Surviving the Summer Blahs
By Bridgette Raes
Think back to Memorial Day - you were so excited to start wearing your summer clothes, flop around in flip-flops and actually wear those flirty little summer-weight skirts! Flash forward to now; I don’t know about you, but I am starting to tire of summer clothing. My new bright T-shirts are starting to look worn, my flip flops just don’t have the flip or the flop that they did when I began wearing them earlier in the season, and if I see another girl flitting around in a printed flirty skirt, I may just die from boredom. With fall merchandise already starting to hit the stores, I am starting to get intrigued by the idea of long sleeves and being a little more neglectful of my pedicures, knowing I will be able to slip my toes into a pair of boots. Even though we are in the home stretch of another summer season and we are being taunted by fall clothing it is ONLY the first week of August, and we still have a lot of summer left. If you are like me and are growing increasingly weary of wearing (yet again) another tank top, then it is time to infuse your current summer wardrobe with some excitement so that you can ride out the rest of the summer season feeling great. Here are some tips you can implement to ensure that August isn’t the month of stale style:
Wear Now and Save for later
Around this time last summer I happened upon a pair of wonderful beaded flats. I had been looking for some time and I was excited to finally find a pair that I loved. Keep in mind ladies, last summer half the free world wasn’t walking around in beaded flats, so they weren’t being sold on every street corner in NYC. What made me so pleased about finding these shoes was that when I did, they were on sale. I snatched up these little lovelies and wore them until the end of the season. These new shoes added a much needed punch to my summer wardrobe, which was really starting to bore me. What thrilled me even more was that after I had rounded out my summer season wearing them, I knew I could put them away and wear them next summer.
I got to wear these shoes for two summer seasons, not just one. Because I only wore them for a limited amount of time last year, I wasn’t bored with them when I broke them out to wear this summer. Now that I have worn these shoes into the ground I can happily bid them farewell, knowing that I got great wear from them.
This month, try to find one passion piece to infuse your summer wardrobe. Be sure to find something that you know you will wear next summer as well. Because we tend to sweat in the summer and our clothing can get worn-looking rather quickly, try to find a pair of shoes, a great handbag, a piece of jewelry or a fun little summer jacket or layering piece that you can wear for the month of August and then lovingly put away for next year.
Start buying and wearing transition
This is the time for transitional clothing. September is always a quirky month for clothing. One day it can be sweltering and the next you may need to wear a sweater. I find September interesting because we also turn into school kids again. Remember going back to school and even at 90 degrees outside, you still wore your favorite new fall outfit on the first day? I will never forget being in school and looking around at everyone practically dying from heatstroke because they simply had to wear their new favorite back-to-school sweater on the first day. By day two we were all back in summer clothing because it would be some time before we would have reason to break out our warm sweaters.
This behavior doesn’t seem to go away, and I have been in office environments on that first day back from Labor Day vacation where we all seemed to have mentally embraced the fall season, even if it was still rather warm outside. We all love to be able to wear new things as soon as possible, so the best way to do this is to start thinking transition.
There are certain fabrics which I call nine month fabrics. These fabrics can be worn anytime, with the exception of weather extremes like the blazing months of summer or the frigid blasts of winter. August is one of those crazy months where we can have some summer days peppered with a preview of fall weather. So if you want to spice up your summer wardrobe this August, hit the stores and starts buying some things that you can wear on cooler days, items that will bring you well into the early months of fall. Nine month fabrics include very light-weight wools, wool blends like silk, and wool and wool-viscose.
In addition, you can start bringing in some early fall silhouettes like cute little jackets in more fall-weight fabrics. Corduroy, mole skin and lightweight suede can be worn with some of your summer clothes.
Think about August and early September as overlapping months where summer meets fall. You can really have some fun with this as you wear a slim turtleneck and a pair of jeans with your favorite flip flops.
Color your summer autumnal
Remember the early days of summer when we were just coming off the spring season? Colors seemed very Easter egg-like, vibrant and summery. As we starting winding down, summer colors are going to deepen and become more autumnal. Before you know it, it will look downright silly to walk around in a pair of fuchsia-colored pants.
To infuse your end of summer wardrobe with some excitement, start creating a color palette with your wardrobe that has hints of autumnal color in it. Instead of wearing khaki colored pants, choose a pair of summer weight pants in a deeper olive or brown color and pop those more autumnal shades with some bright and cheery tops or accessories.
What if I live in an area that doesn’t have a fall season?
As I am writing this I am thinking about all my readers who don’t live in an area that actually experiences fall, or places where it will be some time before fall clothing is appropriate. I clearly remember visiting my aunt who lived in Florida when I was a child, and how she complained about never really being able to break out her favorite wool sweaters that she had worn when she lived in the Northeast.
If you are in an area that barely sees cool weather, then I suggest that you rotate your clothing more often. If you are starting to tire of the clothing that you bought for the summer months, slowly start getting rid of the old and buying the new. For every old ratty T-shirt that has been worn into the ground and every flirty skirt that you lived in, buy something new. You may not have seasonal months that dictate sharp changes in your wardrobe, so instead, always try to slowly cycle out the old with some new - this way you always feel fresh.
You may not need wool anything, but you can start bringing in a new autumn feeling into more summer-weight looks.
