It’s moments like these I would usually recount in my personal diary, but as almost everything does these days, it got me thinking about Substack. For years, the Vogue editorial I loved, or the book which had me crying at 2 a.m, or the albums I’ve been listening to in the shower just got stored away in my notes app or the creases of my teenage brain. Instead, I will now publish these musings (albeit highly edited) for others to enjoy. Not only will this column hopefully be entertaining for my readers but it will also act as an ever evolving time capsule for me.

Reflections from the month gone by and anticipations for what is ahead…

JUNE WARDROBE WINNERS

My personal most worn pieces of the month:

JUNE FAVOURITES

Off-Campus: during those ten days I spent on the American East Coast this month, Off-Campus became the backing track of any otherwise quiet moment. From ‘On the Floor’ becoming inescapable, to memes of Ella Bright in a massive helmet, to online discourse about getting better bras, everyone was obsessed. It smashed Prime Video records, making a mockery of its older, more controversial sister: The Summer I Turned Pretty. While yes, I was drawn to the show for obvious eye-candy related reasons, I stayed for the story. I genuinely enjoyed watching Hannah and Garrett fall in love. It was Mika Abdalla’s Allie who stole the show for me, though. Between the hair and the impeccable taste in lingerie and boys, I am more than excited for her and Stephen Kalyn’s Dean to lead season 2.

‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’: I haven’t loved an album this much on the first listen since last August when newcomer Audrey Hobert dropped ‘Who’s The Clown?’ Rodrigo once again proves she is worthy of her pop-princess status. Her lyricism takes you on an emotional journey, the production is so quintessentially her and the quiet knowledge that these love songs are about Louis Partridge make for a simultaneously delicious and gut-wrenching listening experience. My personal favourite is ‘stupid song’. She nails that fun and slightly unhinged feeling of limerence. I think the outfits she has been wearing on this album’s press run have contributed to my big love for her this June. In fact I had dream about the pink Sandy Liang dress she wore on SNL just a few nights ago…

Yoghurt: When Harry Styles got deep on Royal Court about the fact he can ‘eat remarkable amounts of yoghurt’, I felt that. For some reason, this month particularly, I have been consuming yoghurt sometimes thrice daily. I’ve googled it, and apparently that’s fine. In fact, studies show that other than being a great source of protein and calcium, regular yoghurt intake can protect against heart disease and lower one’s risk of type 2 diabetes by almost 20 percent. My personal favourite yoghurt is the Waitrose No. 1 range. The lemon curd one especially. If anything, the curd probably cancels out the health benefits with its sugar content. Every day I feel closer to the precipice of becoming a TikTok yoghurt bowl warrior.

Other favourites included: Bonnie Clyde blue light glasses, my Frankie’s Bikini’s capris, Biename La Vie En Fleurs eau de parfum, Summer Friday’s Pink Sugar, Jacques Deray’s La Piscine, Shakespeare (and not just when he’s hot and played by Paul Mescal), Perfume by Partick Süskind and Dua Lipa’s Bottega pre-wedding dress.

JUNE WISHLIST

JUNE GALLERY

Looking back through my camera roll, I’ve had quite a stacked month. Boat dinners at Pier 25, KATSEYE live at Gov Ball, strolls through the West Village… attending my cousin’s wedding, and then back home in the Cotswolds surviving the heatwave. Lots and lots of writing, working and movie watching. Here are a few of my favourite snaps:

JULY ANTICIPATIONS

July is a funny month. I always feel slightly lethargic and lazy in July. This will be the second summer I'm not in school. Last year, I had just come out the other side of A-Levels and was ready to crash in every sense of the word. I welcomed the lack of expectations and spent the season laying around reading, sleeping and catching up on all the hobbies I’d had to cast aside in the name of exams. This summer seems slightly more significant. In a way, it’s the curtains of my childhood - if I can even stretch the string this far. Come November, I’ll be twenty, so this is my final teenage summer. The last few months I’ll live at home before university. There are pressures weighing on me this July. Voices which plead for me to make the summer count. And as a result, I’m keen to ensure I act exactly as I do every year. Devote the season to small pleasures. Take time away from the real world. Disappear into my mind. Nurse my interests, stimulate my intellect, consume, create and curate to my heart’s content.

JULY MOOD BOARD

JULY BUCKET LIST

• visit a new country

• read one novel, one memoir, and one play

• have a post go viral on substack

• take a yoga class

• continue learning tarot

Let me know your favourite things from June gone by, or what you’re looking forward to in July…

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I was on a pinning spree recently, voraciously saving pics of Olivia Rodrigo to my fashion board when inspiration struck for a Substack series. There are so many celebrities whose street style I’m frequently impressed by, so much so that I begin researching specific brands or even going as far as purchasing the same items they’re papped in. Lila Moss once wore a Réalisation Par baby tee in collaboration with Claudia Schiffer and it’s been my go-to shirt for years at this point. So why not dig a little deeper and conduct a monthly deep dive on a specific celebrity and their street style? From the designer items they’re sporting to details as small as their phone cases…

When pondering who to begin this series with, I thought about the first person I ever wanted to Bling Ring. Lily-Rose Depp. A Chanel ambassador. The nepo-baby to end all nepo-babies. A French-American princess with acting credentials to match. She dated Timothee Chalamet when he was still up-and-coming. She single-handedly brought back the ballet flat. In 2023, a snarky instagram story famously ripped into her style: ‘trench coat buttoned to the top and those ballerina ass slippers’ and if anything, only made everyone love her more.

