This Affordable Brand Makes 90% Of What We’re Wearing This Summer As Over-40 Women Who Crave Comfort And Chicness
Lots of words in that title. But they’re all true.
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by The Candidly Team
Every summer we want new clothes. And every summer, we don’t have thousands of extra dollars to spend on new clothes.
We know. Such a rare and distinctive problem.
But then, when we do buy something, we often make this mistake. And we wonder if you do too.
We either buy it it because it’s very cute but it doesn’t fill any hole in our closet or it fills a hole in our closet but isn’t actually that cute.
We recently found ourselves going back over and over again to one particular brand’s website because frankly, we could see ourselves creating our entire summer wardrobe out of its pieces and loving every look.
We won’t leave you in suspense. It’s Z Supply.
We’ve written abut Z Supply before HERE and HERE and HERE. They’ve never paid us to do so. They have sent us clothes to try on, but because the prices and quality are so good, we end up going back ourselves and buying more styles and colors we love with our own money, so we can confidently tell you that if you want to look effortless and chic, if you must feel deeply comfortable, and if you’re sick of being asked to spend $250 on any pretty summer dress or $100 on a tank top, then Z Supply is very much worth your time.
Here are the top 7 pieces we recommend:
1. This Easiest And Most Flattering Dress
WHAT: Cornelia Poplin Maxi Dress*
Why we love it: Please don’t hold our managing editor’s laziness about ironing against this dress. It was just too pretty to not put on straight out of the box. Every summer, we look for a floaty dress that’s loose around the belly but still has shape, so it looks hourglassy instead of mumu-ish. The smocking on top holds us in to the point we didn’t need a bra, because it sort of is one. And then it billows out at the small of the waist into the lightest, cotton poplin skirt, so everything is as flattering as possible. The cobalt blue is mesmerizing on everyone, nevertheless, we want it in more colors.
Note: Because of the stretch, it runs a bit big, so we suggest sizing down.
Price: $128
2. This Lace Skirt That Somehow Has Stretch
WHAT: Cressa Crochet Mini Skirt*
Why we love it: Short skirts don’t have to be intimidating. When they’re not too tight or too short and have a high-waist like this one, they can be a chic sub-in for shorts. This skirt looked scary to us a first, but it’s 100% soft cotton with a stretchy lining, so it fits very comfortably. Pair it with a baggy tee* and sandals for a cool yet casual look that feels youthy and adult at the same time.
Price: $98
3. This Black And White Ensemble
WHAT: Flex Cropped Muscle Tee* and Lark Linen Trouser in Sea Salt*
Why we love it: Both of these pieces are extremely comfy summer staples. The tee is buttery soft, somewhere between a tee and a tank, and it’s just cropped enough to not have to tuck, so it’s a natural go-to in the summer. The pants are also very, very soft (a pretty constant theme with Z Supply). They’re a tailored wide-leg that looks smart in the front but have elastic in back, so we essentially feel like we’re in light pajamas. However … because we’re wearing black on top and white on the bottom, a trick we’ve written about at length, our whole outfit reads a little more quiet luxury and expensive. But it must be black on top, white on the bottom, not the other way around. Otherwise it can look waiterish or like workwear.
Price: $48 for the tee, $128 for the pants
4. This Set That Hides Your Belly Whilst Giving You Shape
WHAT: Palm Linen Tank* and Midi Skirt*
Why we love it: There’s something about a skirt set that makes us feel simply marvelous. Maybe it’s because all dresses either fail us in the top or the bottom so being able to choose two separate, perfect-fitting pieces that read as one feels like a real solution. This set is airy with an elastic waist and lots of floaty space, but it makes our waist look smaller and our legs look longer, even in flats. The ones we’re wearing by the way are maybe our favorite discovery this summer.
Price: $88 for the top, $120 for the skirt
5. This dress/Cover-Up That’s Also Great On A Belly Pooch
WHAT: Shellbound Striped Gauze Dress*
Why we love it: This is the kind of cute, little dress that gets a little glow around it when you spot it in the closet, because it saves you on on those muggy, miserable days when you’re bloated before your period and everything feels hot and tight and terrible. Z Supply makes a lot of things that give you great belly coverage while still looking sleek and styled. This dress is gauzy and breezy and so soft and weightless, we reach for it all the time. We wear it with a crossbody bag* and platform sandals* in the city and over swimsuits with slides on vacation.
Price: $120
6. This Peplum Top You’ll Wear To Everything And This Surprising Column Skirt
WHAT: Adele Top* and Gail Striped Midi Skirt*
Why we love it: Another gem for concealing a lower belly pooch. This top has such a supportive bodice (again no bra required, at least as tested on an over-40 y/o’s 36C chest). The midsection is smocked before floating out into a poplin peplum - say that 10x fast. It’s the kind of top we wear out every third night in the summer. It balances really well with more fitted bottoms, because silhouette is everything, which brings us to the skirt.
This skirt is three things most of us learn to fear in life, horizontal striped, the color white, and fitted, and yet, this skirt is shockingly unscary. The material conceals every lump and bump. It skims over curves without clinging at all, and the back slit makes it a breeze to walk in. If you’ve been longing for the elongating and look of a maxi column skirt, we really recommend this one.
Price: $88 for the top, $68 for the skirt
7. This Airy And Soft Linen Set We Never Want To Take Off
WHAT: The Perfect Linen Striped Top* and Shorts*
Why we love it: Sets get us through the summer. They make us appear styled with zero effort. We’re sure you’re bored of us using these two words, but it must be said that this linen set is soft and light on a level of no other linen set we’ve tried, and we’ve tried many. It comes in other stripe colors, but we like the green for a fresh alternative to something more classic like black or navy.
Price: $88 for the shirt, $64 for the shorts
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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