Kendall Jenner's Three-Step Guide to Making Your Summer Dresses Less Cute and More Fashion-y

Or how to dress for a garden party without getting a cavity.

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(Image credit: Getty, design by Monica Park)
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Summertime and the livin' is easy...except when you merry-go-round yourself into a sartorial spiral because a sundress plus sandals is just so boring. But what else can you wear that a) doesn't cling to your legs or b) isn't pants? How do you make the over-familiar even somewhat strange?

In comes Kendall Jenner with an, if not the, answer, given in three parts at Saturday's Tenth Annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, an event where celebrities day-drink outdoors while watching dudes swing mallets way too close to horses' heads. Let's break it down, shall we?

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(Image credit: Getty)

Part I: The Bigger the Hoops

If Marni Senofonte had put her in pearls—not that she ever would, outside of the non-sorority, Sophie Bille Brahe kind—this would be a completely different sort of story. (But again, not that we would ever do that.) But because Senofonte stayed consistent with the neo-'90s vibe she's been cultivating for KJ, that floral, puff-sleeve Dolce & Gabbana dress (similar here) gets a bit of edge, like how a generous pinch of salt or squeeze of lemon cuts through a dessert's one-note taste of sugar.

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essentials hoops

(Image credit: Design by Susanna Hayward)

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Part II: The Higher the Boot

Curveball! The ever-popular nude sandal sometimes has the unfortunate effect of making the wearer look like she is standing on her bare tiptoes; modish, pointed Stuart Weitzman boots, instead, ground a frock so airy it might otherwise flutter away.

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(Image credit: Getty)

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Part III: The Smaller the Hair

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The worst possible decision Jen Atkin could have made here would've been to do pageant waves. (For the third time: Not that she would ever.) Mercifully, those have fallen mostly out of favor, dragged under by the beachy/bedhead-y/wavy with straight ends. That would've been fine, because when the accompanying fashion is more involved or "girly," it's best to think straight over round, angular over curved. Wispies don't hurt either.

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Chelsea Peng
Assistant Editor

Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at Marie Claire. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.