Here are 7 of my favourite Lily-Rose Depp fashion moments. How has she styled herself? What brands are her go-to? And is her trench coat always buttoned to the top?

1. Los Angeles, July 2024

I still remember the day these images were published. Sixties style inspo came back swinging in Summer 2024 with the rise of Sabrina Carpenter, Chemena Kamali newly appointed at Chloé and the babydoll dress becoming the uniform of the season. Here, Depp wears an oversized cotton blouse with broderie detailing as a dress. A theme you’ll see throughout this article is Lily-Rose’s ability to sport mini, mini, mini skirts while still presenting ever-classy. She has paired her billowing shirt dress with a pair of nude Repetto ballet flats, offering the illusion of bare feet. A nod to her Chanel-girl status is her bag, perhaps my favourite element of this look. A sky blue CHANEL 2022 Hobo Caviar bag - the shape potentially a subtle reference to sixties icon Jane Birkin and her baskets. And finally, coastal accessories like her beaded pearl anklet and cat-eye sunglasses to complete this timeless Summer look.

2. New York City, September 2022

September is one of my favourite fashion months, a perfect time to blend Summer style with autumnal accessories. Depp sports a silhouette which has become synonymous with 2020s fashion. A white pointelle full length cami from LESET and a low-waisted lilac mini skirt from IYKYK Parisian brand Maryam Nassir Zadeh. That contemporary nod to the nineties is effortlessly achieved here. But the devil’s in the details and it’s the accessories Depp has chosen that I particularly admire. Camel loafers from The Row and white ankle socks. CHANEL cat-eye sunglasses. Wired headphones, a McNally Jackson book tote and a bright yellow claw clip. Lily-Rose is unafraid of dressing outside of the box. Yellow with purple. Loafers in 2022’s sea of sneakers. No bra and no fucks given. It’s in outfits like these that her dual citizenship really shines through. Her clothing is Californian casual while her accessories are Parisian chic all over.

3. New York City, October 2023

You’ve heard of zebra drinking… I raise you zebra dressing! A sandwich of luxury, casual, luxury. Pictured alongside longterm partner 070 Shake, here Depp dons a sage green CHANEL evening jacket and scarf: vintage, from 2001 RTW. If there is one thing about Lily-Rose Depp, she’s going to make you want Chanel even more than you already did. She leans into her casual style with a pair of worn bootcut blue jeans, complete with patches on the knees. And then, a return to French luxury with tan Repetto Lilouh ballet flats. Like every other cool girl in 2023, she carries the Gimaguas Franca bag - the very bag which kickstarted the stud resurgence (now more high street than high fash). Hers is butter yellow, a stylish complement to the green jacket and blue jeans. She finishes it off with her signature, a pair of black sunglasses. Although this time, instead of Chanel they’re Courrèges.

4. Paris, June 2024

Blouses are my thing at the moment. Like they’re the only thing I want to wear. So, of course this look from June 2024 would be on my list. Unfortunately, where this blouse is from is an unanswered question. Probably found on the racks of a French vintage store. The silhouette is youthful yet chic, puffed sleeves, a scalloped collar and a hem which cuts off just below the belly button. Depp has styled it with yet another mini skirt from Maryam Nassir Zadeh, this time in white. Her shoes are Thom Browne penny loafers, her sunglasses are CHANEL and her bag is it-brand Paloma Wool’s no 1884/ 10 Year bag. Perhaps this outfit’s most fashionable accessory though is the Nuovo shopping bag Depp carries. An indication that she’s been browsing in one of the hottest vintage stores on the rue de Turenne. And to get even more stereotypically Parisian, she was even papped with a baguette later that day in the same outfit. Oh la la!

5. Paris, March 2019

I saw an Instagram reel recently referencing this look. The video features a girl in a Burberry mini skirt and the caption reads 'pov he’s trying to hit on the first date but I just needed an excuse to wear my very niche and specific lily rose depp outfit’. That garnered an immediate follow from me. These photos of Lily-Rose are teetering on the edge of legendary at this point. I’m pretty sure they are single-handedly responsible for the coquette girl trend of 2021 fame. She wears a Burberry® Novacheck pleated mini skirt with a UNIQLO cashmere jumper. Her sunglasses are GUCCI®, her coat is LORO PIANA® and her bag is the Hermès Plume bag in cream. According to online discourse, the boots she wears here are from Pointure Paris, a vintage designer shoe shop which Lily-Rose frequented during the time these photos were snapped. It’s a personal goal of mine to one day wear a blend of British, French and Italian designer all for a casual trip to the park. Bucket list stuff…

6. New York City, December 2024

Spring / Summer, you’ll find Lily-Rose in ballet flats, but during the cold months, you can bet a pretty penny that her casual style will include a lot of loafers (see what I did there?) During her press run for Robert Egger’s Nosferatu, Lily is papped wearing a (probably) vintage brushed leather coat with a pop of navy blue sherpa along the collar. Parisian influence is injected with a navy and white striped roll neck peeping out beneath to match. She also sports a pair of Levis Re/done ripped jeans and her Thom Browne penny loafers. Depp flaunts yet another designer handbag. This time, it’s the CHANEL Cambon shoulder bag in brown, which she notably also owns in black and white. Once again, I’m impressed by the way she can pair casual second-hand pieces with high end designer so fluently. It’s in these off-hand informal moments where her own styling talents really shine through.

