For the last few seasons, denim has showcased a range of hues from electric neons to soft pastels, and all the jewel tones in between. But, there are a few colors (or lack of colors for you color theorists out there) that will always be in style.

WHITE
The epitome of summer dressing, white jeans are always a crisp option. Pair them with navy stripes for an instantly nautical look, or with bright sandals to show off a new pedi and fresh-off-the-beach tan. Don’t worry about spills—just keep a bleach pen handy.

GREY
Grey denim is as versatile as, if not more than, blue jeans. The faded shade feels easy and casual with a loose tee, and can be dressed up with a killer pair of strappy sandals and a shoulder-baring top.

BLACK
It’s possible that the phrase “wardrobe staple” was created to describe black denim. Universally flattering, black jeans have built-in, cool-girl appeal. Try them with ankle boots and a slouchy tank for a daytime look, and with bright pumps and a sheer blouse for an evening out.

--Libby S.

Shop designer denim.

What it is: Thakoon Organza Trimmed Top
Why we love it: Sweet organza creates an airy contrast to solid cotton panels, giving this top a feminine edge.
Wear it with: Tom Binns and Eddie Borgo jewelry and avant-garde Margiela shoes.

Shop blouses.
Shop Thakoon tops.

When the sun is shining outside, we look to our Shopbop DJs to keep our vibe equally sunny inside. Enter David and his awesome mix of mellow electric sounds.

“This mix is a sampling of the best chilltronica played in the Shopbop studio.”

--David, Photographer

Follow Shopbop on Spotify.

Helmut Lang’s calm, cool, and collected aesthetic is the ultimate uniform for the downtown girl. This season’s pre-fall collection is the perfect mix of effortless edge and utilitarian wearability. The classic cuts and monochrome color palette are enough to get us excited for autumn already!

Model: Meghan Collison
Stylist: Shabdiece Esfahani
Photographer: Sharif Hamza

Testing 1, 2, 3…

When it comes to mixed metals, more is more.

Reminiscing about art class with “paintbrushes” and “colored pencils” galore! 

Lights, camera, action!

If the shoe fits…

Peace out… That’s a wrap!

--Shabdiece

Check out the Helmut Lang lookbook.

What they are: 3x1 Channel Seam Ankle Jeans
Why we love them: Contrasting coated seams slim the silhouette of these bright white skinny jeans.
Wear them with: Strappy pumps and a leopard-print Equipment blouse.

Shop white denim.
Shop 3x1 jeans.

It’s no secret that I have a magpie-like devotion to all things shiny. Obviously, this slideshow of the world’s most famous gems caught my eye. I’ll take one of each, please.
[The Cut]

Scarlet O’Hara made the corset look so glamorous. Who wouldn’t want to brace themselves on a bed post while their middle was cinched to epic proportions? Collectors Weekly breaks down the truth of these famed waist-whittlers, and all I can say is thank goodness for Spanx.
[Collectors Weekly]

The advance of warm weather reminds me of a time when summers were spent eating popsicles and trying to learn the dances from the latest music videos. I didn’t notice then, but there was actually a lot of cool architecture in some of them. Architizer takes a look at some of the most famous buildings featured on MTV.
[Architizer]

--Libby S.

FARAN KRENTCIL: What is the first piece of designer clothing you ever bought yourself?
JULIA FRAKES: I'm not sure whether it's "designer" per se, but I did swap my savings for a pair of paisley Oilily overalls and a knobby blue sweater, which looked quite like the one that Cory [Liv Tyler] from Empire Records wore, minus the midriff. I sprang for a Judy Funnie beret the same day. This anticipated my first real "fashion" purchase years later: a grey Miu Miu schoolgirl cardigan, the same shade of grey as the sweater Rosemary Ferguson wore in a dreamy '90s Miu Miu campaign photographed by Corinne Day. I cherish that cardigan, and it remains a closet staple, even if it has seen better days.

