As we slowly try to create outfits to wear work, shopping or cocktail hour during this painful ode to global warming, we have been calling on one summer essential time and again - the one-piece. Call ‘em rompers or jumpsuits or whatever have you, but thank god for these one piece wonders during these so brutal times. Once thought to be short, flowy numbers only models and petite fours could pull off. Single-piece suits transitioned in Spring to a must have item appropriate for many occasions.

Silk, satin, jacquard, pique - you name it, designers have created a single piece of material appropriate for various occasions. This week’s sample sales include jumpers by Pencey and Quail on Gilt.com, Free People on Ideeli.com and the Jodi Arnold Sample Sale. Even outside of Conde Nast, Manhattanites are sporting longer versions with capped sleeves to the office and shorter jumpers out to dine. Even more casual one-pieces look great for daytime strolls or beach cover-ups. For less casual occasions, choose wisely as rompers will make their way into fall and more transitional pieces look smarter and last longer paired with a blazer and suede moto booties.

Emma Dinzebach

For the first time in almost 70 years, this year Governor’s Island hosted a polo match. (Remember, Prince Harry fell off his horse?) And this year’s horse sport attire transcended polka dot Pretty Woman sporting edgier styles and a much shorter hemline. Enter New York fashion icon Chole Sevigny and you get a little taste of what we are talking about. A fresh look on the classic style pairs a suit-like ensemble with a classic white shirt and toque topper. Balance appears key in this look. If you opt for the suit option, a smaller hat, longer torso and lots of legs provides provides checks and balances making sure one section does not overwhelm the other.

Aiming to step out a little more, consult Alice & Olive mastermind Stacy Benet whose pleated summer creations include dresses in multicolor pastel tie dye or Mr. Marc Jacobs who defied waspy tradition by making his floral prints more cartoon and abstract. Accessorize with a Eugenia Kim straw hat or boho headband rather than the traditionally featherful floppy hat. And finalize with footwear. Mui Mui has an awesome pair of patent penny loafers just screaming your name. Or if you can’t feel like a lady in flats, try lace up pumps or rock star wedges.

With versions at Top Shop, on sale at Bergdorf, to taste via Gilt and sample this week at xxx, there are no shortage of ways to make your own style a bit polo posh.

Brooks Ross knows cashmere, as he should. His mother, Ann Ross, founded Madison Avenue’s upscale destination for women’s fashion, Leggiadro, in 1985 and now has boutiques in New York, Americana Manhasset, Melrose Place, Ocean Reef Club, Monticeto, Palm Beach, Nantucket, Palm Desert, Naples, Sarasota, Dallas and Charleston. Sticking with the foundations of luxury, Leggiadro designers and craftsman all Leggiadro clothing is spun and died in Italian factories. And their pillow soft cashmere is the best in the world…or pretty darn close.

What’s so great about cashmere?

Everybody loves cashmere - the texture, the warmth, the luxury. Have you felt it?

I mean it’s beautiful, but why is good-quality cashmere so expensive?

There is a lot of fundamental differences between types of cashmere. Five things to keep in mind are: length of fiber, location of raw fiber, color of raw fiber, location of production and weight of item.

So it’s like pima cotton - longer fibers make it softer? 

Exactly. Longer fibers create greater strength Think of it like interlocking hands with a person. If you are holding each other by your fingertips, it won’t take a lot of force to break that bond. If your hands are fully clasped, it will take more force to separate. Shorter fibers have a tendency to pill.

Then where the fiber comes from is important as well. But isn’t a goat a goat? 

There are Kashmir are in many countries; it’s where on the goat the fibers come from. Premium fibers come from a very small area in the center of its chest, the underbelly, and are hidden underneath a coarser outerlayer of hair called “guard hair.” The hair that comes from there is also the purest in color. Other parts of the animal might have fibers gray or brown. Those are harder to die.

Why Italy? 

Italians have ingrained, historical knowledge of how to deal with the fiber. Leggiadro spins their fabrics in Italy because of their ingrained luxury tradition of both spinning and dying the yarns.

What was the fifth one? 

Weight. So it might seem counterintuitive, but the lighter the material, the more delicate and luxury. A very fine sweater requires almost three times as much time to make the same sweater at a heavier weight. Our artisans are more careful about small imperfections. A broken needle or small twist can entirely ruin the quality and weave. They must be extremely meticulous.

Hence the name Leggiadro.
Right. Leggiadro means aesthetic beauty with lightness and grace.

Emma Dinzebach

Rolando Santana knows dresses. He grew up surrounded by fabric (his mother was a dressmaker) and moved to New York City in 1991 to fulfill his fashion industry dream. After twenty years in the fashion capital of the world, Santana still finds inspiration for both color and structure in his homeland.

Do you have a theme in mind when you start a new collection? 

Yes. So for Spring 2011, it’s Modern Mexican Architecture. Then finding pieces that help me translate that onto a dress, whether it’s a color story or structure. For instance, we have one print that looks like cement. It’s very textured and printed on linen fabric. So seeing a cement wall and translating it onto a dress.

What inspired Modern Mexican Architecture?

My first collection launched in the height of the recession, so I really wanted my next collection to be bright, vibrant and inspiring. Being from Mexico, there are always such bright colors: yellows, reds, stripes. Previously, we played a lot with fabrics and draping. People reacted really well to it but were also inspired by the more sophisticated pieces - the blacks, neutrals, pieces that were classic but with a modern twist.

For 2011, I sought to combine those two elements. There is an architect named Luis Barragan, and he uses bright colors but his architecture is incredibly simple. I liked the combination. The main concept of the line is simple shapes with a lot of play on fabrics - pleating, draping, sequins, but sequins used for texture. Not bling all over.

Your first job when you graduated from FIT was for Spenser Jeremy. I read they “recognized your talent.” How so? 

Since it was a small family-owned company, I was exposed to the business end - production, merchandising, working with the design team. They had a private label and never a designer who really catered to the account. They wanted me to design a few dresses, and I made a presentation. I was assigned to the account. It was my first design job, and it opened the door creatively for me.

Why dresses?

Dresses are the ultimate feminine expression. The ability to create something special that is very easy to wear. With a dress, it’s just one piece. After so many years in the fashion world, you see pieces come and go, but the dress always remains. If a woman has a choice to buy separates or a dress, a dress is the way they will go. For everything.

Do you have a fashion design who inspires you?

Not a big name designer like Dior, but I’m inspired my contemporaries. More so by just traveling, people watching. Last weekend I was walking on the beach and started picking up stones. I was inspired by the sand, neutral colors. I started sketching some designs then in the studio, see if the fabrics works for them.

So if you could travel anywhere, where would it be?

Somewhere in Mexico. I would like to find a city that brings inspiration for fall. A city I haven’t been to where I could look at textiles and fabrics. Being remote from everything. I wouldn’t choose a glamorous spot, but rather explore within my roots and translate that into a more universal, cosmopolitan taste.

Santana and I spoke a bit about on the need to be remote and alone to find inspiration and work out designs. Creating space to be inspired is even harder for a designer launching their own line, their own business. Santana continually works to achieve this balance. When he left his studio last night, he sent me an email thanking me for my time. It was almost midnight.

To sample Rolando Santana’s dresses, visit his sale this week.

Emma Dinzebach