7. New York City, September 2019

Finally, who can blame me for including this outfit? The je nais se quois of French fashion is effortlessly embodied by Depp here. While in 2026, this simple combination of a white cami, blue straight leg jeans and red ballet flats is something you could find a girl wearing on any street corner, you must remember that for 2019, this outfit wasn’t in line with typical fashion trends. While other girls were busy buying biker shorts, bucket hats and platform trainers, Depp wasn't swayed by the siren-song of micro trends. And her loyalty to personal style paid off, because now, seven years later, I’m still talking about this outfit. Her cami is from Brandy Melville, her jeans once again are Levis, and her flats (who would have thought?) are Repetto. She carries a Prada® Tessuto bag and her minimal jewellery includes a CHANEL Coco Crush ring. I don’t think there will ever come a day where any of these items go out of fashion. That’s what makes this entire outfit so, so good.

It’s Lily-Rose’s commitment to authenticity that makes her a modern day beacon of style. One might argue a lot of her accolades have been aided by her parents’ celebrity, but style is something which cannot be bought. She is a taste-maker in her own right. What is so delicious about her street style isn’t just her closet of Parisian vintage and new-season Chanel, its that balance of high and low. She pairs Brandy Melville with Prada. Levis with Loro Piana. Uniqlo with Burberry. Young girls can buy the same shirt as her and still have something to strive for. Dreams of shopping sprees in Paris at Chanel or Hermès… My personal take away from this style study is that I desperately need a pair of penny loafers and a few more mini skirts!

Like everyone and their mother, I read Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse on the beach. In one sitting. In a damp swimming costume with sandy hair. I think that’s what Sagan had in mind when writing it. I fell in love with the witty teenage heroine, Cécile, and her struggles with her own guilty conscience. Finding it hard to decipher whether or not you’re a good person is a prevailing conflict for young girls no matter the generation. Sagan wrote the novel at eighteen-years-old and while in many ways it feels more sophisticated than that, it’s also such an obvious fact. Nobody except a teenage girl could have written Bonjour Tristesse. It is a testament to those sacred final years of girlhood between seventeen and twenty-one when you’re no longer a child but not yet a woman. This liminal period of unbelonging. A time where nothing is too serious but it’s about to be. Ripples of too-strong emotions. Sexual discovery. Sliding doors.

And so, when a contemporary retelling debuted at Toronto International Film Festival two years ago starring Lily McInerny (who I knew from Tell Me Lies) and 90s fashion icon Chloë Sevigny I was more than excited. Let me tell you, if you’re a fan of Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name, watch Bonjour Tristesse. Seriously, this film is every pinterest user's wet dream. Each shot is intentional, aesthetically pleasing and quintessentially French. Where Call Me by Your Name is set in 1980s Italy and grapples with first love lost, Bonjour Tristesse takes place in the present day on the French Riviera and explores an eighteen-year-old girl’s conflicting feelings towards her father’s romantic affairs. These films seem like cousins. The content is different, but the feelings they evoked in me were the same. The energy is quiet and warm, with a sense of impending doom. Wet footprints on tiles which are bound to become a slip hazard. In both films, something as small as a heavy breath or sideways glance carries weight. Meaning that even the simplest costumes are essential to the story being told.

I immediately googled Bonjour Tristesse’s costume designer after Cécile dons a glorious champagne dress and cape set for a summer party (more on that later). Turns out, the genius behind it all is Miyako Bellizzi. I thought, I’ve heard that name before and sure enough, she was nominated for her first Oscar just last season for Marty Supreme. In fact, she’s styled all of Josh Safdie’s recent films including Good Time and Uncut Gems.

Used to working mostly with menswear, Bonjour Tristesse came with its own set of challenges. The film’s main cast is comprised of five characters, three of which are female - which meant for the first time in her film career, Bellizzi was styling more women than men. This led her to Cynthia Merhej, a Palestinian-Lebanese designer and the creative director of Renaissance Renaissance. In an interview with Wallpaper, Bellizzi reflects that the collaboration was ‘refreshing’ and states how it was ‘a very rare, very special meeting of the minds.’ And even from an outside perspective I can see it. Compared to her work in other films, Bonjour Tristesse has a different energy entirely. Instead of the sharp tailoring and harsh colours we see in Marty Supreme and Uncut Gems, Bonjour Tristesse has a succinct carefree edge. Loose silhouettes, earth tones and soft, light fabrics. It all just adds to the film's quiet trickle of events. The unassuming decisions which lead to huge consequences.

