We've all the glorious exits from the DVF Resort show, which took place last week in Florence. Diane von Furstenburg's personal elegance might just be the perfect example of what it means to 'Resort' in the traditional sense of the word. To do so, from a style standpoint, the efficiency of one's suitcase is as important as the destination or the dinners. So her collection, being that she understands this process better than most, pivoted on the 'Petite Valise' and the ability of a DVF gal to go from airplane to beach to formal affair with one well-packed bag.

For this reason, the collection included many different nods to historical vacation wear. Namely, 1950's inspired swimwear, 1970's inspired silhouettes, and those easy, modern cotton shirt dresses from today's fashion world. In DVF's mind, the point is to evoke glamour without having to spend hours in the bathroom, and this thesis, necessarily, is without a relative era. This what we'd call timeless, in other words, and it goes without saying that DVF is woman who knows about such things.

Because we know you'll probably need a straightforward women's wear fix, and because Resort lasts forever, here's what's happening with vacation frocks and whatnot. Our Network Partners are covering Resort happenings diligently, giving up images and impressions of who is putting out what and why they like it.

From London, I Am Fashion, rounds up top picks from Resort 09. Namely, from the likes of Phillip Lim, Nina Ricci, and Lanvin. If there were ever a palatable list for a young chicster, ranging from least to most expensive, it would be this one.

Fancy a break down of Louis Vuitton's Resort 09 preview? Our Network Partner, Shiny Style, has images of the neon striped shorts, guazy silky numbers, and jewel detailing from the collection. She aligns it with Resort offerings from the likes of Lanvin and Balenciaga, whom she credits as having the more interesting designs. We should hope so, eh? If Phillip Lim starts blowing Oscar de la Renta out of the water we'll start wearing birkenstocks and move upstate.

Otherwise, J'adore Couture does Lanvin, Shiny Squirrel does Alexander McQueen, and Trust Your Style does a bit of Temperley, Rowley, Malandrino, and the like.

When we were young we thought Cynthia Rowley and Betsey Johnson basically took the cake when it came to fashion. It was at this time, let's not forget, that we wore bristleless toothbrushes as bracelets and went to bed at 8pm. Both designers, however, never really left us and in the midst of ultra-seriousness at New York Fashion Week, it makes us smile to see their shows (maybe we were right in loving them). For this Resort 2009 Rowley showed a collection that encompassed both thirteen year-old whimsy and grown-up style prowess. For the teenager in us there were (well, the models) teeny tiny shift dresses in palatable colors like ice blue, and for our more mature side, black silk parachute pants and modern art-inspired costume jewelry.


Click to see Cynthia Rowley's Fall 08 Fashion Show

As a point of inspiration, Phillip Lim imagined the woman who might best wear his mid-season offerings. Frankly, the designer couldn't have been more candid, as he said she would be, "young with an old soul". We think this best describes the transformation we're seeing from Lim as the seasons pass. From his flirty days at Development to his current collections, Lim's aesthetic has grown increasingly mature. His first few collections out of the gates (those that had every twenty-something dropping hundreds--even if it meant eating Ramen noodles for a month) consisted of 'fun and flirty' belted frocks and guazy blouses and the young fashionistas rightly ate it up. A few seasons later things turned out a bit more menswear inspired, a bit more rock n' roll, and we can't help but wonder if this wasn't Lim's subtle (or subconscious) way of weening us off the flirt-factor. Now, starting with Spring 08 and ending with this most recent Resort collection, we feel like Lim has hit his stride and positioned himself exactly where he wanted to end up in the first place. Namely, dressing a wealthy, and more conservative, customer. Sure, she could be in her twenties, but she certainly isn't the sort who also wears Ella Moss and LaRok (and she was before). Now, that is, she's the sort who wears brands like Marni or YSL and when she drops cash on vacation gear, she's not going to have to eat Ramen for the next month.

This Resort 2009, Badgley Mischka gave a girl an outfit for every occasion. This is pure editorial candy, in other words, as there's an outfit for every magazine spread imaginable, from 'Safari' to 'Bohemian'. The collection, in this sense, reminded us of Oscar de la Renta's Resort offerings, where large brimmed hats, caftans, and beautiful embroidered frocks came together by way of a clean and accessible palate. When you pair down the color and print, keep it edited by sticking to outfits that, each in their own way, necessitate luxury and travel, then yes, you can offer everything from evening frocks to pantsuits. Just like Oscar did. In this collection, the high cinched waists, nudes punctuating by pops of color, and evening dresses in maxi lengths, all referenced the trends we've gown used to by now (which is fine for Resort, rarely does a new trend emerge during mid-season in our opinion). Badgley Mischka, ever the crowd pleaser (well, except for this past Bridal season) has done well for Resort. On to Spring, we say!