Where the Rich and Fashionable Party — a Rare Look at Capri’s Gilded Vacation Scene: Super Short Shorts and Revealing Cover Ups Just Part of the Stylish Life

CAPRI, Italy — Could there be a more exuberant fashion parade than here where day trippers from the mainland don their interpretation of Capri chic while villa owners and guests at the luxury hotels put their own spin on high style? And then there is the yachting crowd that offers yet another take on what it means to be fashionable in this most fashionable of summer haunts.

Hats are obviously de rigueur, particularly of the Panama variety, as are the ubiquitous Capri sandal (an island industry in itself), the more embellished, the better. Beyond that, it appears that anything goes from sidewalk-sweeping skirts to eye-popping short shorts. One popular look is the revealing sheer bikini cover-up. We’re not certain if these femmes were straight from an outing to the Blue Grotto or a poolside siesta but they were assuredly not walking in the footsteps of once-upon-a-time Capri regulars and fashion icons Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.

As day gives way to evening, the swans and the gents trade their day-at-the-beach looks for dressier fashion terrain. For men, shorts are replaced with slacks and linen shirts or jeans and the crisp white shirt, perhaps a blazer for the dandies. Women dress for the occasion of the night be it a jeweler’s all-white party, a cocktail fete or partying at the storied Taverna Anema e Core.

Sighted in the plaza over several weeks: Jewelery designer Ranjana Khan (wife of Naeem Khan), Rod Stewart, Capri regulars Sheridan and John Eddie Williams, Dallas’ Renee McDermott and Hill Feinberg, Laura Sweeney and daughter Juliette, Bruce Buckley, Lora and Dr. John Clemmons, Shannon Hall and Marcus Sloane, Elizabeth and Gary Petersen, Carol and Mike Linn, Lyndsey Love and more.