Cécile, our teenage protagonist (and Sagan’s self-insert if you will) is styled like how you would imagine any cool French girl. Jane Birkin, Camille Rowe, Lily-Rose Depp and now, Cécile. The very first shot sees her in a white and yellow one-piece bathing suit with a striped linen shirt thrown over her face while sunbathing. Swimwear continues to be the central aspect of Cecile’s wardrobe. Bellizzi offers: ‘she’s a teenage girl. She doesn’t care. Cécile would wear a swimsuit all day - go to the beach, take a nap in it, go to dinner wearing it still.’ Later, you see her bikinis paired with the ultimate French accessory - a pair of black leather Repetto ballet flats. I mean, talk about classic! Bellizzi has explained how in preparation for the film, she would go to French markets and source pieces inspired by local girls. It paid off. It struck me how real Cécile seems. Her outfits are believable. She rewears her clothes enough for us to trust she’s working with a capsule wardrobe for the summer - living out of a suitcase. Some of my personal favourite casual pieces include her black capris paired with bikini tops or t-shirts, a vintage blue Adidas zip-up which reads ‘Marine A Paris’ and a pair of loose chambray knee length shorts.

What really stole the show was this champagne party look I brought up earlier. The dress is a gift from her stepmother-to-be, Chloë Sevigny’s Anne, who is a fashion designer. The piece was originally designed by Merhej for Renaissance Renaissance and features a layered train of tulle and silk taffeta with a tie to shorten the dress and create an incredible bubble skirt. During her Wallpaper interview Bellizzi gushed ‘the dress is the most beautiful thing.’ I agree. I haven’t felt this way about a movie costume since Cinderella (2015). And better yet, it comes with a cape! A gorgeous one of the same pale silk that ties around Cécile’s neck in a bow. It’s interesting that this is what she wears at the film’s turning point. Her summer of fun has been prematurely cut short as she realises her father’s relationship with Anne is getting serious. This is our first sense of Cécile’s anger. It’s clever how the cape suggests not only that she’s feeling smothered by Anne mentally, but physically too; completely shrouded in an outfit Anne designed. We see hints of impending rebellion through Bellizzi’s styling. The dress is grounded by those same black Repettos and a cigarette. Très chic!

Cécile can also be spotted wearing a familiar item. A blue ringer tee with white cuffing. One suspiciously similar to what Chloë Sevigny’s Jennie wears in the 1995 classic, Kids. When asked about it, Bellizzi claims ‘that was a special correlation I only made later. Maybe it was subconscious.’

While Bellizzi was the brains behind Cécile’s wardrobe, Merhej was brought on to help tackle Anne. In the novel, Anne is incredibly classy, with a poise which sets her apart from the crowd and clothes to match. Sevigny was unsurprisingly very involved in Anne’s fashion choices. According to Merhej, she sat down and explained ‘You have one carry-on bag. If you have space for one button-down shirt, what shirt are you going to bring if you have one skirt? Like: this is what you’re bringing on vacation, so you make it work.’ Compared to Cécile and her father’s summer fling, Elsa, Anne’s costumes are more expensive, tailored and stick to a tighter colour palette of earth tones and the occasional pop of red. She’s designed to feel rigid and displaced against the airy coastal backdrop. My favourite costume of Anne’s is actually a swim look. A brown one-piece paired with a show-stopping chartreuse pleated cover-up in the same cape silhouette as Cécile’s famous party dress. Obviously one of her own designs. I appreciate the part said designs play in this film, whether Anne is wearing them herself, or dressing Cécile. The conflict of the story hinges on Cécile’s struggle with Anne attempting to infiltrate her life. Their coordinated clothing lets audiences perceive this conflict themselves without being told explicitly.

Most of the time however, Anne sticks out like a sore (stylish) thumb. Cécile and other characters like Elsa and Cybil seem more comfortable in their imperfect states - wet hair, sun-kissed shoulders and grazed knees. We see this through their willingness to bare skin and don tight fitting clothing. Anne’s wardrobe is more mature, seasoned and sophisticated, and yet, this doesn’t always translate positively . Through costume alone, Bellizzi and Merhej have fashioned a situation where sophistication does not equal respect. Instead, Anne is a stain on Cécile’s summer. A fun sponge. A reminder of the real world outside the villa walls, and her clothing reflects this.

Anne and Cécile are foils in this story. Anne represents reality. Strict rules, school, work, money. Cécile is the fantasyland teenage-hood. Where Anne’s hair is twisted in neat updos, Cécile’s is unbrushed, and dripping with salt water. When Anne wears red, Cécile wears white. Cécile is jewellery-less and Anne is artfully decorated with chunks of gold. It’s in these intricate details that we see things the script cannot tell us. A war is being waged.

