Excuse Me, Where Are You Going In Those Ruffles?

Ruffles are the pickles of clothing — you either love them or can't stand them. There is no casual acceptance of ruffles; people do not feel lukewarm about them, thinking they neither add to nor detract from an outfit. But despite this polarisation, ruffles are everywhere, adorning many off-the-shoulder necklines; covering hemlines, sleeves, and even pant legs. Ruffles are romantic, but not in a carefree way; ruffles equate love with epic poems and sobbing outside fire escapes. Ruffles are summery in the same way that your one friend who texts you to go to the beach every Saturday morning is summery (read: not chill about it). Ruffles have turned our sidewalks into a milkmaid convention, our bars into Blackbeard's shanty, and our store racks into sea anemones made of cotton poplin.

It's been a weird summer.

The most pressing question about ruffled fashion isn't how you wear it (answer: with confidence), but rather where exactly one thinks they're going dressed in something with so many petals. To which we say, hogwash — there are literally hundreds of occasions where a ruffled outfit would make sense. Ahead are 11 such places.