Why Palm Royale Style Should Be on Your Summer Moodboard
Summer is on the horizon, or at least at the click of your remote when watching another episode of Palm Royale. For those not yet in this very stylish club, Palm Royale is an Apple TV+ series set in the exclusive Palm Beach society of Florida in 1969, and based (loosely) on the Mr. & Mrs. American Pie novel by Juliet McDaniel. There's a stellar cast, including Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, and Ricky Martin. Still, for me, the show's main appeal is its Slim Aarons style, in saturated, sherbet colourways.
The main character, Maxine, enters the eponymous Palm Royale by scaling a wall in a modish micro mini – before she gets started on the actual social climbing. As in the iconic 'Palm Beach Ladies' photograph by Slim, she pairs her shift with a handkerchief scarf tied over her bounce-back hair.
Much research went into pulling together every outfit for the show that is set at the very source of resortwear. The head custome designer, Alix Friedberg, has told outlets that her department had 40 people working on the wardrobes, over the course of eight months. They searched high and low for vintage finds – including by Courrèges, Givenchy, Chloé, and Christian Dior – and had the more delicate looks restored and remade to ensure they looked fresh and bright on screen.
Maxine, a former beauty pageant winner, has also researched the socialites she aspires to be like, but she always looks like she's trying a little too hard. As we ready our wardrobes for warmer climes, how can we dress with this endearing character's sense of optimism – without receiving cooling glances from the other ladies around the pool?
“All I do is try,” Mrs American Pie tells us at first glance. “All I wanted was to be somebody in this world. But when you want to be a somebody, there's a catch. And that catch is everyone else.”
When inspired by sartorial satire, self-awareness is the first step. You may be inspired by a fun and floaty dress here or a stacked cocktail ring you can wag a finger with there – but the secret is only to try one new piece at a time, and to mix it with your usual attire to ensure you still look and feel like yourself. If you want to be witty, subvert such 60s-inspired pieces by wearing them with on-trend or new-season accents, so it's clear you're just having fun, too.
Fortunately, a few online stores have done a lot of the work for us. Friedberg, for example, has pulled together a Palm Royale edit at leading vintage reseller The Real Real. From another status label in the show, Emilio Pucci, there is a plus-size patterned dress and silk scarves that can be worn (like the socialites do) in multiple ways. This includes being tied on the many vintage-holiday-vibe handbags in the range, with wicker wonders from Cult Gaia to Chanel.
If you prefer the thrill of the second-hand shopping chase, 1st Dibs has a vibrant Lily Pulitzer dress, which was likely created on the same Worth Road where the ladies try to out-shop one another on the show. Etsy also has original 1960s designs, including larger-than-life Pucci sunglasses and a glitzy Malcolm Starr gown for your next competitive charity gala.
If you'd rather be in with the new, and avoid any risk of looking like you borrowed from the show's well-stocked costume department, several contemporary designs are worthy of a feature on the show's own Shiny Sheet. Anthropologie offers a particularly enticing Palm Royale edit. We have set our sights on the Le Superbe Day Shifter mini dress, Hope for Flowers by Tracy Reese bell-sleeve blouse and the Sabina Musayev Nectar pleated jumpsuit.
For daytime footwear, it is all about the glitzy sandal. Think of this golden pair from Manolo Blahnik, or dip your toe in with this sliver of silver from Gabriela Hearst. They will know you're coming when the sun shines back at them.
Looking through my own golden Rolodex (figuratively), my style secrets include the retro-inspired and refined Alemais. Its Lemonis print looks even include the decorative latticework and fruits from Palm Roayle's mise-en-scène. It comes in breeze-on-through palazzo pants and a carefree handkerchief-style dress. Meanwhile, the Megan Boyd Printed mini shorts are just as cheery – but all the more modern because they are not a mini skirt.
While going to a beach, let alone a beach club, anytime soon may seem, well, slim – I am taking style and sentiment cues from Maxine when she declares to always look on the bright side. As she says: "One must trust that the path to personal glory will reveal itself, if one remains resolutely sunny.”
Jessica-Belle Greer is a freelance writer based in the UK.