(c) 2005 Bridgette Raes Style Group
Sign up for our weekly newsletter where we not only offer weekly style article written by Bridgette Raes, but also include Style Q&A, Upcoming events, advice from our resident "What To Do Girl", organizing, beauty and financial tips by visiting http://www.bridgetteraes.com/
Think back to Memorial Day - you were so excited to start wearing your summer clothes, flop around in flip-flops and actually wear those flirty little summer-weight skirts! Flash forward to now; I don’t know about you, but I am starting to tire of summer clothing. My new bright T-shirts are starting to look worn, my flip flops just don’t have the flip or the flop that they did when I began wearing them earlier in the season, and if I see another girl flitting around in a printed flirty skirt, I may just die from boredom. With fall merchandise already starting to hit the stores, I am starting to get intrigued by the idea of long sleeves and being a little more neglectful of my pedicures, knowing I will be able to slip my toes into a pair of boots. Even though we are in the home stretch of another summer season and we are being taunted by fall clothing it is ONLY the first week of August, and we still have a lot of summer left. If you are like me and are growing increasingly weary of wearing (yet again) another tank top, then it is time to infuse your current summer wardrobe with some excitement so that you can ride out the rest of the summer season feeling great. Here are some tips you can implement to ensure that August isn’t the month of stale style:
Wear Now and Save for later
Around this time last summer I happened upon a pair of wonderful beaded flats. I had been looking for some time and I was excited to finally find a pair that I loved. Keep in mind ladies, last summer half the free world wasn’t walking around in beaded flats, so they weren’t being sold on every street corner in NYC. What made me so pleased about finding these shoes was that when I did, they were on sale. I snatched up these little lovelies and wore them until the end of the season. These new shoes added a much needed punch to my summer wardrobe, which was really starting to bore me. What thrilled me even more was that after I had rounded out my summer season wearing them, I knew I could put them away and wear them next summer.
I got to wear these shoes for two summer seasons, not just one. Because I only wore them for a limited amount of time last year, I wasn’t bored with them when I broke them out to wear this summer. Now that I have worn these shoes into the ground I can happily bid them farewell, knowing that I got great wear from them.
This month, try to find one passion piece to infuse your summer wardrobe. Be sure to find something that you know you will wear next summer as well. Because we tend to sweat in the summer and our clothing can get worn-looking rather quickly, try to find a pair of shoes, a great handbag, a piece of jewelry or a fun little summer jacket or layering piece that you can wear for the month of August and then lovingly put away for next year.
Start buying and wearing transition
This is the time for transitional clothing. September is always a quirky month for clothing. One day it can be sweltering and the next you may need to wear a sweater. I find September interesting because we also turn into school kids again. Remember going back to school and even at 90 degrees outside, you still wore your favorite new fall outfit on the first day? I will never forget being in school and looking around at everyone practically dying from heatstroke because they simply had to wear their new favorite back-to-school sweater on the first day. By day two we were all back in summer clothing because it would be some time before we would have reason to break out our warm sweaters.
This behavior doesn’t seem to go away, and I have been in office environments on that first day back from Labor Day vacation where we all seemed to have mentally embraced the fall season, even if it was still rather warm outside. We all love to be able to wear new things as soon as possible, so the best way to do this is to start thinking transition.
There are certain fabrics which I call nine month fabrics. These fabrics can be worn anytime, with the exception of weather extremes like the blazing months of summer or the frigid blasts of winter. August is one of those crazy months where we can have some summer days peppered with a preview of fall weather. So if you want to spice up your summer wardrobe this August, hit the stores and starts buying some things that you can wear on cooler days, items that will bring you well into the early months of fall. Nine month fabrics include very light-weight wools, wool blends like silk, and wool and wool-viscose.
In addition, you can start bringing in some early fall silhouettes like cute little jackets in more fall-weight fabrics. Corduroy, mole skin and lightweight suede can be worn with some of your summer clothes.
Think about August and early September as overlapping months where summer meets fall. You can really have some fun with this as you wear a slim turtleneck and a pair of jeans with your favorite flip flops.
Color your summer autumnal
Remember the early days of summer when we were just coming off the spring season? Colors seemed very Easter egg-like, vibrant and summery. As we starting winding down, summer colors are going to deepen and become more autumnal. Before you know it, it will look downright silly to walk around in a pair of fuchsia-colored pants.
To infuse your end of summer wardrobe with some excitement, start creating a color palette with your wardrobe that has hints of autumnal color in it. Instead of wearing khaki colored pants, choose a pair of summer weight pants in a deeper olive or brown color and pop those more autumnal shades with some bright and cheery tops or accessories.
What if I live in an area that doesn’t have a fall season?
As I am writing this I am thinking about all my readers who don’t live in an area that actually experiences fall, or places where it will be some time before fall clothing is appropriate. I clearly remember visiting my aunt who lived in Florida when I was a child, and how she complained about never really being able to break out her favorite wool sweaters that she had worn when she lived in the Northeast.
If you are in an area that barely sees cool weather, then I suggest that you rotate your clothing more often. If you are starting to tire of the clothing that you bought for the summer months, slowly start getting rid of the old and buying the new. For every old ratty T-shirt that has been worn into the ground and every flirty skirt that you lived in, buy something new. You may not have seasonal months that dictate sharp changes in your wardrobe, so instead, always try to slowly cycle out the old with some new - this way you always feel fresh.
You may not need wool anything, but you can start bringing in a new autumn feeling into more summer-weight looks.
(c) 2005 Bridgette Raes Style Group
Sign up for our weekly newsletter where we not only offer weekly style article written by Bridgette Raes, but also include Style Q&A, Upcoming events, advice from our resident "What To Do Girl", organizing, beauty and financial tips by visiting http://www.bridgetteraes.com/
posted by Unknown @ 9:52 AM