It is clever how Bellizzi and Merhej dress Cécile and Anne respectively, further differentiating the two. It reminds me of the costume work in the original Bonjour Tristesse film from 1958. Like the remake, two designers were used to offer a contrast between Anne and Cécile. Anne was styled by none other than Hubert de Givenchy and Cécile by his wife, Hope Bryce. To return to the scene of the party, in both films, Cécile is dressed in Anne’s surrogate designer’s work. In 1958, she wears a classic black Givenchy gown synonymous with his film work of the period. In 2024, she wears Renaissance Renaissance. And in both instances, she seems like a different version of herself. A version she might have grown into had Anne’s influence prevailed.

Instead, their silent war ends in unforeseen debellatio when Spoiler alert! Anne dies in a car wreck because of events Cécile organised. We suddenly see Cécile retreat. Her strange mix of grief, shame and guilt mingle through how she presents herself back home in Paris, post-summer. Thrusted back into the mundane. Her hair is dyed bleach blonde and styled in a low bun with a hairnet, an obvious nod to Anne. Her wardrobe becomes muted: blacks, browns, burgundys and reds. While yes, this is possibly due to the change of season, it also feels like a funeral. The ballet flats are replaced by sensible loafers and socks and the casual hoodies with knitwear. These small, missable details are crucial in exploring her shame. As if finally taking Anne’s advice can somehow rectify the part she played in her untimely death. Audiences final rendezvous with Cécile is somber and laced with melancholy. Despite her best efforts not to change, her meddling has left her life forever altered. Anne’s influence has caught up with her in a way she never expected and the overwhelming feeling she now evokes in us is sadness, or I suppose in this case, tristesse.

Bellizzi, Merhej and director Durga Chew-Bose do a phenomenal job in painting a picture of a real, contemporary but slightly fantastical French Riviera, complete with complex characters and capsule wardrobes fit only for the most fashionable french fairies. The clothing is timeless. Modern with a vintage feel - a nod to the novel’s original 1950s setting, perhaps. Bellizzi describes it best. In a Vogue article from 2025 she expresses ‘it was really important to find things one of a kind, that you would never really see or you can’t buy - that’s a big part of what I like to do, find things you can’t just buy in a store, even if it’s contemporary.’ In that case I suppose I will have to say goodbye to any hope of getting my hands on a champagne bubble gown and cape of my own.

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I’ve noticed that in recent years, toe-centric footwear options have been all the rage. As always in fashion, once a trend has grown stagnant, the pendulum often swings the other way entirely. Early 20s fashion seemed hell-bent on hiding our feet: think socks with birkenstocks, close-toed platform heels and mini uggs. So now, as we head into the second half of the decade, the logical reaction is to reject these options and do a complete 180. Enter: Maison Margiela Tabis, flip flops and the age of the transparent ballet flat.

The inspiration for this article struck a few weeks ago when Chanel sent their now viral barefoot heel caps down the 26/27 cruise runway to mixed reception. I personally think they’re cool - not enough shoe for me to ever consider purchasing but if I had the money, best believe I would be wearing them on my mega yacht. These half shoes seem reminiscent of ancient Greece and while some have claimed they’re ‘completely off-base for Chanel’ the romantic image of Aphrodite sporting these elegant half soles seems to coincide nicely with Chanel’s new whimsy under Matthieu Blazy.

Speaking of divisive designer footwear, the Margiela Tabi has gone from quirky to cult classic almost overnight. While the split-toed icon has been a staple of the brand since its inaugural runway in 1988, Tabi ballet flats have recently taken the fashion world by storm and are a welcome break from the decades-long slog of sneaker-centric footwear trends. Like the Chanel heel caps, the Margiela Tabis draw focus to the wearer’s toes, except instead of casting the mind to an ancient goddess, you are reminded more of their Satyr sidekick.

It seems cloven hooves really are the leading inspiration for shoe designers these days. Maison Valentino has officially revived the peep-toe trend with their Révélé pumps, referred to (hopefully) lovingly online as the ‘miss piggy’ heels. I mean, who wouldn’t want to splash out over a grand to have your legs compared to a barn animal? But seriously, sometimes just because you wouldn’t personally buy into a trend, doesn’t mean it’s not incredible to witness. To quote Kourtney Kardashian, ‘I can’t eat this, but how exciting is it to smell it?’

Similarly polarising has been Margiela’s newest shoe drop. Just this past season, the brand has reimagined their trademark tabi and introduced the ‘tabi claw’. I wonder how long it will take for the internet to get past the initial peculiarity of the claw and adopt it as the it-shoe of the summer… time will tell.

As we’re on the topic of summer, my personal favourite toe trend has been the renaissance of the toe ring. With bohemian fashion being well and truly re-established (everybody say thank you Chemena) it was only a matter of time before this jewellery trend came back around. So, throw on your favourite pair of flip flops, book yourself a pedicure and have fun selecting toe rings to match. If you’re particularly enjoying this trend, maybe even buy yourself a pair of sandals with built-in jewellery. AMANU has been the pioneer of the toe-ring sandal but if you’re looking for something more affordable, they seem to be available at most high street boutiques this summer. Here is some toe jewellery inspo I’ve cobbled together from Pinterest in hopes of tempting even the most reluctant readers.

