Back to School 2018 Trend: Prairie Dresses

The final days of summer, while precious, are laced with a certain lackadaisical boredom—especially for the quintessential American teenager. The initial shininess of break has become tarnished, back to school is right around the corner and the relinquishing of free afternoons is near. Sprinklers buzz. Bike spokes whizz. Lawn mowers groan. Welcome to sleepy suburbia.

This hazy, end-of-summer apathy is partially what inspired the latest shoot within our Creators Circle series, wherein we give young creative talents free rein to put their heads together and produce a visual masterpiece. In this case, it comes in the form a series of photos shot in a Los Angeles suburb at the house of 16-year-old model Cailee Pupecki, who stars in the story.

“The vibe for the shoot was Badlands a 1973 Terrence Malick film with Sissy Spacek. The mood is very dead-end Suburbia—summer is ending, there's a restlessness, a touch of boredom,” explains stylist Doria Santlofer, who paired classic Americana dresses with de rigeur dad sneakers to give the shoot an old-meets-new feel. “We wanted to channel Sissy Spacek’s character, but imagining what that would look like in 2018,” adds photographer Carissa Gallo. “When Doria and I found Cailee, we wanted her to inform the basis of the concept. She’s in high school, she lives in an LA suburb and she’s also an athlete.”

Indeed, Cailee seems to be the typical American teenager—aside from the fact that her modeling career is skyrocketing. She’s been cast in campaigns for Stussy and Apple but her favorite job has been with Golf Wang, Tyler the Creator’s clothing brand. “I have always enjoyed what Tyler has produced so being involved in one of his projects felt very special, almost unreal,” reveals the beauty, who is an aspiring designer herself.

Fashion prodigality aside, Cailee’s summer looked a lot like any other 16-year-olds. She played softball, hung out with friends and frequented the nearby In-n-Out. For the shoot, she even arrived on her bike with a palm-tree emblazoned carry-out bag in hand—you’ll notice it in a few snaps.

This all contributes to the authentic believability of the photo series. It shows a real teen at her real home truly lamenting that final days of summer. “It’s the worst feeling. Your freedom is just quickly snatched away from you,” says Cailee. The transportative magic of the shoot therefore lies not in the setting or the hair and makeup or the story, but rather in the clothing, which is prairie girl-meets-retro cool.

“There was a brand called Gunne Sax in the 1970s and 80s, which was by an American designer named Jessica McClintock,” says Doria. “The look was flounced skirts, ruffled collars, puffed sleeves, lace-up bodices, patchwork. It's an iconic, kind of story-book style that's having a renaissance right now and reminded us both of the Badlands aesthetic.”

Quilted dresses, ruffled hemlines and high collars makeup the bulk of the sartorial impact but their grounding in unexpected footwear is what makes the entire aesthetic exciting and current. “I styled to shoot to feel young and modern, but also to give homage to our reference and this fairytale Americana style,” explains Doria.

“I paired an embroidered Fendi dress with baby blue cowboy boots and a long, printed Batsheva dress with Nike socks and Fila sneakers,” she continues. “I also added little feminine details, like heart-shaped lockets and pendants from New York City-based jewelry designer, Sasha Samuel.”

Channel your own inner prairie girl for your boldest back-to school look yet. To note: the aesthetic pairs excellently with Animal Style fries.