Summer unofficially began early this year—on May 12, to be exact. That's when Paige DeSorbo 's lounge and sleepwear label Daphne launched its 26-piece summer collection, modeled around Manhattan by the brand's founder.

"New York was truly an unpaid actor," DeSorbo tells Marie Claire. Photographer Chris White captured her on a double-decker bus, wearing the line's new $95 Eyelet Lobby Shirt and $78 Excursion Short. (Oh, and a styrofoam Statue of Liberty crown.)

"It's been one year since Daphne [debuted] and I just feel like New York City has played such a role [..] that it deserved to shine in this collection," she says.…