Recently Greg and I spent a couple of weeks in and around the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The heat and humidity were relentless, but we enjoyed every minute. The high style quotient we saw among men and women on the streets was just one part of this.
In order, the most popular looks on the street were:
- Dresses, dresses, and more DRESSES
- Shorts, and especially high-waisted silhouettes with tucked tops and cropped tops
- Wide cropped pants paired with tanks or linen tops
- Jumpsuits and rompers in soft fabrics
It was a delightful dress fashion show every day. Most women across all age groups and body types wore casual or smart casual dresses throughout the day. Every type of breezy and flirty silhouette was on show. Maxi, midi, mini, one-shoulder, sack, shirt, shift, slip, wrap, kaftan, strapless, sun, fit & flare, off-the-shoulder, ruffled, A-line, empire, and babydoll. Sheaths were not the order of the day, and I only saw two the entire trip. Colours, patterns and fabrics ran the gamut. I felt right at home and completely appropriate in my dresses and skirt.
Women combined their dresses with flat footwear 99% of the time, with heels up to about an inch in height unless they were flat-forms. Mules, slides, sandals, gladiators, Birkenstocks, thong sandals, flatforms, flip-flops, espadrilles, ballet flats, caged sandals, loafers and sneakers reigned supreme. I saw a few pairs of wedges, one pair of stiletto pumps, and one pair of strappy heeled sandals. At night, when some of the dresses were dressier, footwear was still very flat. The footwear choice made sense both from a practical and trendy point of view. It’s hard to walk up and down steep stairs and through cobbled streets in very hot weather in heels. Not to mention that flats and low heels are trendier than they used to be.
When the youngsters weren’t wearing dresses, they wore high-waisted shorts with skimpy tucked tops and cropped tops, or breezy rompers. Wide cropped pants in linens/cottons combined with fitted tank tops and voluminous sleeved tunics was another popular look. It was fun to see the occasional soft and strappy jumpsuit in a happy bright floral walk by. These looks were finished with the same types of flat footwear you saw with dresses.
Beach fashion was the bikini for every size, age and body type. There seemed to be few inhibitions related to having the so-called perfect beach body. I LOVED the level of ease and confidence that was prevalent amongst locals and tourists. Bikinis were covered with all sorts of pretty kaftans, shorts, sarongs, and dresses to and from the beach. Fun, cheerful and screaming Summer.
Women were generally coifed and polished wearing natural-looking make-up and flaunting moisturized skin. I didn’t see as much colourful nail polish as I thought I would. Hair was beachy and sun-kissed. There were lots of waves and curls because of the high humidity, my own hair included. And most people sported sunnies and some type of straw hat or cap.
