Gabrielle Union showed off her preppy side earlier this month at the Paris Olympics. Her enviable spectator wardrobe included preppy-sporty essentials like tennis skirts, exercise dresses, striped button-up shirts, and white jeans. Now, as August nears its end, Union is switching up her style to celebrate the dog days of summer—and bringing a touch of the naked dressing trend into the mix.
The star extended her French getaway, now vacationing with her family on the island of Ile Sainte Marguerite in Cannes. She shared photos on Instagram yesterday featuring two glamorous seaside looks. The first: a bright purple, textured bandeau bikini. The second outfit: a cover-up that screamed Grecian goddess meets beach babe.
Union wore a metallic gold knit crochet set from Retrofete—a matching maxi skirt and cropped off-the-shoulder long-sleeve top—that was patterned, see-through, and embellished with small pearls. She layered a simple white bikini underneath and accessorized with minimal brown sandals and a beige raffia hobo bag, letting her cover-up be the centerpiece of the look.
The "cover-up as evening attire" trend has taken off this summer. Just this week, Dua Lipa furthered the cover-up agenda by wearing one as her birthday outfit. Lipa shared a photo sitting poolside in a $850 tangerine Gucci logo-dotted string bikini that she layered underneath a mesh mini dress covered in sparkly gold crystals.
Earlier this summer, Jennifer Lopez transformed a sheer crochet beach maxi into a date-night look, pairing it with her rare crocodile Birkin bag and crushed velvet peep-toe platform heels from Elie Saab. Back in June, Kaia Gerber wore a little black vacation dress to watch the sunset over the ocean alongside Camila Morrone, who was clad in a skin-baring, cream-colored knit set.
With how celebrities are styling their glammed-up cover-ups, it's a sign to hold onto them even as summer bleeds into fall. A mesh or macrame beach dress works just as well for cocktails on a warm, early September night.
Scroll down to shop dressy cover-ups and crochet knit sets, inspired by Gabrielle Union.
