Are We All Chloe Girls?

The brand's renaissance seems timely. A meditation on how to soften our style and ourselves around the edges.

Looks from the Fall 2024 Chloe collection. Here is the dress, jacket, lace cape and gown

After Chloe’s Fall 2024 show in March (the first from the brand’s new creative director Chemena Kamali) I wrote about how the collection was beacon of giddy excitement in an otherwise stressy season. Since then, the designer has doubled down on her vision: layers of chiffon ruffles, lace, flattering fit-and-flair trousers, capes and 70s style brass hardware. She is offering a very traditional (Western) idea of beauty during a time when fashion and the world leans more heavily on shock value. And it has been extremely well received. Could it be that we are all exhausted?

Now Kamali has shown three seasons and with each I feel more and more sucked into her world. Which is weird, since I’m not exactly a girly girl and tempering ruffles with pastels and big jewelry usually leans a little too sweet for my taste. But this idea of beautiful fabrics on beautiful girls feels like a mental break, and not necessarily a lazy one? A challenge, really. At the end of the day, is it ok to just want to feel…pretty!? The answer is a resounding yes. Of course, it is!

It felt apropos this week to dissect the buzziness of a brand that seems full of hope and positive energy: The tension between newness/possibility (the wardrobe choice of Kamala Harris!) and a very specific feeling of nostalgia and simplicity, which the world is apparently extremely hungry for, if election results are to be our guide.

In a weird way, I feel like this collection is representative of the basic humanity we all share. A desire to feel secure in our ideas, in need of something digestible, easy to understand and beautiful, and to feel a part of a community. While I’m not equipped or qualified to give a political lecture, I think those are ideas that feel especially important, right now.

My favorite dress (a 1976 sheath by Karl Lagerfeld) from the Jewish Museum’s retrospective on Chloe last year. It was so impactful. One of the best “fashion” exhibitions I’ve ever seen, and that includes the Met! Buy the book if you missed it!

A brief history: The house was founded by the designer Gaby Aghion, a sephardic Jewish immigrant, who moved to Paris in 1945 and when she started Chloe in 1952, bucked the heavily structured fashion trends of her era by presenting softer, relaxed silhouettes that women could move in. She is largely credited with helping to develop the idea of pret-a-porter, or designer clothing that is not made-to-measure and is largely the way luxury clothing is sold today. She gave numerous young designers their big breaks: Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo among them.

Aghion is quoted as saying “I have no talent. I recognize the talent in others.”

It’s such a female thing to say, no?! Lagerfeld had said that she was the glue holding a collective force of designers, stylists and business operators together. The pin that made the magic happen. With this in mind, it’s especially heartwarming to see a woman at the helm of now a heritage French brand, sadly a rarity. And it’s recent success a clear testament to the idea that women know what women want and how to deliver it.

The clothes are very specific though, and not for everyone. Heck, a lot of them aren’t even for me! So why do I find myself in a gravitational force field being pulled toward her designs right now? Today, I’m breaking down the elements of her design ethos that seem to hit and incorporating them in my own style. Luckily, a lot these ideas are omni-present: lace, chiffon, uniform tailoring, denim. It’s really about the proportions and the mix.

The secondary challenge for us this week is that these ideas are easy for summer! Throw on a little lacy slip dress and clogs? No problem! In the winter, making these elements shine is a little trickier. So to lighten things up a bit now: Four (there were five, but I decided accessories were better sprinkled in, sue me! :)) revolutionarily simple concepts that Kamali is using to turn us all into Chloe girls…that will work as we crawl into fall and winter.

Vogue Paris 1977

Fitted tailoring

Get your structured riding jacket out, or your little naval blazer with gold buttons. And pair it back to loosey goosey silk shirts and baggy pants. It takes the stiffness out of your jackets. Or if you think about it the other way around, sharpen up all of your soft flowy clothes that might feel a little too pajama-y without the top layer taming it all down.

I dug out my old Gigi tweed jacket and a shrunken Thom Browne blazer from the bottom layer of my blazer hangers (the one downside of NYC living, having to double up on my hangers!) and paired them back to my biggest silky separates. An old silk Celine shirt in a size 8 and the Rodebjer pants from this newsletter.

Gigi blazer (here and here are great alternates), a big silk shirt, Rodebjer pants, Hunting Season basket (in black to make it more seasonally appropriate) and big old Celine sunnies (how about these!?)

Same, same but with a lace camisole (tucked in slip in this case) instead of a blouse and jeans. An old Thom Browne blazer that I haven’t actually worn in a v. long time TBH bc it was feeling a little too preppy. Happily revived by…Chloe’s revival. Also love this jacket from Chloe proper. And this one. Rudah jeans and old MNZ pumps (but try these).

