What Cool Girls Are Wearing

The sleep dress is the cool-girl dress of summer 2026 — the vintage-inspired nightgown that has slipped out of the bedroom and onto the street. After seasons of structure, fashion wants ease: a light, lace-trimmed slip you can throw on and look effortlessly pretty in. Dôen leads with its dreamy prairie-romantic take, while Reformation and Sleeper offer the airy, barely-there versions the fashion set is living in. Styled with a flat sandal or a kitten heel, it is the easiest, chicest thing you can wear all summer.

Fringe is back, but this time it is less Western and more sleek — long, elevated tassels showing up on everything from crochet tops to voile blouses. The appeal is movement: fringe that sways with you, effortlessly vacation-ready and just a little bit sexy. Isabel Marant and Zimmermann lead with their crocheted takes, while Sea and Johanna Ortiz bring the boho-luxe energy. It is the detail that turns the simplest top into a holiday in itself.

The humble running short is having its most fashionable moment in decades — the '80s mini, reborn as an unexpected cool-girl staple. Accented with side stripes and split hems, it reads as elevated athleisure rather than gymwear, especially styled deliberately with a knit or a heel à la Carrie Bradshaw. Sporty & Rich and Hunza G lead the charge, joined by Guest in Residence's cashmere-blend take. It is the easy, leggy short the fashion set is wearing everywhere but the treadmill.

You have heard of jelly flats — but the gelatinous heel is summer's playful upgrade. Chloé sent its glossy, open-toe silhouette down the Spring/Summer 2026 runway and set off a rush on every gummy pair in sight. There is something joyful and nostalgic about it: the childhood jelly shoe, grown up and elevated in leopard, red, and translucent blue. Chloé and Alaïa lead the luxe end, while Ancient Greek Sandals keeps it easy. It is the shoe that makes an outfit feel fun again.