"I'm at Loose Ends..."

Here are answers to some of your most pressing questions about 2026 summer fashion: 

"I'm at loose ends...should I wear those barrel jeans?"
—Loose Ends

Dear Loose Ends,
You will be happy to know that barrel jeans are only an option, one of way too many I'm afraid, as the fashion industry churns out ever more variations on jeans to coerce you into buying another pair. In fact, in some corners, barrel jeans are considered dead. So my AllWays advice is to wear what flatters you and is at the same time most comfortable. Those last two seem to go hand-in-hand.

Over a barrel?

"Everything this year is so boxy. How do I work around that?
—Square Root

Dear Square Root,
You can still be fashion forward (should that be your desire) by incorporating a shorter, boxy jacket over a longer top. This will lengthen the look and take care of any qualms you may have about a skimpy silhouette.

Not boxed in

"I'm dreading putting on a swimsuit. What to do?"
—Waterlogged
 
Dear Waterlogged,
Fear the beach no more! Swim tees and shorts prove you need not fear the seaside and are smart enough to realize too much sun is not your friend. You can even adopt a surfboard look and emulate Gidget (who would be 84 this year). 

Surf's up!

 
"I hate the ways my legs look, but sometimes I get so tired of wearing pants."
—Leg to Stand On

Dear Leg, 
Don't be discouraged. Take advantage of the season where midi or longer length skirts are still in fashion. Keep in mind proportion is everything. Stick to a form-fitting top or tuck in a shirt lest you turn out (much as we love her) looking like Frida Kahlo in her native garb. Sandals or flats will avoid the clodhopper effect.

Si...

...Non

"Linen looks like a wrinkled mess in about 15 minutes. Should I care?"
—Pressed for an Answer

Dear Pressed, 
Linen wrinkles no matter what you do to it, yet it says 'Summer' like no other fabric. It always makes me think of mad dogs and Englishmen in the noonday sun. When you choose to wear linen you make the decision to embrace the wrinkles. There are linen blends that throw in a mixture of rayon and Spandex, but don't expect to be 100% wrinkle-free.

The way the cookie crumbles...

 
"When are wearing Birkenstocks not appropriate?"
—Twinkletoes 

Dear Twinkletoes,
At a funeral. At a wedding. In bed.

 

Stylish Read: "Fashioning the Crown"

The author of biographies of Chanel ("Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life") and Christian Dior's sister ("Miss Dior") has now fashioned a layered look at Britain's royal family. Cover image notwithstanding, "Fashioning the Crown" is not just another romp through Queen Elizabeth's tweeds, cardigans and head scarves. Beginning with the renaming of the royal family (from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor in 1917), Justine Picardie skillfully weaves together (pun intended) history, biography and fashion commentary. So thoroughly meshed are all the threads that you wonder how anything could be written without the fashion element. "You are what you wear" was never more meaningful. 

Mary and George V with a young Edward

I'm a sucker for the British royal family anyways and can never get enough of Wallis and Edward (he the king who abdicated and she the woman he loved). After a short section on George VI and Queen Mary (for whom dress was more of a duty), Picardie dives into Wallis and Edward. Over the years new information suggests this may not have been the greatest love story of the 20th century. Whatever the attraction, their mutual love of fashion was surely a tie that binds. I found it interesting that Wallis, who had been dressed by London's top (but conventional) designers, switched to the avant garde Schiaparelli once she became known as the sorceress who lured a king off his throne. 

Wallis and Edward on their wedding day

There is quite a bit on Queen then Queen Mother Elizabeth. I'd always seen her as a smiley, fairly dumpy grandmother, but the fuller picture gives her more influence and credits her as a guiding force in the reign of her husband, George VI. 

Margaret, Elizabeth and Elizabeth

The young Princess Elizabeth is covered way beyond the matching outfits she and sister Margaret wore. Elizabeth comes across as well suited and well prepared for her role as Queen, giving even the acerbic Cecil Beaton hope for the future of the Windsor dynasty. And as well known by now, she set her sights on the handsome Philip as a very young teen. He was by no means the match her parents wished for. Elizabeth's steely determination in the face of their reluctance was surely a portent of strengths to come.

 

Newly engaged Elizabeth and Philip

Almost as an afterthought are sections on Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell, both royal couturiers for many years. I'm afraid in my mind they are the two responsible for all that royal family dowdiness, but for their time—and clients—they were reliable choices. Amies, an intelligence officer in the British army during WWII, comes across by far the more interesting.

 

Picardie has done her research, quoting extensively from diaries of contemporaries close to the royals, both politically and socially, as well as using Hartnell's and Amies' autobiographies. And Picardie herself was able to uncover and view objects for years under royal lock and key. As she has done in other books, we read her thoughts as she examines some of these treasures. 

My only real disappointment in "Fashioning the Crown" was it ends just at the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. As that puts us in 1953, there is a lot more fashion to come under that crown.