If velvet in August sounds like one of those questionable fashion-industry ideas that should probably stay inside the pages of magazines, we get it: so long as the temperature is still in the 80s, we’re usually trying to avoid any and all hints of fall (especially if they’re likely to make us sweat).
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But Insta-girls such as Hailey Baldwin and Stella Maxwell have been making a strong case for the plush velvet mini dress recently, and with our closets looking more and more like the contents of a ’90s Delia’s catalog—black chokers, halter tops, tinted sunglasses, track suits—it does seem like the logical next step.
The quintessential fabric of Buffy- and Winona-wannabes, velvet is going to be major this fall, and if its done right, it’s not as ludicrous as it sounds for summer, either. The key is to find pieces with plenty of breathing room—spaghetti-strap dresses with extra-deep arm holes, flowy kimonos, cropped burnout tanks—or opt for weather-appropriate accessories like velvet sandals or sunglasses (which, yes, totally exist).
Ahead, shop 25 pieces you can wear through fall, and see outfit inspo to copy right now.
