Among the many valuable lessons one can glean from Clueless—why going to a party in the Valley sans driver is a bad idea, for example—is the concept of reverse layering. Seen in Cher Horowitz’s tennis court ensemble, the habit of stacking your camisole over your tee, or your slip dress over your turtleneck, became a ’90s signature employed by Cher’s fellow on-screen icons—My So-Called Life’s Angela Chase comes to mind—and real-life types alike. With the slip dress returning to fashion, now seems as good a time as ever to revive the throwback trend.
As it happens, designers are doing just that on the runways. From Courrèges to Emilio Pucci, the slip dress was given a transitional season makeover with slim tees or barely there knits underneath. If it seems impossible to pull off, what with all the rumpled hems and thickness of the fabrics, let Vogue.com’s resident expert in inside-out layering explain how it’s done. “I found that when layering a knit under a slip, the knit has to be a pretty fine wool or cashmere, or else the chunkiness will throw off the ensemble,” says Market Assistant Elizabeth Taufield. “If you really need that thick knit, tie it around your waist or wait until you go outside to layer over the dress.”
It’s not just slip dresses that warrant the reverse treatment either. A summer-ready logo T-shirt can become a January staple with a long-sleeved option worn underneath. At Max Mara, nautical tees received complementary marinière-striped underpinnings, but for a more relaxed beachy take, Vogue.com Market Editor Kelly Connor recommends looking further back to 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High. “I take layering tips from Spicoli! From his turtleneck-under-baja situation to his long-sleeved–under–short-sleeved tee combo, this is what I will be doing this fall.”
Still not convinced? Consider the sartorial freedom a year-round wardrobe allows—your best tanks are now seasonally appropriate for snow. Where matters of modesty are concerned, the notion can also transform something a tad too revealing—think: a backless dress—into an outfit suitable for even the most uptight of scenarios.
For those on the other end of the experimental spectrum, we’d recommend going full Gwen Stefani and trying a bra over a top. Strange? Perhaps a touch, but you can’t really argue the beauty of the glittering bralettes Dries Van Noten just sent out over tattoo-print turtlenecks.
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