FK: When and how did you become a bunny fanatic?
JF: I daydreamed away my elementary school years. Butterscotch the guinea pig, whose cage bedecked a sturdy windowsill in Mrs. A.'s first grade classroom, had these tiny ears that struck me as an unfair complement to his otherwise rotund proportions. I'll glaze over the somber bits of the backstory, but in a nutshell, that particular school year was marked by a rather sad string of events. So I ferreted out a happy place, gazing at Butterscotch for hours on end, sort of extending his ears and transposing his mundane snoozing-and-hamster-wheeling routine out of the class cage and alongside Peter Rabbit in the Hill Top Farm gardens of the Lake District. For show-and-tell, I brought a Gund rabbit named Nutmeg and introduced her as Butterscotch's second cousin from Sawrey. My schoolmates called me Julesbunny, probably tauntingly, but I didn't really mind. It sort of stuck.

FK: You are a redhead. Do you think your hair comes with magical powers?
JF: I think King David's psalms are quite mystical, and he was a "ruddy" redhead. Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn, Florence Welch, James Joyce, Fern Arable, Mary Magdalene, Rupert Grint, Tom Wolfe, Vincent Van Gogh, Winston Churchill, Sylvia Plath, Ron Howard, Alice Lane, Ezra Pound, David Bowie, Grace Coddington, Thomas Jefferson, Conan O'Brien, D.H. Lawrence, and Antonio Vivaldi all exude various sorts of magical powers in my book. But I'd contend that the whole of humanity is magic. I put stock in Roald Dahl's wisdom: “Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. … Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

FK: At Fashion Week, you're literally chased by bloggers with cameras. What's the most fun and the most scary thing about being mobbed by street style photographers?
JF: Most fun? Hopping into old friends—who just happen to be super talented—like Phil, Tommy, Mark, Hanneli, Garance, Maya, Candice, Natalie, and Mr. Cunningham. If you try to wear your heart on your sleeve, and said sleeve somehow lands in Vogue or The New York Times, it's always a surprise—an affirming, perplexing, and gratifying honor. Most scary? Well, when it's not at an event where you might expect photographers...

FK: As anyone who follows you on Twitter knows, you are a hard news junkie. What do you read when you first wake up in the morning?
JF: The New York Times, The Washington Post's politics and opinions columns online, and I subscribe to The Nation, The New Yorker, and Foreign Policy, so they're always on my bedside table. I try to gradually wade through them before the next issues arrive. (TheNation.com is my browser homepage, and fashion folks, Consider Elizabeth Cline's "The Good Closet" column at The Nation a weekly essential.) Also, the diversity and breadth of Vice's media outlets and platforms is a major game-changer, and frankly all-around genius. Their video production team is like our generation's reigning champion; Vice's shows, documentary series, and interviews, albeit not all "hard news," are incomparable. The kids are alright.

FK: Please describe your personal style in one sentence. This sentence must include the word "full moon."
JF: Kate Bush interpretive dancing under Utagawa Hiroshige's "Full Moon at Takanawa," or while collecting stones on the ol' space highway with Astronaut Jones.*
*Astronaut Jones, written by Tracy Morgan. Directed by Tracy Morgan. Hair and makeup by Tracy Morgan. Produced by Tracy Morgan and Melvin Goldfarb.

--Faran

The Steal: Blue Steven sandals that are a little bit sporty, little bit femme fatale.
The Price: $109 (USD)
Why they’re worth it: The silhouette is simple enough to dress up or down, and the eye-catching color will amp up any ensemble.

Shop the Steven Lpsrvce Sandals.

ALEXIS BRYAN MORGAN | EXECUTIVE FASHION DIRECTOR
What summer trip or weekend getaway are you most looking forward to?
We go to a place on the West coast of France called Cap Ferret. It's our secret spot so don't tell anyone!

What are your most essential travel essentials?
My camera, my UGG slippers, this rubber speaker I got for my iPhone because my girls love to listen to music and dance, sunscreen, crayons for the girls because that can keep them occupied for hours.

If you could only take 5 things on your trip, what would they be?
Camera, one of my old concert tees I sleep in (I swear I can't sleep unless I am wearing one), bobby pins for buns for all of the Morgan girls, strawberry Labello lip balm, and a bunch of Stretch Island fruit leathers to prevent anyone from getting cranky if we haven't found a spot to eat!

