Emma Watson has long since emancipated herself from her role as a child star in the Harry Potter films and established herself as a permanent fixture in the fashion world. With her simple but always elegant style, she proves time and again that she has a fine sense for timeless looks.

On a stroll through Cannes, where she is currently attending the film festival, she once again shows how effortlessly stylish she is. In summer temperatures on the Côte d’Azur, she opted for a breezy dress – and combined it with rather unexpected shoes.

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We’re seeing check patterns everywhere at the moment: whether on playful frilled blouses, flowy skirts and summer dresses of any length. Emma Watson picks up on the trend with a maxi dress in red and white and complements it with classic accessories: Ray-Ban sunglasses and a small shoulder bag. A pretty, albeit expected summer outfit – if it weren’t for her unusual choice of shoes. Instead of dainty sandals, the actress and activist is wearing high suede boots with a colour-contrasting cap, which, like her dress, is also from French fashion house Chanel.

It is precisely this combination that makes her look exciting: the flowing cut of the dress leaves enough room for the boots, creating a harmonious overall look. A tighter skirt would visually disrupt the thicker boot shaft – but here everything looks balanced. Although the maxi length of the dress covers a large part of the boots, the subtle pleats on the shaft peek out again and again as you walk. The light brown shade of the suede also ensures that the boots still look summery, while the high heel creates an elegant look overall.

Emma Watson shows us how to wear boots with a summer dress

Emma Watson’s look is a wonderful example of why it doesn’t always have to be open-toed shoes in summer, especially with a summer dress. We may already be familiar with similar looks from festival outfits – with cowboy or biker boots, for example – but the actor shows that more elegant boots can also work with a summer dress.

This is ideal for anyone who doesn’t like to wear open shoes, whether because of a strict dress code or on city trips, or if the summer simply doesn’t play along in terms of temperature.

A version of this article was originally published in GLAMOUR Germany.