Since 2003, Nili Lotan has been making a name for her eponymous Tribeca-based line, sans fuss and sans gimmick. She rarely makes concessions to trends, instead opting for a smartly curated array of foundation pieces, many reprised over seasons, like her quintessential gauzy bohemian tops or flawlessly simple slipdresses. After an initial attempt offering "Resort" in a more literal sense, Lotan had the revelation that her clientele were not—apart from, perhaps, trips to Montauk or upstate—traditionally Resort-going sorts. Even those who were wouldn't necessarily associate those pieces with her brand. Since then, she's stuck with a winning formula of her classics for the season she refers to, with a laugh, as "Winter Pre-Spring." Lotan divided the offering up into two parts: cozy, handsome knitwear and outerwear that you'll want to be wearing soon after the delivery hits stores, and warmer-weather pieces like poplin anoraks and featherweight chambray tops.
The former is the sweater lover's fondest dream, an embarrassment of knit riches (waffle, mohair, chunky, nubby) in a palette of olive, cream, camel, and burgundy. Lotan proposed these alongside more playful pieces like miniskirts, one in leather, another encrusted in paillettes. When the sun comes out, her customer can pop on one of the aforementioned anoraks, or into a bikini and Lotan's maxi "beach dress," a sheer cotton number inspired by a vision of young Yves Saint Laurent basking on a plage someplace. Who ever said basics were boring?
