What do the One Per Cent take on their holiday?
This isn’t just a question for those of us who like to spy on the lifestyles of the very rich; it’s useful information for any civilian thinking about packing for a week away.
Please note, we’re talking about the uber-rich One Per Cent who have been responsible for the rollout of the stealth wealth aesthetic – the ‘quiet luxury’ that’s had such an influence on fashion over the past few years.
They’re not flashy or ostentatious, or necessarily in the public eye. Their minimal, luxurious clothes are deliberately simple, cut in the best fabrics money can buy, and they would rather own one perfectly tailored pair of trousers than a wardrobe full of lacey fishtail designer dresses (they don’t really do lace, or print or frills).
Which is why (we’re coming to the point) what the One Per Cent packs for a holiday – in spite of the mind-boggling price tags – is very much of interest to Us Normals. Minimal, easily mixed, hardworking… sounds like the perfect capsule holiday wardrobe.
No place for those last-minute swirly print sarongs. No T-shirts that sag in the heat. No pinching wedge sandals (newsflash: the One Per Cent only wear the simplest flats on holiday, sometimes a flip flop with a kitten heel).
Here are the One Per Cent’s key holiday pieces. It’s not a look for everyone, but we’ve provided the more affordable options, just in case you want to join in…
One Per Cent = One piece
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore a monochrome one piece on a recent holiday – and Next sell a remarkably similar high-street version
Next’s black and white panelled tummy control one piece (£36, next.co.uk)
Olivia Rodrigo, who recently headlined Glastonbury festival, dons a slinky red one piece at the beach
Let’s cut to the chase and deal with the big question that applies to the One Per Cent as much as to civilians – one piece or bikini?
The answer is always a one piece (more elegant and it doubles as a body to wear under a skirt for lunch), in one colour, ideally white or black. The one piece of the moment – the one with the U-wire feature on the bra that gives you a better bust shape, and wide-spaced straps that enhance your decollete – is the Cannes style from Away That Day (£195, awaythatday.com).
This is not for everyone, it’s high cut in the leg, but it ticks every One Per Cent box – sleek, clean, figure-enhancing and expensive looking. Choose between plain espresso or ivory, or the flattering black with white trim (£215).
The 99 per cent option: Next’s black and white panelled tummy control one piece (£36, next.co.uk) or M&S’s black neoprene scallop plunge swimsuit (£35).
The Elevated Flip Flop (or Jelly)
Model Hailey Bieber is seen in Soho in New York in a pair of chic, kitten-heel flip-flops, which she paired with polka-dot pedal pushers
A sleek black leather flip flop with a slim sole is the One Per Cent’s go-with-everything shoe of choice all summer. Those in the know are getting theirs from The Row (£860, therow.com).
The Row is the One Per Cent’s go-to label and its flip flops encapsulate its appeal – immaculately executed everyday wear for people who don’t have to prove anything by, for example, wearing their logos on their sleeves.
One Per Cents may have a back-up pair of Kinto leather flip flops from A. Emery (£130, netaporter.com) and they probably have The Row Dune rubber flip flop, too (£670). There has been a slight footwear shift since last year and some of the younger ones are now wearing rubber jellies, transparent fishnet styles from The Row (£860) or a flip flop with a tiny kitten heel. This is literally an elevated flip flop (theirs are by Toteme, £330, farfetch.com) to wear with your holiday Little Black Dress.
The 99 per cent option: Marks & Spencer’s suede flip flop (£39.50) or Zara’s kitten heel flip flop (£27.99, zara.com) and M&S’s coveted mesh jelly shoes (£19.50, marksandspencer.com).
Zara’s kitten heel flip flop (£27.99, zara.com)
Monochrome… Always
It’s not that the One Per Cent never wear colour – it’s just that they find that ivory and black, with the occasional injection of pale yellow, or possibly red, are best in the day and at night.
No prints on holiday – apart from a black and white stripe or spot – and no brights. Even their swimwear is monochrome.
Assume that the One Per Cent will have at least one crisp white oversize boyfriend shirt – Phoebe Philo’s would do the trick (£800, phoebephilo.com) – to wear with cream trousers or jeans or over a swimsuit.
The 99 per cent option: WNU’s boyfriend cotton shirts (£95, withnothingunderneath.com) make it easy to look as good as the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy – herself a One Per Cent and legendarily elegant dresser in the 1990s, now the One Per Cent’s number one style icon.
The Tote
Supermodel Kendall Jenner wanders Venice last month with an oversized brown leather tote bag
For the One Per Cent it is all about the tote. Other bags come and go but they are sticking with their stealth wealth totes – practical, plain, beautifully finished, perfect for travelling and a bag for life.
The one to have is The Row’s Margaux, which costs just south of £4,000; and if heading for the beach, the One Per Cent will also have one in raffia or mesh – either The Row’s barn tote (sold out in ivory £1,260; still available in brown), or Phoebe Philo’s slope sling in natural (£1,700).
For what it’s worth, Bessette-Kennedy used to carry an LLBean canvas tote in Hyannis Port, available for around £30 on line. Hers will have been monogrammed.
