Any keen style savant will know Net-a-Porter as the destination to realize all her fashion dreams. A wonderland of everything fashion has to offer, one “quick” look at the luxury e-tailer turns into hours-long adding to cart, infinite scrolling and a longing for pieces you didn’t even know existed. So when the fashion powerhouse proffers the must-have items for Spring Summer 2020, you listen, willingly.
In one of the most wearable runway seasons in modern history, Spring Summer 2020 evoked the ever-changing fashion landscape and an increasing need to translate runway fashion to real life. How people shop, how people find fashion and how people digest fashion is entirely different from how things were even just three years ago. With this in mind, Net-a-Porter has curated a list of season-friendly, timeless, and of course trendy pieces to add to your wardrobe.
Fashionistas, take note. This is the only list you need.
1. The Short Suit
What do you wear when you want the eternal chicness of a suit but it’s stifling outside? A short suit, of course. The stylish answer to the work wear conundrum, a blazer over long-line short is this year’s fashion non-negotiable. Get ready, there are 60 iterations of the short suit coming your way at Net-a-Porter, so you most definitely won’t be short for options. Workin’ 9 to 5 has never looked so good.
FRANKIE SHOP Julie double-breasted gabardine blazer, $411.42 and Julie pleated gabardine shorts, $205.71. shop now
2. The Waistcoat
First making its debut in Spring Summer 2020 with Saint Laurent, Burberry and Nili Lotan all championing variations, the waistcoat has also played a pivotal role at New York Fashion Week, with purveyors of chic The Row proposing it as the piece du jour (particularly delicious as part of their three-piece suit). Consider it the new fashion update to the suit, or layer over a shirt for a novel take on shirting.
DE LA VALI Screamin woven vest, $450.43. shop now
3. The Bermuda Short
Is it a short? Is it a pant? Is it – gasp – a pedal pusher?! Of course not. It’s the Bermuda short – fashion’s answer to cool comfort dressing (and the shorts conundrum). We don’t like to brag, but we called it a Bermuda year early last year, after Bottega Veneta sent luxurious leather versions of the basketball short down the runway sending everyone into a spin. Now Net-a-Porter has confirmed what we all wanted to hear: the midi-length short is continuing its fashion reign, with a total of 180 styles coming in. Meaning? Bermuda, Bahama, come to pretty mama…
FRANKIE SHOP Pernille pleated faux leather shorts, $205.71. shop now
4. The Polo Top
Rachel from Friends wore one, as too Cher Horowitz, and with the 90s steering the current state of fashion, a polo top is the power piece of 2020. The new alternative to the button-down shirt or blouse, a polo shirt is both neat and nice and offers a dash of nostalgia to any outfit.
MIU MIU Appliquéd stretch-knit polo shirt, was $1,150.00 now $460.00. shop now
5. The Next Gen Trench
It’s difficult to reinvent something that has been done so many times before. The trench coat, for example, has existed in every woman’s wardrobe at some time, in some form. But herein lies the challenge youthful, exuberant creatives relish. Just when we thought we came to the end of the line with new interpretations of the trench coat, Spring Summer 2020 saw so many fresh iterations. Rejina Pyo, Junya Watanabe and Jonathan Anderson are giving us a very good reason to reinvest.
REJINA PYO Gladys paneled cotton-blend canvas and drill trench coat, $1,209.17. shop now
6. The Canadian Tuxedo
Remember Britney and Justin at the 2001 American Music Awards in their matching Canadian tuxedos? Now forget it. This is fashion update (without a cowboy hat in sight). Brandon Maxwell, Bottega Veneta and Goldsign are just some of the major advocates for double denim, and while it may seem daunting at first, a Canadian tux is actually the off-duty solution to two-step dressing. Double up or go home.
E.L.V. DENIM The Twin Cropped Vintage Match distressed denim jacket, $626.16 and The Boyfriend frayed high-rise wide-leg jeans, $544.88. shop now
7. The Mini Dress
When Net-a-Porter backs something, it means it’s big. The mini is their biggest dress investment for the season, with over 300 styles coming, which interestingly sees a return to the LBD via the likes of Versace, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga. We’re currently coveting new designer Ioannes plume-trimmed halter-neck version of the little black dress, ’90s minimalism with flecks of fun.
IOANNES ASYMMETRIC FEATHERED-TRIMMED STRETCH-SILK SATIN MINI DRESS, $1,058.65. SHOP NOW
8. The Wear-With-Everything Turtleneck
Along with a t-shirt and tank top, there is ostensibly no such versatile item as the turtleneck. Either layered under a shirt, dress or blazer, or as a standalone piece, it aids the transition from season to season with ease, adding a good dash of panache along the way.