Sprinkling in some Chloe inspired shopping, without simply knocking it off with fast fashion. Some personality pieces that share the vibe. Clockwise from left: Nili Lotan pants, Bode blouse, Lie Studio necklace, The Great jeans, TWP blouse, Chloe shoes, J.Crew cardigan jacket, Bulgari bag

A little knit

I was going to do a whole newsletter about this, but I think it makes perfect sense in this mix: if you are going to embrace a bigger pant (or skirt) shrink your sweater. It is a flirty combination, ensuring you don’t get lost in fabric as you layer up. And of course, the creamy color makes everything a little softer.

A Heimat sweater with the same Rodebjer pants and a gold pendant necklace. Mine was an old “R” charm from my aunt, but something like this is perfect.

Bash cropped sweater with bell sleeves. Probably my favorite find in researching for today. It feels so good with everything I put on lately. Voluminous in the sleeve and body but not actually oversized! No sharp corners - which could have been another title for today’s letter. With J.Crew bermudas (in a size 6 remember!) and silver MJs.

The heimat sweater with a mini skirt and tall boots. A big trench makes it extremely Chloe!

Denim and soft fringe

Classic blue washes paired back to ruffles and fringe. Everything soft, and a little bit 70s. I wore this to my kid’s school fundraiser on Friday night and it was the perfect solution to feeling dressy and festive, but still totally functional to chase kids (I did wear flats. :))

Sea NY fringe jacket, Naked Cashmere long sleeve tee (here is an alt since it appears sold out), Levis, Dehanche belt, the Row shoes (but this is a great current season alt!) and an old Bulgari Serpenti bag. We will discuss accessories throughout, but a chain bag feels right with all of this!

Looks from the Resort 2025 Chloe collection

Dramatic lace

Ok, so I did order one Chloe piece to live and breath the brand in the month leading up to this letter. And I wanted to go big, so I landed on this fully lace jumpsuit in white. On it’s own it might be for a more confident person than me…though I feel fantastic in it. It proved to be the perfect fodder for integrating Chloe into my wardrobe, instead of losing myself in a trend.

The big challenge Kamali and the Chloe team will have with this style is that it is so easily digestable that it will get knocked off ad nauseam. How will she and we continue to make these pieces feel fresh? Part of it will be in the confidence in her own personal style as eternal. And partially, our slowing down to appreciate the softer touch. I have full faith in her.

Chloe lace jumpsuit with the Bash sweater layered on top. Should I wear this to drinks this week LMC and MM?

For those who think white lace is a little too…bridal…I hear you. Black lace is trending this winter. You can find it EVERYWHERE. I am into this little Doen dress because it has the cape collar reminiscent of Chloe and is a mini, keeping it from going too Addams Family. Paired back to tall leather boots to keep it feeling not too sweet. I also think it would be great with jeans if you removed the slip and wore a black seamless bra.

The most natural way for me to wear it, with shirt over it as jacket. I chose my most *pastel* button down to keep the mix from being to jarring, which we discuss below. Here is another “washed out red” shirt aka pink but not really pink, you know what I mean? Jamie Haller ballerinas

Chalky pastels

Chalky pastels are not a category I can say I am swimming in. They are often a bit too sweet for me, a trend in this letter! So I appreciate how Chloe has tempered the hues with leather, tailoring and shades of brown/khaki. I’m heeding the advice and doing the same to the one pastel “blouse” hanging in my closet - this by Malene Birger top I’ve been trying to figure out how to style since August. Turns out, I just needed some inspo!

A by Malene Birger top with my cinched leather jacket, wooly khaki pants and metallic Mary Janes.

And given the unseasonable weather, I also have been enjoying this top as a layer over my lace jumpsuit, the two statement pieces balancing each other out. When it gets colder I’ll swap the top above with my Rodebjer or Attersee tunics from this newsletter. Brown accessories keep everything soft. Tan suede Metier bag and Brown pointy Emme Parsons ballerinas

Pastels+Khaki+Gold = The Girlie-verse. Clockwise from left: Massimo Dutti boxy trench (ok so there is ONE fast fashion piece in the mix, but this one is really good!) Paula belt, Vince skirt, Dorsey bracelet, Lafayette148 shirt, Christine lingerie slipdress, Sunspel sweater, Burberry boots, Tory Burch bag

Today felt like more of a challenge for me than most weeks. An exercise in stretching my style as the style changes. Can I become a little softer around the edges? Is that something I want to do? By the end of the week, I found myself browsing online for subtler shades, and flouncier fabrics than usual. A client needing a dress for a black tie party had me suggesting these from Bode! And I’m shying away from the more linear pieces I gravitate toward for everyday. Yesterday for a nature walk I chose my fuzzy white Lisa Yang sweater, super pale wash jeans and my brown Bally suede boots. I’d usually go for a grey sweater, wooly pants and sneakers. Not to say I won’t be back in sneakers today, but I’m definitely feeling like these clothes exude a warmth and tenderness that I want to feel and exude right now.

Yours TRULY,

Becky