And so, as May bleeds into June and summer 2026 officially begins, reevaluate your go-to shoes. If a pair of flip flops isn’t in the rotation, you’re doing something wrong. And for the more daring among us, tap into the unconventional shoe game and treat yourself to a pair of unorthodox ballet flats. God knows they’re easy to find these days. Whether you go for a split-toe look, or opt for mesh, find something eccentric enough to get people gawping at you on the metro. Sometimes, shoes are the best conversation starter.

And so, I leave you with a small album of footwear inspo I collected last week in New York. I promise you, the best place to find fashion inspiration is in your nearest big city…

10/06/26 Darcy Jones

Before it became a TikTok sensation, a talking point in reddit forums, the newest dream for junior fashionistas to aspire to, I was in my aeroplane seat on a flight from Heathrow to JFK about to be thrown into the most transformative weeks of my life and completely unbriefed as to what I was about to experience.

I first learned about Vogue Summer School during a habitual session of rabbit-holeing my way through the internet, desperately searching for a fashion fruit to sink my teeth into… an internship, a shadowing opportunity, a program - it didn’t matter. All I wanted was a crow bar, a way to pry open the door, and in a sense Vogue Summer School cut out the middleman and handed me the key.

When I applied in March 2024, the information on Vogue College’s website was vague and since this was the inaugural year, there were no ‘day in my life’ vlogs on TikTok like there are now. All I knew was that I wanted to do the fashion media course and if I got accepted, would be spending two weeks in New York City studying under Vogue professionals. Frankly, I didn’t need any more information than that.

I plan to create a mini series of articles chronicling my time at Vogue Summer School. Diving into what daily classes were like, the time Chioma Nnadi praised my work (eek!!!) and how we spent our unchaperoned free time. But this first piece is going to focus on perhaps the most exciting event of my entire life - the day I spent at the Vogue offices.

The program began on Monday and by Thursday, we were already scheduled for a trip to Vogue. Naturally, I began that morning royally stressed about what to wear. We had visited Condé Nast the evening prior for an industry speaker night, but today we were actually setting foot in the Vogue offices, would be interacting with the team. Hell, maybe even Anna would be there! (Don’t get your hopes up, reader. She was not - she was in Paris for Vogue World). We were in the middle of a New York heatwave so I ended up opting for a black Free People printed mini dress which made me feel like Blair Waldorf and my Mum’s vintage Gucci mules. If you were taking the E train that morning, you’d have been overrun by teenage girls in their very best outfits, buzzing with an anticipation you’d otherwise only find at a sold-out concert when the lights go low.

All I could think of stepping into that lobby was the opening sequence of The Devil Wears Prada. Suddenly, I was Andy and the world of Runway magazine was at my feet. The entire space was brandished in white marble and check-in was as security-tight as an airport. Along the corridor walls, video screens flashed with clips from the publication’s many YouTube channels. Vogue Beauty Secrets, Allure Truth Serum, GQ 10 Essentials… In the lift which took us to the Condé Nast floors the air felt ripe with possibility. Anna Wintour takes this lift every day…

Our morning began in an unassuming conference room with a talk from Bailey Bass (AKA Tsireya in Avatar) answering questions about her experience in the film industry. That was the first time I’d ever interacted with someone properly famous. We were also visited by our mentor Cassandra’s personal friend Karissa Mitchell, a beyond cool stylist and DJ who goes by A-List Kariss.

Come midday, we were having lunch in the cafeteria exclusively used by the Condé Nast floors. I had a quiet laugh to myself in the cinema recently when watching The Devil Wears Prada 2. There is a scene where Miranda Priestly doesn’t even know they had a cafeteria. I sat thinking I knew! I knew! I’ve had lunch there! Albeit a packed lunch provided by the program, but lunch all the same. I remember the windows having panoramic views of Manhattan. I couldn’t believe that these people could look out at the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the ferries heading over to Staten Island all while completing a task as mundane as eating lunch.

Afterwards, we were finally led over to the doors which may as well have been the pearly gates to heaven… the Vogue offices. My Mecca. My heart is beating fast even now as I write this two years later. My fellow fashion lovers can imagine. I was literally seeing my dream realise in real time. Stepping into that space instilled in me a desire like nothing else. I knew the second I saw the desks lined up, the bulletin boards covered in magazine scraps and post-it notes, the designer handbags, shoes and beauty products strewn about that this is where I was meant to be. And mark my words I will make it back there one day.

Immediately as you enter those famous glass doors marked Vogue, you are faced with the twin desks and the door to Anna’s office. Yes, exactly like in The Devil Wears Prada. Standing casually at one of the assistant desks was Virginia Smith - the global head of fashion network at Vogue and previously one of Anna’s first assistants. I was right at the front of the group as we were led through the offices and remember Virginia looking directly at me as she smiled and welcomed us to Vogue.

Across the entire left side of the space were rows of glass offices, projecting signs reading Glamour, Allure, Teen Vogue… I remember peeking into the Glamour office and being floored by the sheer amount of beauty products. Any Sephora kid’s paradise. The opposite side of the room had the same panoramic views of the city.