TORY BURCH Ribbed-knit turtleneck sweater, $379.31. shop now
9. The Tank Top
Once a humble piece with an undergarment slant, the tank top is the new fashion update to the t-shirt. Put the band tees to bed and embrace ribbed, button-down or racerback varieties, with over 60 options including Isabel Marant, Tôteme, The Range and this cucumber-cool version from Goldsign (which is also sustainable), Net-a-Porter has you covered (quite literally).
GOLDSIGN+ NET SUSTAIN ribbed-knit tank, $253.88. shop now
10. The Men’s Shirt
It’s back to business this season, as the shirt returns to its classic shape after seasons of artful deconstruction. With mannish sensibilities, don’t borrow from the boys – try men’s-inspired shirting from The Row, Emma Willis and King and Tuckfield in traditional business blues.
EMMA WILLIS+ NET SUSTAIN houndstooth brushed-cotton shirt, $675.33. shop now
11. the naked-knit dress
This season, knitwear breaks free of its seasonal confines, manifesting in summery dresses made for good times. With extra-fine textures and lovely hues (like this lemon curd from Jacquemus), there’s nothing quite as sexy as slipping into a naked-knit dress.
JACQUEMUS Valensole off-the-shoulder pleated stretch-knit maxi dress, $829.86. shop now
12. the boxy blazer
The mannish, oversized blazer continues to stoke our fashion fire, with designers offering more iterations of capacious suiting. This season, try two trends in one – the boxy blazer and bolero – a new perspective on the oversized jacket. This pinstripe wool-blend blazer is both boxy and brilliant – and a cut above the rest.
ORSEUND IRIS Box cropped pinstriped wool-blend blazer, $1,569.76. shop now
13. the pencil skirt
The pencil skirt has two personalities; either submissive or subversive, depending on cut, texture and fabric. Take note of the underwear as outerwear trend, however, and try a seductive version with a latex-like finish by Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Commando.
COMMANDO Stretch faux patent-leather skirt, $165.57. shop now
14. the leather jacket
A wardrobe classic that is evergreen, the leather jacket gets a modern update with inflated size, novel shape and interesting details. Khaite’s version feels decidedly fresh; cropped, exaggerated and butter-soft, unlike its often rigid predecessors.
KHAITE Krista oversized belted leather jacket, $5,392.31. shop now
15. the shirt dress
With its innate versatility and roomy fit-out (hello, long lunch), the shirt dress has been a staple in women’s wardrobes for eons. Consider then the 2020 update – bright, buoyant and full of personality, like this retina-searing, Swarovski-strewn version by new New-a-Porter designer Christopher John Rogers.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN ROGERS Oversized crystal-embellished silk-charmeuse shirt dress, $4,341.68. shop now
16. the brink-of body con dress
Hervé Leger basically conceived a category all on his own, catapulting body con into the fashion stratosphere. But forgo the can’t-breathe fit of your noughties experience and opt for 2020’s roomier version – just enough space to have dessert, too.
BOTTEGA VENETA Knotted satin dress, $2,830. shop now
17. the pirate shirt
When Jerry Seinfeld walked out in a puffy white “pirate” shirt in Season 5 of Seinfeld, little did we know we’d be championing the style today. A tricked-up take on classic white shirting, look for a little puff through the sleeve, intricate lace or ruffle detailing. A lot more fashion than Captain Jack Sparrow.
SIMONE ROCHA Broderie anglaise cotton-poplin shirt, $861.97. shop now
18. the pleated pant
Phoebe Philo inspired a generation of pleated skirts during her Céline days, but 2020 sees plissé take on a striking new form: pants. The pleated pant is the modern update of the skirt, with Petar Petrov, Peter Do and Gucci offering perfectly pressed pleated trousers, both flattering and fine.
GUCCI Pleated wool tapered pants, $1,950. shop now
19. the power suit
What does a power suit stand for? Confidence, strength and sensuality. A bolder take on traditional tailoring, the power suit is fashion’s equivalent of a slick of red lipstick, empowering and strong. And what better way to go forth with guts and glory (and glamour) than with Peter Do’s red-hot tapered suit?
PETER DO Woven blazer, $3,127.10 and Woven tapered pants, $1,542.22. shop now
20. the not-just-for-one-day-dress
Impending nuptials or not, a special white dress is this summer’s must-have, from prairie to Grecian styles gracing the runways. The Row’s heavenly gown cut from swaths of floaty crinkled-chiffon will take you from “I Do” to everyday (well, sort of).
THE ROW Hania belted ruffled crinkled-chiffon gown, $5,581.53. shop now
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