It's been a few weeks since White Lotus's season finale aired, and I am still thinking about my favorite outfits I'd like to re-create. In particular, Kate's poolside mismatched bikini and sheer-top cover-up from right after Laurie confronts Jaclyn about Valentin at the pool.
It's probably the best bikini and cover-up look I've seen in… maybe forever? And the day after the episode aired, I saw I wasn't the only one to think so. Absolutely everyone else on Instagram was talking about this look and asking where the sheer floral cover-up top was from. Unfortunately, the show's costume designer, Alex Bovaird, confirmed that it was vintage.
After the finale, I had the pleasure of speaking with Bovaird for Who What Wear's podcast. We discussed season 3's best looks, this one included, and I got some more insight on how it all came together.
Bovarid told me, "Instead of just throwing on a bikini, Kate mixed and matched two different prints in the same bikini. And then I always gravitate toward vintage pieces because with a contemporary show, you do lots and lots of shopping. And trends are so ubiquitous now that it's very frustrating! Like at the moment, everything's cropped! It just makes it hard to shop when everything in the shops is the same and you're trying to do lots of different characters."
Bovaird opted for the vintage sheer button-down for Kate because it looked great and not necessarily because the character would be shopping secondhand. And the result was a ton of sad White Lotus fashion fans who realized they couldn't necessarily re-create the very good look, myself included.
But the look did teach me that my beach cover-ups are not nearly as inspiring as they could be! I typically buy cover-ups that are marketed as cover-ups, but Bovaird has inspired me to think outside of the box. After all, anything can be worn over a swimsuit, right? And while I probably won't be able to source Kate's fantastic vintage sheer top (although, I will definitely be trying), I am looking into buying a couple sheer button-downs to do my own take on the look. The very best of which I'm sharing below.
Shop the best sheer tops to achieve the look:
