Although resort collections will never cease to nail the classic little black dress (after all, black tie soirees and cocktail hours are a resilient batch), its nude, beige, and camel counterparts are in abundance this year. Miu Miu, Balenciaga, Oscar de la Renta, Thakoon, Calvin Klein, Rachel Roy, and Celine are among those that featured the demure frock for Resort 2010. While some designers like Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein stuck to flattering but basic cuts and patterns, others went bolder, fresher, and more experimental.

Miu Miu’s Resort 2010 collection features a variety of nude looks, including a spot-on mini with wide, elegant pleating starting at the waist. Other standouts include First Lady-approved Thakoon’s runched LND, on which the neckline gathers elegantly into a knot (asymmetrical, of course). Celine and Jenni Kayne offered more casual takes on the trend with incarnations of the shirtdress: a belted, buttoned version from Celine, and a sheer, leggy version from Kayne in the form of an actual top. At J. Mendel, a belted camel v-neck mini is topped with a fur shrug—incorporating a major trend this season (sorry, PETA). Frankly, coast to coast, it’s a good time and place to rock on the lighter side.

Photos:
Style.com