Fashion’s attention span is, shall we say, small, and so before the tide turns from summer’s cord necklaces and jelly ballerinas to autumn ’s back-to-school essentials, we must bask on the shores of frivolous holiday style a little longer. A key proponent of the carefree vacation wardrobe is Alexa Chung , who has been sunning herself on a yacht circumnavigating the Aegean coast (read: shoring up around Hydra, where half of the industry is right now). While Alexa allowed herself to pack a few fanciful pieces – a sweet crochet two-piece here, a printed headscarf there – the bulk of her Rimowa comprised classic Chung wardrobe signifiers she wears all-year round (yes, she proves, you really do need an oatmeal cable-knit, crew-neck jumper at sea.
) While Palace dad caps became instant bedfellows with tomato-red bikinis and silk bananas souped up her cosy knits, Chung never looks like a summer trend cliché, because she scatters the key seasonal pieces she cherry picks into her looks sparingly. You won’t see her wearing a rara skirt with The Row’s now-cult £630 flip-flops and a sports jersey because that’s not her style. As far as we can tell, Alexa’s new cord pendant – a tiny silver vessel she fills with yellow flowers – didn’t even make it to Greece.
What is certain is that we’ll see Chung wearing those biscuit-coloured basics on homeshores, when her freckles have faded but her knack for teaming classics with It-buys remains the same. “Sit out a trend if it doesn’t suit you,” she told us last year when waxing lyrical about turning 40. The other Alexa Chung life lesson to take both on your next trip and into autumn with you? “In the same way you can strong-arm pasta into tasting delicious by slathering it in cheese, never overlook the power of a well-applied accessory.
” Amen..
