Dressing for summer is a daunting endeavor. As temperatures spike and humidity rises, trying to stay cool while maintaining even the smallest modicum of sartorial finesse can be… challenging, to say the least. Of course, on the big screen, summer is all golden light, dewy skin, and effortless, elegant fashion. Which is to say, an evocative—if idealized—version of those warm-weather days which lie ahead.

Movies have long served as a heady landscape for matters of style, none more so than summer flicks, and their dreamy escapism in both plot and clothes. Of course, The Talented Mr. Ripley is the exemplar of summer style movies: the Amalfi Coast allure contrasting with all that mistaken identity and murder. Then there’s Call Me By Your Name—young and forbidden love blossoming amid rumpled resortwear and retro sportswear.

All while those remain guiding lights for all who want to bring a touch of the cinematic to the drudgery of summer dressing, they are a bit, well… on the nose. We here at Vogue looked to some deeper cuts that may be unconventional, but still provide plenty of unexpected aesthetic stimulus. From vampires in their draping robes to bad girl outlaws in their ratty tees and slim jeans, here is a list of our undersung summer style movies.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

A strange, hazy film about students who go missing from a girls school class trip set in Australia in 1900, Picnic at Hanging Rock is a bit of a Victorian fever dream. Clad in creamy white dresses, the gauzy decorum of their clothes is in stark contrast to the weirdness that encroaches on them. A fabulously odd, mesmeric movie filled with Chloé-like frocks, lace blouses ,and ground-skimming skirts. The costume design makes it all the more bewitching. If I were a girl, I’d be dressed in these sinewy layers of eggshell all summer long, practicality be damned! —Max Berlinger, senior fashion news editor

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Part of the romance of Thelma & Louise for me is the way Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon’s characters loosen up over the course of the action, morphing from hemmed-in women with up-dos, overstuffed suitcases, and too-few-options into sun-kissed outlaws in t-shirts and tight jeans, their unruly curls waving in the wind. They’re running from the law (spoiler: Louise shoots a man), but also from the patriarchy. Along the way, Thelma loses their getaway money to Brad Pitt’s grifter J.D., but she manages to steal off with his chambray shirt. With its sleeves cut off, her biceps ripped, her transformation is complete. “Something’s, like, crossed over in me and I can’t go back,” she says. “I mean I just couldn’t live.” —Nicole Phelps, Director Vogue Runway and Vogue Business

And Then We Danced (2019)

If you have yet to watch 2019’s And Then We Danced, a gay romance set between two Georgian dancers, you’re seriously missing out. While the film’s wardrobe may not seem like an obvious summer fashion inspiration—revolving around super-thin Henleys and ballerina-esque silhouettes—the minimalist-chic looks are precisely the kind of outfits you want to wear on a hot, sweltering day. Barely-there knits, easy-breezy fabrications! So good. All that’s missing is a hot dancer to go with them. —Christian Allaire, Senior Fashion and Style Writer

Do the Right Thing (1989)

The feeling of oppressive heat permeates Spike Lee’s incredible New York epic Do the Right Thing. Everyone’s skin is dewy, their hair damp, their demeanor deflated. Anyone who has been through a particularly brutal New York summer will relate. And yet, there’s a surprising amount of good menswear—printed shirts, athletic memorabilia, tank tops. It’s a reminder that no matter what the elements throw at them, New Yorkers will still bring style to the table. —Max Berlinger, senior fashion news editor

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970)

Adapted from a novel, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is a sad story about unrequited love and the beginning of World War II. When Jews are banned from tennis clubs, the Finzi-Continis make their private courts available to friends. There are many losers in the games this cohort plays, but style-wise, they’re winners. —Laird Borrelli-Persson, senior archive editor

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

As a frequent wearer of both black and leather, summer outfitting can be… difficult, to say the least. I don’t exactly reach for a pair of cutoffs and a crop top, but I do believe in the Tilda Swinton school of vampiric dressing. Indoor robes, outdoor robes, a slim leather jacket for coastal summer nights, now that is a hot weathered wardrobe I can get behind. —Alexandra Hildreth, fashion news writer

The Worst Person in the World (2021)

Yes, Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World is a total heart-wrencher that illustrates the turbulence of one’s twenties, but it is also an underrated fashion film. I left the movie totally spellbound by Renate Reinsve as Julie—and her wardrobe. Costume designer Ellen Ystehede leaned away from what we think of Scandi style, instead outfitting Julie in effortlessly cool, neutral staples. While I loved the black satin backless dress Julie wears to an all-night party, it was her simple black linen button-up that really moved me to make a purchase. —Hannah Jackson, fashion writer

Smoke Signals (1998)

Every time I watch 1998’s Smoke Signals (possibly the best Indigenous comedy ever made), I get extremely inspired by all the summery fashions. From the tie-dye shirts to the perfectly-worn jeans and amazing beaded jewelry, it’s what summer style is all about: Great upbeat colors and nothing too fussy. I still long for the ‘Fryebread Power’ tee that Thomas wears. —Christian Allaire, Senior Fashion and Style Writer

A Bigger Splash (2015)

While 2017’s Call Me By Your Name remains a top-tier style movie, just two years before director Luca Guadagnino released A Bigger Splash, starring Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, and the ever-iconic Tilda Swinton. A rockstar musician and her lover are vacationing/recuperating at a sunny Italian village when interlopers descend, causing emotional (and actual) chaos. There’s an underlying sexy tension throughout the film, which is juxtaposed by the sun-drenched scenery and breezy, off-duty outfits. Flowing linen, threadbare, stretched-out T-shirts, body-revealing bikinis, tossed-on open resort shirts in creamy hues are languorous and offhanded. The sort of ‘oh this old thing?’ garments that just feel good to wear in warmer months, but still somehow look unselfconsciously stylish. —Max Berlinger, Senior Fashion News Editor