Coastal Cool: 10 Preppy Late Summer Buys That Are Anything But Twee
By Sarah Macken
Shop the best seaside buys from With Nothing Underneath, Arket, Reformation, Dôen and more …
Once relegated as twee, the coastal look, personified by dwellers of elite towns such as Nantucket, has become mainstream. Ralph Lauren baseball caps are commonplace, Breton tops and white trousers are a uniform of sorts and boat shoes are not just for dads at the yacht club.
In pop culture, TV show The Five-Star Weekend (based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand) has us coveting Chloë Sevigny’s cool-mom take on coastal dressing, while the style set fetishises life in exclusive enclaves like The Hamptons or Maine for those who wish their existence resembled a Nancy Meyers movie.
What does the look entail now? With Nothing Underneath’s seersucker shirts, when teamed with a red cord necklace, spell East Coast cool with a European twist. (On the topic of Europe, its coastal counterparts are just as cool. Think: the wide beaches of Northern Denmark, where dressers lean into blue cotton-poplin separates. Or the sandy dunes of Île de Ré, where Parisians vacation and the ‘tat’ holiday shops sell boatneck Breton tops and canvas espadrilles). Oftentimes, it’s all in the styling. Reformation’s Sandy cotton Bermuda shorts, below, are offset by a pair of leather mules for an unexpected twist.
Meanwhile, an easy entry-point into the look is an ecru reinforced handle canvas tote, with accents of racing green or blue, which nods to the Boat and Tote style by LL Bean, carried by Carolyn Bessette when she frequented Hyannis Port. Our current inspiration is US brand Loeffler Randall’s pop up in Nantucket, pictured above, where attendees teamed jelly shoes with bold stripes and upgraded classic clogs with exaggerated collars. As for the details, there was bespoke saltwater taffy, striped and ruffled tablecloths and boat shoes injected with humour via colour-pop laces: covetable.
Shop Our Coastal-Inspired Edit
Ivory Christy linen trousers, €305; www.withnothingunderneath.com.
Straw Inca bucket hat, €133.95; www.lackofcolor.com.
Black June gingham cotton top, €228; www.shopdoen.com.
White Sandy cotton shorts, €158; www.thereformation.com.
Indigo blue denim jacket with contrasting collar, M&S Collection, €68, at Marks & Spencer.
Pink and berry striped seersucker shirt, €155; www.withnothingunderneath.com.
Off-white and green large canvas tote bag, €49, at Arket.
Navy and red Breton striped boat-neck top, €180; www.teklafabrics.com.
Off-white cotton-canvas utility trousers, €89, at Arket.
Espresso leather boat shoes, $325; www.loefflerrandall.com.
Collage imagery (clockwise from top left): Instagram @withnothingunderneath; espresso leather boat shoes, $325; www.loefflerrandall.com; Instagram @baileys.lee; off-white and green large canvas tote bag, €49, at Arket.
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