Except for that priceless backdrop and the piles of fashion memorabilia that littered every surface, it was otherwise a pretty standard office space. Yet, there was something so different about Vogue - an energy hard to replicate. A feeling I haven’t felt since my youth.

One of my earliest memories, and probably the moment my dream to work in fashion first came about, is being four or five and visiting my mother’s office. She worked in London as a buyer for Debenhams (a huge British fashion retailer in the nineties and noughties). The memory is fuzzy, but I remember being enthralled by that room. Something about every desk being personalised with picture frames, nick-nacks and stationery. The cosy smell of coffee and the glow of the city lights shining in through the glass. That was what it felt like at Vogue. A homecoming of sorts and yet, still a dream, but now one slightly more in reach.

The rest of that day passed in a sort of elation-induced blur. I remember grabbing coffee on the very top floor of One World Trade. We had a couple more talks from industry members. We even got to watch the CondéFuture kids’ final showcase. But the only thing any of us were really thinking about was those brief twenty minutes we spent in the Vogue office getting to chat with the team who were all equally as excited to meet us.

Everyone we spoke to was so enthusiastic about our being there. With Vogue Summer School being brand new that year, we were all still so giddy over the concept. Those brief moments of connection were the most powerful takeaway from my entire experience. A reminder that this life, this career I want, is not an impossible feat. The people running this industry aren’t the scary dragons you see in the movies - they’re real, hardworking creatives who are passionate about the young talent emerging.

That day at Vogue wasn’t just a tick on a bucket list for me. It humanised the magazine. It made me realise that I’m not just striving for a concept anymore. Yes, I want to be able to one day brag about the fact I work at Vogue, but I also want to work at Vogue. I want to be part of that community, have my name in the masthead, be a voice in this publication which means so much to so many people.

26/05/26 Darcy Jones

The renaissance revival has been bubbling under the surface of haute couture for the past few fashion seasons but it seemed this past batch of fashion weeks leaned into it enough to confirm that it is officially trending. Ralph Lauren showed multiple chainmail pieces accompanied by winks of leather, corsetry and hoods in their Autumn Winter 26 collection and Chemena Kamali continues to lean into Chloe’s bohemia with ruffled blouses, puffed sleeves and floral embroidery. These influences aren’t limited to the world of high fashion though. Peasant dresses, religious pendants and mediaeval footwear have been ruling the streetwear scene also. I mean, how many celebrities have you seen sporting some kind of pantaloon or bloomer in the past six months? The answer you’re looking for is a lot! And the best part of this trend is its huge versatility. Whether you want to embody Joan of Arc and lean into your powerful femininity in chainmail and leather or appear as angelic as our heroine of this fashion story Juliet Capulet in white puffed sleeves and red florals, the choice is yours.

Speaking of Juliet, renaissance dressing in many ways goes hand in hand with fashion’s lifelong love affair with Catholic imagery. Just look at the famed 2018 Met Gala, where the theme was ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’. Italian renaissance influences have been a cornerstone in countless haute couture collections for decades: think Chanel A/W 1992, Jean Paul Gaultier S/S 2007, Dolce & Gabbana A/W 2013 and yet the appeal remains timeless. Catholic author Mary Harper speaks on this at length in her book The Liturgical Style Guide published in early 2026 and describes Catholic influences in clothing as ‘a form of prayer’. She describes how Pope Benedict understood that beauty has the power to awaken the human heart to the truth of God. And what, my friends, is more beautiful than fashion? Perhaps some of those dressing in Catholic motifs aren’t doing so for religious reasons but simply because they are beautiful. In a sense that is what fashion is always about. While we may not completely understand the countless stories woven into our clothing, what matters is that they’ve stemmed from somewhere.

On the topic of fashion’s endless inspirations, we saw many examples of medieval, renaissance and Catholic influences at the 78th annual Met Gala. The carpet theme this year was ‘Fashion is Art’ and many celebrities took this prompt literally - recreating art pieces from as early as ancient Greece. Gracie Abrams wore Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel, her dress inspired by Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. Interestingly, the titular muse of the portrait was an outspoken atheist whom Klimt was drawn to given his indifference to organised religion. However, having grown up exposed to his parents’ extreme Catholic beliefs, religious influences continue to show up in his art, and accordingly, Gracie Abrams’ Met gown. Other examples include Imaan Hammam, who showed up in an obviously medieval inspired Saint Laurent gown - head to toe in red silk frills and puffs and topped off with an ornate heart-shaped pendant necklace. And Rachel Zegler, paying homage to Paul Delaroche’s The Execution of Lady Jane Grey. Her white corseted Prabal Gurung gown reflects the poignant innocence of the accursed queen and the sheath of white fabric she wore across her eyes references her blind death.

