Selena Gomez's Strapless Free People Maxi Dress and Matching Headband Are Vacation Essentials
She's the ultimate summer getaway outfit inspiration.
If Selena Gomez has a fashion agenda for summer 2024, it's trying every variation of a little white dress under the sun.
After testing the peplum trend in a white mini dress at Cannes and elevating her summer work wardrobe for a conference in a Banana Republic number, she's now getting into vacation mode with a strapless Free People maxi dress and matching headband.
Selena Gomez showed off her affordable outfit through snaps of her surprisingly relatable Fourth of July on Instagram. Photos shared on her Instagram Story and her boyfriend's, Benny Blanco, revealed the couple had a relaxed day lounging outside somewhere sun-soaked and secluded. Gomez posed in Free People's "San Tropez" dress, a white maxi covered in doodled fruits and toucans. Very out-of-office-appropriate.
A dress with under-$300 tags was just the start of Gomez's latest shop-worthy outfit. She coordinated the easygoing piece with two accessories sitting in every twenty- and thirty-something's dresser these days: a wide, white headband and a pair of gold hoop earrings.
Of all the dresses Selena Gomez has worn this summer, her Free People maxi is the most suited for an island getaway (see: those toucan illustrations) or at least getting in the mindset for one. It's also the continuation of a color story Gomez started with her new stylist, Erin Walsh, earlier this spring.
The Rare Beauty founder has been leaning into a stark white palette with pops of red and black for her red carpet walks and official business appearances. The movement started for a Rare Beauty conference where she wore an intentionally wrinkled off-the-shoulder dress, continued at the Cannes Film Festival in the form of her peplum Self-Portrait mini and Saint Laurent red carpet gown, and, most recently, took a business casual turn at the Nexus Summit with a linen Banana Republic number. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule—like the black Versace dress she wore after Gigi Hadid debuted it on the runway.
Gomez's color shift could open up all sorts of interpretations. Maybe she's choosing the color to stay cool (since lighter tones don't absorb heat); maybe she's leaning into the symbolic nature of white as a sign of new beginnings. All that's definitive from the outside is that her latest Free People dress—and similar versions on the market—arrives just in time for a vacation wardrobe upgrade.
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Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion and beauty news editor at Marie Claire, where she assigns, edits, and writes stories for both sections. Halie is an expert on runway trends, celebrity style, emerging fashion and beauty brands, and shopping (naturally). In over seven years as a professional journalist, Halie’s reporting has ranged from fashion week coverage spanning the Copenhagen, New York, Milan, and Paris markets, to profiles on industry insiders including stylist Alison Bornstein and J.Crew womenswear creative director Olympia Gayot, to breaking news stories on noteworthy brand collaborations and beauty launches. (She can personally confirm that Bella Hadid’s Ôrebella perfume is worth the hype.) She has also written dozens of research-backed shopping guides to finding the best tote bags, ballet flats, and more. Most of all, Halie loves to explore what trends—like the rise of doll-like Mary Janes or TikTok’s 75 Hard Style Challenge—can say about culture writ large. (She justifies almost any purchase by saying it’s “for work.”) Halie has previously held writer and editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. Halie has been cited as a fashion and beauty expert in The Cut, CNN Underscored, and Reuters, among other outlets, and appears in newsletters like Selleb and Self-Checkout to provide shopping recommendations. In 2022, she was awarded the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence and innovation in fashion journalism. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Harvard College. Outside of work, Halie is passionate about books, baking, and her miniature Bernedoodle, Dolly. For a behind-the-scenes look at her reporting, you can follow Halie on Instagram and TikTok.
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