The 99 per cent option: Cos does a great oversize handwoven tote in natural raffia (£135, cos.com). Worth noting that Cos is very high up the list of high street shops whose clothes and accessories can pass for One Per Cent.
White Trousers and Jeans
Baukjen cotton stretch wide-leg Seventies-inspired jeans (£77, baukjen.com)
Another holiday staple – worn with a black tank. Phoebe Philo’s loose white linen jeans are the standard – they cost over £1,000 and are sold out – but Wiggy Kit’s slightly more bohemian take on this look is also popular with the boho-inclined stealth wealth crowd (Gwyneth Paltrow).
The British brand’s kite rancher barrel leg jeans (£325, wiggykit.com) and its tab shirt (£295) are top of the ‘heading to Nantucket for August’ list.
The 99 per cent option: Baukjen does a good cotton stretch wide-leg, but not too wide, Seventies-inspired jean that Bessette-Kennedy would definitely have approved of (£77, baukjen.com). Get your ribbed black cotton vest from John Lewis (£16, johnlewis.com).
A Summer Black or White dress
Kendall Jenner poses for an Instagram photo in a chic black and white, polka dot dress
It will be very plain, of course – either a slip dress or a long T shirt or tank style – in silk, linen or cotton. These simplest of dresses are catnip for the One Per Cent who can dress them up (gold bangles and earrings) or down, and the added bonus is they’re very hard to reproduce cheaply.
Khaite’s cotton jersey sleeveless midi dress (£550, net-a-porter.com) is the current One Per Cent all rounder.
The 99 per cent option: Cos does a cotton/linen t-shirt maxi dress (£75) and Massimo Dutti has a crushed, pleated, batwing-sleeved white dress (£129, massimodutti.com) that’s very Gwyneth Paltrow in the garden of her villa in Italy (the same place she posted pictures of herself cooking breakfast wearing just a pair of boxer shorts).
Otherwise Marks & Spencer does a simple black cotton midi t-shirt dress that, with a sleek pony tail, the right sunglasses and a tote is pretty on the money. And if you prefer a skirt, John Lewis’s bestselling white cotton poplin, long wrap (£35) would look chic with a black vest.
Simple Holiday Jewellery
Are the One Per Cent wearing their diamonds on holiday? They are not. That would be senselessly risky and not in keeping with the One Per Cent aesthetic which is less about sparklers and more about a chunky chain, a gold wrist cuff, a plain pendant.
The inspiration again is Phoebe Philo: her pebble stud earrings in silver or gold (£420, £450) or one of her pebble pendants (£650) are One Per Cent classics.
The 99 per cent option: Cos has the best range of One Per Cent style jewellery on the high street including silver and gold earrings that are a dead ringer for you know who’s. Cos’s mismatched stud gold earrings (£30), chunky droplet earrings (£35), sculpted brushed silver or gold cuff (£55) are all on the One Per Cent bullseye.
The Sun Hat
The One Per Cent adopted the baseball cap long ago (perfect for incognito travel) so they’ll always take a cap (The Row’s classic baseball cap is silk, costs £380 and comes, you guessed it, in beige and black). For paddle boarding, or cruising in the launch, they’ll pack a visor from Heidi Klein (£140, heidiklein.com)
The 99 per cent option: It’s worth spending more on a cap so it has a crisp crown and keeps its shape (£65, meandem.com). For a good wide-brimmed straw hat in natural try M&S (£19.50).
Sunglasses Are Everything
They have to suit your face of course, but the shape that Bessette-Kennedy made forever chic is a simple slim oval frame (hers were the Aldo by American brand Selima Optique and cost $495).
Bold hardware, flashy finishes, none of these interest the One Per Cent and although they might wear Celine or YSL, they’re just as likely to opt for a non-designer label at a modest price. Chimi’s code sunglasses (£135, chimi-online.com) a sleek narrow black oval style with slim arms are the ones Kendall Jenner wears.
The 99 per cent option: Massimo Dutti’s tortoiseshell oval aviators (£69.95) have Phoebe Philo cool and Le Specs’s Work It! slimline oval sunglasses (£65, lespecs.co.uk) are a very Bessette-Kennedy style. Also great looking, although a little pricier, are Jimmy Fairly’s sunglasses (from £135, jimmyfairly.com). Take a look at the Elvie style or, if you want more of a heavy aviator look (Philo again), the Gabrie.
Always Some Cashmere
M&S sell cashmere at a more reasonable price, including this chic short-sleeve crewneck in cappuccino (£89, marksandspencer.com)
You don’t need cashmere in the sun, unless you’re idling in an airport lounge, taking a boat at night, walking the vineyard in the cool of the evening – all of which the One Per Cent woman probably will be. The go-to label for One Per Cent cashmere is Loro Piana, Prada or Khaite for short-sleeved cashmere tops (£1,020, khaite.com).
The 99 per cent option: an M&S cashmere crewneck in cappuccino (£89) is very One Per Cent – great neutral colour and you can wear it on the beach or by the fire in winter.
