wanted to try lingerie, being completely overwhelmed with the idea of it being so flattering,” says Dorantes. 

This should be the ultimate mission for brands, according to Garrard: “[When] people are able to go out, see products that are gender-affirming, that are body-affirming, that really makes them feel like their best selves.”

The jury is in. Brands, time to make your move.

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How To Shop This Year’s Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale Like A Pro

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. This reader-favorite retailer’s highly anticipated shopping spree is now officially open to the general public, meaning the shop clock is now ticking on its bevy of limited-time markdowns across premium brands in fashion, beauty, home, and beyond.

As with previous years, early access to the Anniversary sale depends on your Nordstrom Nordy Club status. (If you’re not a member, the official start date for the public is July 15.) Below, find the answers to all of your Nordstrom Anniversary Sale queries along with brands we’re already eyeing.

What is the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?

Lest you think this is just another online sale, think again: The Nordstrom Anniversary sale is among our favorite shopping events of the year because you can find everything from designer dresses to chic kitchen goods to luxury skin care all in one place. There are also plenty of exclusive deals and value sets you won’t be able to find anywhere else, making them a true find. Plus, unlike Prime Day or Sephora’s Beauty Insider Events, anyone can shop the Nordstrom Anniversary sale once it opens to the public — no membership required.

When is the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale officially runs from July 15 through July 31. However, early access for the sale kicks off as early as June 6. (More on that below.)

How do I shop the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale early?

Beginning June 29, you’ll be able to preview pages upon pages of on-sale items to plan your haul ahead of time. If you log into your Nordy Club account, 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.

Depending on your Nordy Club member tier status, you can shop the Nordstrom Anniversary sale weeks before the official kickoff date in mid-July. As of July 6, the sale is open for the highest Nordy Club tier Icons. Ambassadors get access July 7, and Influencers on July 9. (FYI, new cardmembers also get a $60 Bonus Note offer for opening an account.)

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.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission. 

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