Fashion
The Waistcoat Has Never Been More Fun — Or Sexy
Borrowing from the men, but looking twice as hot.
There is a preppy feeling in the air, thanks in part to Jonathan Anderson’s Dior, the resurgence of an excellently creative-directed J.Crew, and vintage Abercrombie & Fitch pieces (yes, the 2000s is now vintage, folks) becoming the holy-grail status items du jour. One item in particular is getting a 2025 revamp, and it’s not the polo (been there, done that). The next formal, usually stuffy item getting its It-girl redux is the vest, or waistcoat.
The waistcoat as a piece of womenswear is nothing new: It’s been reinvented on high-fashion runways time and time again by Brits who love to tweak Savile Row classics, like Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. It’s also been an American classic for the Ralph Laurens and the Tommy Hilfigers of the world, and has eventually trickled its way down to mass-market shops where matching separates of the waistcoat-trouser variety have become a sort of late-2010s girlboss uniform. But there is no whiff of the neutral basics in the way celebrities, and the runway, are reigniting their love for the three-piece-suit staple.
Indeed, Bella Hadid scooped up a 1994 Vivienne Westwood exaggerated-collar vest and dressed it down with blue jeans and her classic teeny sunglasses. The peek of skin give it an edge; ditto Dua Lipa’s Chrome Hearts vest that gets a tomboy feel with a white T-shirt thrown on underneath. Miley Cyrus’ leather Chanel waistcoat was dressy, to be sure, but felt curve-hugging and not constricting as traditional vest pieces were meant to do. Jonathan Anderson’s menswear debut at Dior offered up all manner of the vest, whether paired with baggy jeans or all dolled up with a bowtie and sleek trousers. But leave it to Jenna Ortega to step out in one paired with a denim miniskirt, sickening black stilettos, and the piecey beach waves of Pinterest-board dreams to give it the gothic, sexy twist we’ve been craving.
Recent runway examples, including a particularly sinuous and refreshing take at Diotima, give new ways to style it — and updates on the design that feel fresh. Isabel Marant’s Heathers-lite tribute makes sense in the current ‘80s resurgence, and make the case for layering it. The general feeling is one of looseness, even as the literal constriction the vests offer makes a comeback. At the end of the day, though, don’t girls just want to feel fun and sexy à la Sabrina Carpenter in her white waistcoat cut just below her chest to let her bra have its starring moment?
