Trend Crush: Summer’s Full-Coverage Formal

 Summer may have just started, bringing with it 80° temperatures and some serious humidity, but not everyone's jumping on the if-you've-got-`em-flaunt-`em trendwagon. And it's not just the Helena Bonham Carters of the world who are covering up in odd ways at odd times of the year, either.  It's a handful of the world's most influential tastemakers like Alexa Chung, First Lady Carla Bruni, Ashley Olsen, and looking radiant at last night's Tony Awards, a long-sleeved, long-gowned Naomi Watts. 

Unlike the shapeless caftans in big prints trotted out by Rachel Zoe and her West Hollywood derivatives, the formal gowns we've been seeing by designers like Roland Mouret and Calvin Klein are fitted, meticulously tailored to reveal—by silhouette only—the feminine curvature of its wearer underneath. And in summery neutral hues and lightweight fabrics like bone silk gazar, blush chiffon and bright white jersey, what these full-length formal gowns lack in skin exposure they more than make up for in breathability and sun reflection. 

Not to mention sheer, unexpected elegance.


Photos: Getty Images

From left: Naomi Watts in RM by Roland Mouret, Alexa Chung in Marc Jacobs, and Diane Kruger in Calvin Klein