Reese Witherspoon (Hollywood’s perennial good girl, of Legally Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama and, most recently, Big Little Lies fame) has launched her fashion label, Draper James, on Net-a-Porter. Ladies of the home counties rejoice — your answer to every lawn event this summer is here and it’s yours for roughly £300 a pop.
You may wonder what an actress (who for the most part is dressed by others) would know about fashion — and especially one who seemingly lacks edge. Witherspoon appears to embody every perky, saccharine character she portrays. They are good girls and so is she. Which is perhaps why the 18-piece collection has been designed exactly for them: the good girls. Or at least those who want to look like them.
So, what are said good girls wearing? A lot of gingham, apparently, in blue, red, green and pink. That’s expected. So are the midi hemlines, Betty Draper silhouettes, pastel lace and crisp white broderie anglaise. Admittedly, it’s reasonably sexless dressing. You need only add a wicker picnic basket to complete the image. Still, it will probably appeal to the Surrey set and I could see the Duchess of Cambridge in the white embellished silk and cotton-blend dress, if only because it is the job of a royal to look, well, sexless.
Less HRH are the pineapple-print short shorts, flamingo-print midiskirt and very short blue playsuit with white floral print. I’m not sure who these would best suit in real life, though I hazard Elle Woods and her sorority posse in Legally Blonde would be keen. Perhaps because they were all south of 25. Or because it was the Nineties.
Pretty as the collection is — and pretty probably is the best word to describe it — it’s not for every shape and size. Most of these pieces — especially the form-fitting blue pointelle-trimmed lace and gingham cotton-blend dress and pink cut-out gingham cotton-poplin dress — will not be forgiving of any non-yoga trimmed arms. The maxidresses would be more flattering, but only for those blessed with model height, or the patience to wear stacked heels. It doesn’t leave much for the rest of us.
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Saying all that, there are pieces to covet. Melanie Smooter, Witherspoon’s fashion designer character in Sweet Home Alabama, would certainly approve of the bell-sleeve cotton poplin shirt that comes in crisp white and wouldn’t look amiss with boyfriend jeans on the Upper East Side, or, even, the frow. The white appliquéd broderie anglaise cotton dress is lovely too, but my advice would be to belt it at the waist, as is the style this summer, and throw on some strappy heels — because not even lawn events need to be that prim.