What’s on your summer reading list?
Going to finish the Game of Thrones books.

ELEANOR STRAUSS | SENIOR FASHION EDITOR
What summer trip or weekend getaway are you most looking forward to?
My husband and I are leaving our daughter, Honor, with my mum in the UK and flying to Old Town Marbella, Spain, for a few days. We do the same thing every year (last year we went to Sicily). My mum gets to see her granddaughter, and we get some us time. It's a win-win!

What’s your most essential travel essential?
My camera. It's nice to put away the phone for once and actually pick up a camera with a real lens!

How do you get the most out of your suitcase real estate? Any packing tips?
1. Roll instead of fold. You'll get more in that way, and it’s good for avoiding creases.
2. Buy all toiletries in travel size. It cuts down on space and weight.
3. Write a list. I love lists, and a summer vacation list is no exception. It gets you in the mood, but it will also prevent you from packing 6 pairs of strappy sandals and 25 bikinis. Hopefully!

If you could only take 5 things on your trip, what would they be?
Zimmermann floral bikini, wide-brim panama hat, striped Soludos espadrilles, Isabel Marant eyelet dress, and, sadly, probably my phone.

What’s on your summer reading list?
I literally cannot wait to have time to read—such a luxury. On my list is Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg and Ian McEwan's latest, Sweet Tooth.

ANNE KEANE | FASHION DIRECTOR
What summer trip or weekend getaway are you most looking forward to?
I love going out to Amagansett every weekend. On summer Fridays, I'm like a kid at school looking impatiently at the clock. I can't wait to get there!

How do you get the most out of your suitcase real estate? Any packing tips?
I roll everything up when I pack it.

If you could only take 5 things on your trip, what would they be?
A navy or black dress, a grey sweater, simple flats, a bathing suit, and a fun oversized bag (with a makeup bag inside that doubles as a clutch).

What’s on your summer reading list?
Just Kids by Patti Smith, Personal History by Kathryn Graham, and every book in the Game of Thrones series!

VERENA VON PFETTEN | EXECUTIVE DIGITAL DIRECTOR
What summer trip or weekend getaway are you most looking forward to?
Vietnam! I'm going there for a week in June, spending a few days in Saigon and the rest on the beach. South-East Asia has been at the top of my travel wish list for a while now, so I can't wait.

What’s your most essential travel essential?
At least three good books—one for each plane ride and one to read while I'm there—and a hairbrush.

How do you get the most out of your suitcase real estate? Any packing tips?
I'm all about the rolling. T-shirts, tanks, jeans—anything that can be folded flat and then rolled up should be. It's such a space saver. I also like to make sure I use all the dead space: I fill my purses with socks and tanks and smaller items (which, incidentally, is a great way to make sure they don't get crushed), and I always leave a few things out to fit in at the end, jigsaw puzzle-style.

What’s on your summer reading list?
I'm finally reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. After that I'd like to tackle The Bell Jar. You know, just some easy beach reading.

MEGAN O’NEILL | ASSOCIATE BEAUTY EDITOR
What summer trip or weekend getaway are you most looking forward to?
I LIVE for summer in Manhattan—that mirage-inducing, thick heat—so I opt to go away somewhere even hotter than where I started. I went to Thailand last summer and would love to go back. Costa Rica the year before. Dying to go to Jamaica and Africa. Just anywhere exotic and insanely hot!

What’s your most essential travel essential?
Lotion and lip balm are my must-haves. I am not a person until I moisturize in the morning and smooth some balm on my lips.

How do you get the most out of your suitcase real estate? Any packing tips?
Since I embrace the heat, I wear very little during the summer—tube tops, cutoffs, paper-thin dresses, and airy skirts are my uniform. They roll up pretty easily into a duffel or suitcase. My boyfriend insists on carrying on, so I do a lot of rolling and stuffing.

What’s on your summer reading list?
Every magazine under the sun and By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham. I've read it already, but it's so good—beautifully written and very sexy.

Check out the Lucky editors’ summer picks.