Sheer Dressing
You can't get away from it, but how to do it in the daytime?
From the AW24 runway of Valentino, Saint Laurent, Gucci, and Dolce, to name a few, lingerie dressing, boudoir dressing, sheer dressing, however you want to describe it, sheer is sexy, powerful, and fun. The trend continues to pop up, that rebellious side-kick friend. Below are a few sheer dressing moments, which, in my opinion, are iconic. As the trend continues to be reborn year after year, I wonder if sheer dressing has a deeper meaning. Are we all trying to kick back against puritanical restrictions? Is it connected to men in power consistently pushing to control women’s bodies?
I’ve always had a relationship with dressing sheer. In 2009, as an intern in NYC, I bought a black sheer American Apparel body suit and would pair it with a see-through bra. I knew it was sheer and with a camera flash on, completely. It was a joke among friends, but in hindsight, why did I do it? As someone who is not particularly rebellious in my life (broadly speaking), maybe it was a small way in which I could push the envelope, seek attention, or just for fun because I could and had no one to answer to - I was discovering the playground of New York at 21 years old.
From left to right Kate Moss, Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Zoe Kravitz, Emily Ratajkowski, Jane Birkin.
One thing I’m particularly interested in right now is the newer trend of sheer dressing in the daytime. I’m so obsessed with the iconic Jane Birkin look, and I like that Emrata paired her sheer look with sneakers. I’ve been bopping around my neighborhood in my Sandy Liang sheer dress in daylight. Why not? I’ve had at least five compliments from other women on the street. When wearing sheer, it’s really important to consider the other elements of your outfit. Are you going full sheer head to toe? I fully support that look, but I prefer to opt for a slightly more pulled-back, either-or top/bottom moment.
This brings us to chat about Look 1 with Dakota Johnson below, who was also into daytime sheer at last week's Gucci show, picking this Gucci resort look! Let’s break down the look: why does Dakota’s look work for daytime? She wears an embroidered sheer dress with a heavy croc-embossed leather jacket. The size and shape of the jacket work here, almost presenting like a shell over her body. I took inspiration from her look to create my own. I’m wearing an old Sandy Liang dress and a vintage suede fringe jacket. I chose to go sheer on my top half here. My underpinnings are these bloomers from Amazon (!) and a triangle lace bra that is actually moonlighting from my prop kit :). Doing a bloomer is a fun way to do a partial sheer look; it’s not a high-waisted knicker, and you still see some skin on the leg, but it doesn’t scream ‘sexy.’
Dakota has a heel on because she’s attending an event; she can get away with it, but as I’m stomping the streets of NYC, I opted for my Toteme flat boots because I wanted to ground the look with a sturdy boot flat. This is also a great transitional wardrobe look. Pairing a heavy boot with something lightweight is a good way to create a fall transitional look. Why? The lightweight garment, which reads warmer months, meets the boot in the middle here to create something transitional.
In Look 2, from the runway photo below, I took inspiration from the Dolce and Gabbana AW24 show, adding a tailored piece with something sheer. I don’t have a cropped tailored jacket, but I think the satin in my jacket works with the texture of the Sandy Liang dress. It’s soft and smooth, with sheer and embellished. I decided to belt it to give some shape to my silhouette and also wanted to nod to the studded trend I covered on my social media last week. I’m keeping the same boots throughout because I obviously repeatedly wear things in my own wardrobe; I think the boots go with all three looks well, and it shows how versatile they are in their own right.
Here in Look 3, I’ve switched it up a little more. I took inspiration from Phoebe Dynevor’s look and the Saint Laurent and Gucci shows. I wanted to recreate the sheer skirt element of their looks but put my twist on it for daytime. The skirt is an oldie from two summers ago from Mango. I’ve added a large brief here, which is similar to all these looks. But I wanted to add a 20 denier Wolford tight, as without it, it’s a little too sheer for me in the daytime. I paired it with one of my favorite Doen knits and my vintage leather laser-cut long blazer. The cozy knit really makes this look feel more ‘day’ to me and adding the tights too.
Here are a few of my shopping finds for sheer, which I thought were great options:
1. Theory 2. JPG The Real Real 3. Simone Rocha 4. Christopher Esber 5. Kiki de Montparnasse 6. Batsheva
I hope you enjoyed the newsletter! In addition to my bi-monthly newsletter, I have new fashion advice and forecasting every other week on my social handles if you want to take a look:
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Thanks so much for reading.
Love,
Rebecca xxx
P.S!
I wanted to highlight this week’s spot! - Kendall Jenner (with cute new blonde hair) in some chic black capris rehearsing for the L’Oreal show in Paris—Sixth Sense always has fingers on the pulse! They are still online at Massimo Dutti!
