A STYLE EDIT FROM AN ITALIAN SUMMER
Quiet luxury with extra olive oil
There’s a certain type of woman who summers in Italy. You’ve seen her — barefoot on a terracotta balcony, espresso in hand, skin warmed by the kind of sun you can’t get in England, no matter how many rooftop bars you loiter on. She’s not overdressed, but she’s never underdressed either. Her linen is perfectly creased. Her hair is tied back with something silky. Her style says very little — and means everything.
I’ve come to look out for such a woman whenever I’m in Italy. The boot-shaped country holds a special place in my heart as my husband is half Italian, we got married in Tuscany, my best friend lives in Milan and we try to visit a new part every year. Although I haven’t made the permanent leap there yet, the Italian style is something I’m happy to study in the interim.
It’s not loud, it’s not stiff, and it’s certainly not fussy. It’s the white shirt left deliberately half-buttoned. It’s tailored shorts and a gold bangle that clinks as she gestures toward a carafe of chilled white wine. It’s the feeling of having absolutely nothing to prove, and yet looking so impossibly composed that strangers on the street assume you must own a villa. Probably two.
Italian quiet luxury is warmer than its Scandinavian cousin and a little less austere than the British version. It has flirtation in its step, a hint of rebellion beneath the polish. It’s Sophia Loren in a cinched dress and oversized cat-eye sunglasses. It’s Monica Bellucci’s sultry monochromes. It’s Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr Ripley — crisp shirting, flat leather sandals, slicked-back hair, and an expression that says: I am deeply unbothered, because I am well-moisturised and well-heeled.
Fashion has always known this fantasy. Dolce & Gabbana built an empire on it — who could forget those 2010s campaigns with Bianca Balti and Monica Bellucci carrying tomatoes in woven baskets while dressed in black lace? Or that 1993 Vogue Italia cover by Steven Meisel, all wet hair and brooding Sicilian glamour? Even the 2022 Max Mara Resort show — staged in the piazza of Castel Sant’Elmo in Naples — captured it: flowing linen, sun-bleached cottons, neutral palettes designed to mirror stone, sand, and burnt sugar.
And let’s not forget Roman Holiday, Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, or Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash, where Tilda Swinton swans around Pantelleria in gauzy kaftans and gladiator sandals — mute, mysterious, and devastatingly chic. There’s a reason fashion continually returns to Italy in summer: it’s cinematic by default.
I recently packed for a trip to Puglia with only a carry-on and a quiet luxury state of mind. Out went the kaftans that crease like origami and the sandals that only look good from one angle. In went the clothes I always feel like myself in: neutral tones, lightweight tailoring, gold hoops, a white linen blazer that doubles as eveningwear. No loud prints. No panic purchases. Just items I loved last summer and would love again next year.
On Italian soil, these pieces made sense. They didn’t shout. They whispered. Because the real beauty of Italian quiet luxury is that it blends into the surroundings: the chalky pavements, the olive trees, the crema of your morning cappuccino. You don’t need to compete with the landscape — you just need to complement it.
And that’s the thing about dressing well in summer. It’s not about having more. It’s about having better. One pair of perfect Capri sandals (flat, tan, leather). One white cotton shirt, oversized and sun-bleached at the seams. A wide-brim hat that makes you feel like Lauren Hutton en route to a yacht. And if you’re lucky, a straw bag that looks like it’s been passed down through generations, even if you bought it last year from a beachside boutique.
This style isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about repeating outfits without apology. The same tank dress three days in a row, styled slightly differently each time. The gold necklace that works with everything. The swimsuit that doubles as a bodysuit under high-waisted trousers. It’s fashion as ritual — not content.
It’s the antithesis of the “hot girl summer” aesthetic — not because it’s cooler, but because it’s calmer. It doesn’t need a slogan. It doesn’t need validation. It’s the fashion version of still waters running deep.
So, this summer, I’m dressing like a woman who always eats lunch alfresco. Who never rushes. Who has sand in her sandals but silk on her skin. Quiet luxury, yes — but with the ease, soul, and sprezzatura of Italy.
Because if there’s one thing Italian women have always known, it’s this: the most stylish thing you can wear is comfort in your own skin — ideally with a side of gelato.
Beautifully written! And couldn’t agree more 🤍
italian approved xxx loved this