PAREO: PUCCI PAREO ANGOLI COTTON COVER UP VIA MYTHERESA | TOP: ZARA COTTON STRAPPY BODYSUIT (I HAVE IT IN TWO COLORS) | NECKLACE: BAUBLEBAR JANETTE | SHOES: JELLY SHOES.
There is a particular kind of satisfaction that comes from making one piece work harder than it was ever asked to. Not because you have to, but because you can. A pareo was never meant to live only on sand. Fold it differently, knot it with a little more intention, and it becomes something else entirely: a skirt with movement, with print, with a story that started somewhere else. I didn’t set out to prove a point when I first tied mine at the waist instead of over a swimsuit. I was simply getting dressed for the day, reaching for what was already in my bag. But something about seeing it fall the way a skirt falls, rather than the way a cover-up falls, made me look twice.
That is usually how the best styling discoveries happen. Not planned. Just noticed. This, to me, is the real argument for dressing with intention rather than dressing for a single occasion. A piece with beautiful movement and a print you love doesn’t need to be retired the moment you leave the beach or at the pool. Wear it with a simple tee for breakfast, switch the top and wear it over a swimsuit for lounging by the pool. Change it again and wear it with a bodysuit and the pareo as a skirt to walk into town. One pareo, many ways to style it. A pareo needs a second, third and fourth use written into it.
The pareo, folded at the waist, wrapped and tucked instead of draped and knotted, becomes a fluid, high-waisted skirt that pairs as easily with a simple tank and sandals in the afternoon as it does with a fitted top and heels once the sun goes down. Styling one piece into many outfits also saves space in your luggage and it makes the justification of buying a quality piece worth it. The more you use it, the more ways you find to style a piece you love at home or on vacation is what really does it for me. What I love most is that there is no single right way to do it. Fold it in half for a fuller, more dramatic silhouette.
Fold it in thirds for something narrower and closer to the body. Knot it at the hip for a bit of asymmetry or tuck the ends flat at the waistband for a cleaner line. The fabric decides some of it. Your mood decides the rest. I think this is what dressing after 40 has taught me more than anything: the goal isn’t to own a piece for every possible scenario. It’s to own pieces that can move between scenarios with you. A great pareo, styled with a little imagination, isn’t just resort wear. It’s a skirt, a wrap, a cover-up, a scarf if you fold it small enough. One piece, many days, no waste. That, I think, is the real art of it. Not owning more. Just seeing more in what you already have. Full video here if you want to see it live.