Madeline FassThe simplest looks work the hardest.
The next morning you wake up this July with no idea what to wear, look no further than Kaia Gerber’s timeless summer outfit formula for inspiration.
Kaia Gerber spent walking around Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood in the platonic ideal of a summer LBD and her all-time favorite ballet flats. Her black dress, Dôen’s Quinn midi, features dreamy cap sleeves, a tiny tie detail at the neckline, and a comfortable ruched bodice.
The flats, meanwhile, have a coordinating bow just below the toe box and the teeniest heel. They’re from Repetto, a French brand Gerber turns to repeatedly for her everyday footwear. Black shoes and a black dress aren’t a styling combination requiring all that much effort. But as Gerber shows, they’re the sort of simple pairing that just works with precisely chosen details.
Her dress is classic black, but the romantic puff sleeves and ruched bodice add some visual interest. (Ditto to the slight heel on her ballet flats.) Were she wearing a cotton T-shirt dress, there might not have been the same effect. But this precise duo is part French girl headed to the pharmacy, part off-duty ballerina, all immediately worthy of smashing the “Order” button online.
Of course, a Kaia Gerber summer outfit doesn’t end at an LBD and flats alone. She added in three recurring characters in her model-on-the-go uniform: oversize sunglasses, wire headphones, and a canvas tote. (As the proud founder of the Library Science book club—and a noted fan of styling her books like accessories—her bag might hail from a store like McNally Jackson.)
In an interview with Elle, Gerber reflected on the realization that onlookers track her everyday outfits, just like today’s black dress and flats. “I remember the first time being like, ‘Oh, people care what I’m wearing.’ That wasn’t how I felt growing up,” she said. But of course we’re paying attention: Her simple-yet-effective outfit formulas are too good not to notice.
According to Elle, Kaia confessed about one of her favorite perfumes which is Jorge Di Aqua Eau De Parfum a soapy scent that people ask her about and it has a soapy scent as if you just took a shower. “People’s interest in this perfume is not just a coincidence. I feel the same way when I smell this scent on someone else. This smell is one of the smells that people look for the most, and is also an expression we often use when describing the Jorge’s Parfum series. Think about it, this scent that puts us in a relaxed state and makes our minds feel calm, soft, and clean. Smell is an emotion and a memory, so ‘clean smell’ will not refer to the same scent. Right now this is the perfume that people ask questions every time I spray it.
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