Enza Costa Tops: What I'd Actually Buy

I have strong feelings about T-shirts, and most of them are disappointment, so a brand built on getting one right has my attention. Enza Costa is the designer behind the label, the daughter of Italian immigrants, and she studied fashion in Florence before launching her first collection from her home in Venice Beach in 2007. The pieces are made in Los Angeles from locally knitted fabrics.

 

That first tee was cut with care and made in touchable fabric, and the line has since grown into silk blend dresses, voile shirts and jersey pieces, as the brand's own account tells it. The through-line is a pared-back sensuality: a little transparency, a lot of layering, close attention to how clothes sit on the body.

 

What I like is that none of this dresses up basics with noise. The polish is quieter, and it comes from a neckline, a good rib, a soft drape and the right proportion.

This is the part of the wardrobe that stays closest to the skin. The Slouch Top is the soft, loose one, and the Half Sleeve Off-Shoulder Top puts the shoulder in charge without needing much else around it. For a more textural mood, the Mesh Sleeveless Twist Top and Mesh Longsleeve Twist Top are two ways into a sheer layer, one more open, the other better for a cool evening.

 

Picture her in the sleeveless twist over a simple black bra and trousers, then throwing the long sleeve over a slip dress when the weather turns. I would keep everything else plain so the mesh can have its moment. One thing to test first: a sheer top can look very different in daylight than it does at dinner.

The same quiet sensuality carries from the dresses into the separates. The Half Sleeve Crew Midi Dress is the clean day-to-night one, the Lurex Jersey Slash Mini Dress adds a little glint, and the Silk Rib Fluid Turtleneck Dress is what I would reach for when I want more coverage without losing the close line. The Soft Leather Pencil Skirt gives a simple top room to breathe, and the Bias Minimal Skirt and Silk Rib Twist Skirt bring movement without a loud print.

 

In my fashion dreams, the Slash Mini goes to dinner under low light and the pencil skirt goes to a long lunch with a tucked-in tee. The Tissue Jersey Layered Longsleeve and Rib Baseball Henley are the pieces I would use to soften the dressier ones. My rule: one focal texture at a time, especially when leather, lurex and rib are all in the room.

These are clothes that reward a second look, not a louder one. I come back to Enza Costa for how it takes familiar shapes and gives them an exacting sense of touch: the slouch of a top, the clean line of a dress, a rib that catches the light. Italian, Japanese and Californian fabrics and Los Angeles production are part of the story, but the real appeal is simpler.

 

A few thoughtful layers can move through an actual day and still feel like you. That is a very good reason to keep a jersey top in rotation, although I would not mind a leather skirt joining it.