Jill Stuart is coming up on her 25th year in business, a milestone most designers can only dream of. She was there for many of fashion’s big moments, like ’90s grunge and the dawn of the World Wide Web, but some things never change: She’s still best known for her floral prints, unabashedly feminine dresses, and simply pretty clothes.
In this way, Resort was quintessentially Stuart. There was an abundance of ’90s-ish florals and sweet, ’40s-ish dresses, but she gave both ideas a refresh with clever tweaks in fabric and styling. Some dresses were whisper-sheer, so Stuart layered them over ribbed bodysuits or clashing slips. Her most fashion-forward customers will probably wear them with T-shirts and jeans, too. Stuart transposed florals on slippery nylon, as well, a concept that worked better on a long parka than it did on a button-down. Also a little sporty: graphic nylon bodysuits that can do double duty as swimsuits.
That said, her best pieces were the ones that required little explanation—easy, bias-cut dresses you could throw on and live in all season long. Women are gravitating toward those one-and-done, day-to-night dresses, and if you’re in the mood for florals, you won’t find prettier options than Stuart’s.