The fate of Lady Jane has gone down in history as a great tragedy, however ‘never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo’. And so with that, we now return to Juliet - the one who inspired this article in the first place. Along with the ever alluring nature of renaissance fashion, Juliet Capulet seems an eternal muse to young girls and creatives alike, despite her pitiful fate. Why is that? Is it the unabashed way she dives headfirst into love? Is it that enduring image of her on a moonlit balcony? Is it the many ways she has been reimagined and reborn again and again? Taylor Swift’s Love Story, Arthur Laurents’ West Side Story, John Keats’ Isabella… Whatever it be, one thing is certain, she transcends the realm of fiction and lives in every girl. So this Spring I urge you to lean into the renaissance resurgence and channel your inner Juliet. Whether that be surrendering all good conscience to a doomed love or simply wearing beautiful things and choosing to see it as a form of benediction.

21/05/26 Darcy Jones

Amidst her run as Juliet in Robert Icke’s version of Romeo & Juliet this Spring on the West End, Sadie has been ruling the streetwear scene in London. She is pictured most often at the stage door, however when caught out and about in the Capital, is always sporting a look deliciously unbothered yet incredibly stylish. Here, she is pictured opting for fashion’s favourite trousers, a pair of jorts, with a black hoodie. What makes the look however is the accessories. Miu Miu ballet flats, Prada aviator sunnies and perhaps most quintessentially, an M&S foodhall bag.

2. Simone Ashley, New York

Playing Miranda Priestly’s first assistant comes with its own set of challenges, but for Simone Ashley, what to wear does not seem to be one of them. Pictured in New York, where Simone has spent time promoting The Devil Wears Prada 2 and her debut EP Songs I wrote in New York, she is wearing head-to-toe Prada (naturally). A mohair midi dress, Prada pumps and an effortlessly cool trench turns business casual on its head in a sexy and sophisticated look which Simone Ashley continues to step out in.

3. Tate McRae, Coachella Valley

Who wasn’t ecstatic for Justin Bieber’s Coachella set this April? It seemed Tate McRae showed her own excitement by stepping out in a baby tee which read My Boyfriend is in Town. ‘Tongue in chic’ is the phrase I would use. Paired with classic lightwash boyfriend jeans, black ballet flats and gold hoop earrings, the outfit’s simplicity let her shirt do the talking - literally. What sets the look above and beyond however, is the twin designer bags slung effortlessly over each shoulder. A Chanel 25 over one and a Goyard tote over the other. Well played, Tate.

4. Ayo Edebiri, New York

After being on the host committee for the 2025 Met Gala, Ayo has formally established herself as a new gen fashion it-girl. Here, she is papped outside the One Show in New York, promoting her role in Broadway’s revival of Proof. Ayo is of course in head-to-toe Chanel, having just been named a global brand ambassador under Matthieu Blazy. The full black leather ensemble, paired with her cropped auburn bob offers a striking counterbalance for Chanel’s usual twee aesthetic. Sunglasses and bag both from Chanel’s Spring 2026 collection and my personal favourite - a modern take on the classic cap-toe pump.

5. Olivia Rodrigo, Los Angeles

How much fun is this look for Olivia Rodrigo’s 23rd birthday? I mean when else can you get away with wearing a tiara in public? Well, having earned her status as pop princess back in 2021, Olivia could any day... With her 3rd studio album release pending, Liv is leaning into her feminine side and sporting many a pink, sequinned and polka-dotted look to tease the vibe of her first batch of love songs. Here she has paired two polar opposite brands in a perfectly preppy party look: a vintage Blumarine mini dress from their 2004 Spring collection and a pink Burberry trench coat with matching kitten heels.

6. Daisy Edgar-Jones, Cannes

Where better to show off equisite streetwear than at the airport? Amidst the festivities at one of fashion’s favourite annual events, Cannes Film Festival, Daisy is papped in potentially the most elevated airport fit I’ve ever seen. While most opt for sweat sets or athleisure, Daisy wears a linen drop waist midi dress from Australian fashion house Lioness along with black ballet flats, a grey jumper slung around her neck and a Miu Miu Solitaire handbag. High low is always one of the chicest ways to dress everyday. Save money on the basics and let the special pieces do the talking.

7. Emma Chamberlain, Los Angeles

If you’re looking for a manic pixie dream girl, Emma Chamberlain takes the cake. The fashion industry sweetheart isn’t afraid to take risks with her looks and the bleach blonde crop cut she has been sporting since late 2024 is the ultimate cool girl accessory. A convergence of casual and corporate has taken the world by storm recently and pictured at the West Elm store opening in Los Angeles, Emma has mastered the look. Plain cuffed blue jeans, a cream zip-through hoodie and Maison Margelia Tabis can be seen on any informed fashionista in any city but Emma sets her outfit apart by pairing it unconventionally with a blue checkered work shirt.

8. Odessa A’zion, Cannes

There truly is nothing like a messy streetwear look where the wearer still exudes style and coolness. Odessa A’zion, who seems to embody her fashion forward character Tallulah in the viral HBO Max comedy I Love L.A., was pictured wearing countless luxury outfits during her time at Cannes this Spring and yet somehow, this off-duty look remains my favourite. Blue striped pyjama bottoms and an oversized brown sweatshirt may seem basic to most, but trained eyes notice the devil’s in the details... UGG mini sunburst boots, a black RIMOWA suitcase and a cap which cheekily reads ‘smoke weed at my funeral’.