An Ode to Phylicia Rashad: Queen of the Caftan
America’s mom, Phylicia Rashad, is living for those draped fabrics, honey. LIVING.
For years she’s reigned as classic TV royalty but recently something about the erstwhile Clair Huxtable has turned all the way up. I am living for her draped fabrics ministry these days. She is gliding through life at a level that can only be described as Sitcom Supreme.
To be clear, Phylicia Rashad’s fashion game has always been 100.
This is the perfect lewk for when you’re so fierce you have to hug your reflection. I can’t even fathom what the photographer said to get this pose. “Okay, you’re not going to understand this reference but one day you’re going to be the Beyoncé of Nick at Nite. Show me how that feels.” Phylicia has been serving since the ’70s and she refuses to stop.
This new phase, though, is on a whole other level, church! Oh, you didn’t know that Queen Mother Rashad was blessing us with choir robe couture?
At some point in the not-so-distant past Phylicia Rashad dedicated her life to wearing literally hundreds of yards of billowing fabric and I am HERE. FOR. IT.
“Hello, Jo-Ann Fabrics? This is Phylicia. We’re going to need a bigger bolt.”
For years she’s been peerlessly blurring the line between absolute comfort and high fashion glamour, like this head-to-toe linen look from this weekend.
What’s great about this is that not only is she wearing a luxuriously loose linen ensemble but she’s also got a pashmina at the ready. Drapes on drapes on drapes!
And there is so much more draped fabric in Phylicia’s illustrious past. For instance:
Here she is in a lewk from 2014 that says “I have transcended feet.” She has literally replaced two of her appendages with a shimmering California King-sized duvet cover of ferocity. Like, what phase of life must one achieve before one can start dressing like this, because I want to go to there.
Something tells me I haven’t achieved it yet.
How is it possible to look so comfortable and so regal at the same time?
Here she manages to make Kanye West look uptight. This is a man who wore jeans to the Met Gala. His latest fashion line was made up of well-tailored Snuggies. And yet in the face of the loungewear luxury of La Rashad, Kayne looks like Niles Crane.
This space queen caftan ensemble is everything! This is the perfect look for when you’re traveling the galaxy but you’re still interested in getting a breeze on your body. What’s that? There’s no air in space? Not for La Rashad, honey.
Phylicia is certainly not alone in her love of a drape. Or every drape. Literally every drape. This weekend Tina Lawson also showed off a stunning head-to-toe, wall-to-wall caftan that she designed and created.
Look at her arms! There’s so much fabric, she can’t even hold her hands up. That is it, honey!
But the regal relaxation look queen of all time is always going to be Phylicia Rashad. She’s came to slay. But also to lie down at a moment’s notice.
You thought you couldn’t put an empire waist in a poncho? You better think again. Phylicia Rashad giving you “Obi-wan Kenobi goes to the Golden Globes” is here to set you straight.
This is perhaps her best draped fabric testimony:
A gown from the 2007 Red Dress Collection, this is the epitome of Phy-leisure wear.
I love this. She’s like “I have to wear an evening gown but I’m definitely going to sew a caftan right into it. Yes, just call me Red Bull, because I’m giving you wings. I see your formal wear and I raise you literally every scarf at Ten Thousand Villages. This outfit says ‘I may be dressed up but I can be posted up on my couch in three seconds flat. Am I winning all the awards or binge-watching Scandal? You’ll never know. This is fashion.”
Live, La Rashad! Live! We’re not worthy.
