Why the slip dress is the key to expert layering this season
The current hot/cold weather situation is as confusing as our outfits: we dig out a chunky knit at 7am only to be on the tube dripping buckets by nine, then shivering in an over-air conditioned office come lunchtime. It’s had us rethinking our layering process, and an unlikely source of inspiration has been unearthed.
Back in the Nineties, you couldn’t move for almost-lifesize front page shots of a giggling Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Co pounding the Soho pavements gone midnight in metallic slip dresses. The slinky fabric, figure-skimming fit and mid-thigh length made for a niche frock only a 20-something and/or supermodel could pull off, particularly when paired with a strappy heel and an inch of black eye kohl.
At the same time across the pond, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, a publicist for Calvin Klein (and wife of John F Kennedy Jr), was the pinnacle of Nineties style. Her minimal aesthetic embodied the brand, and she was known to pair a black satin slip with a bouclé jacket and patent courts for fundraising events. However, she and the supermodel gang in London were all late to the party.
By day: Check dress, ￡29.99, Zara; Wolford ribbed turtleneck bodysuit, ￡225, Net-a-porter; Veja low-top trainers, ￡110, Matches; Glossy brown bag, ￡325, Chylak
Slip dresses were once the preserve of flappers who wore them as petticoats under their infamous fringed dresses in the Twenties. Fast forward thirty years and they were reimagined in silky fabrics and bias cuts giving them a sexy allure. Now, as saucy nightgowns, they wouldn’t dare be shown the light of day, and were only worn by those with deeper pockets.
Nowadays it’s allowed back out of the house. The trend for underwear as outerwear has seen slip dresses get the seal of approval as daywear, and it’s more than likely a slip is the missing piece to your autumn dressing puzzle.
By night: Les Reveries velvet slip dress, ￡530, Net-a-porter; Jewelled earrings, ￡59, Uterque; Beaded handbag, ￡39.99, Mango; Velvet mules, ￡215, Aeyde
By day, layering is key. A bodysuit (bare with me) underneath will ensure you have clean lines and aren’t left with a bunched-up T-shirt or polo neck around your waist. Pair with white trainers or chunky boots and a smart double-breasted coat. A little velvet slip in a jewel hue is ideal for evening. Invest in a great strapless bra (wonderbra.co.uk do great ones for ￡40) and pair with heeled mules and a smokey eye ? la Moss.
Tracking the trend
In the bedroom
Who else would champion sexy lingerie? Glamorous 50s icon Marilyn Monroe poses in a lace slip dress in a scene from the film Niagara back when the slip was still relegated to nightwear.
On the red carpet
Post-Nineties, the queen of the slip dress on the red carpet was Paris Hilton. Often in a garish print or bright hue and always with a low neckline. She wore this scarlet iteration to the 2004 MTV Music Awards.
On the catwalk
Luxury brand Max Mara is renowned for its outerwear, but the pepto-bismol pink slip gown underneath and coordinating pout were the talking points from this look. It’s crying out to be clashed with a red carpet over awards season.
