Summer Part 3: Putting it all together

The fun stuff: May favorites, shells, a new to me brand, swim & more

Writing these last two posts about summer style has been super helpful for me to get my head around what I want to wear, what I want to buy, and what I want to leave alone.

ICYMI, Part 1 talks about the principles that are guiding my summer style and some outfit inspo. Part 2 talks about what’s in my cart right now - basically my brain in real time trying to make the decisions about what to add to my summer closet.

Summer Style

Summer Style Part 2

In this last post, I’m going to conclude with a few round ups to help me (and you hopefully) fill holes in your closet.

When I think about my wardrobe, I think about it in 3 parts. The core, the fun/trend, and the occasion-specific pieces.

My aim is for the core to make up about 70% of my wardrobe. These pieces are my comfort zone. They are what make me feel like me - they are without fail pieces…the pieces that work without fail.

The fun/trend pieces will hopefully make up about 20% of my closet. These are the pieces that feel of the moment, maybe a little more modern than my usual classic taste, but put with the rest of my wardrobe feel really good and fun.

The occasional pieces hopefully make up about 10% of my closet. These could be things like a dress for a summer wedding or if you’re taking a trip where you know you want to wear something specific…things like that.

Two Side notes: 1. when I look at my closet and have no idea what to wear, that probably means my percentages have gotten out of whack. I probably invested too much in trends or occasional pieces at some point and so when I stare at the many options in my closet, I don’t immediately see ME. Does that make sense? And 2. When the fun/trend/occasional pieces start straying too far away from your style adjectives, you start to build a closet that not only doesn’t feel like you, but doesn’t work together. I think we can all agree we want to be able to wear our pieces with as much versatility as possible. So we have to be discerning and intentional when purchasing anything new.

Ok so now that that’s established, when I look back at Part 1, I can see I was honing in on my core pieces. These are pieces I wear season to season, year to year. They reflect my style adjectives. I came up with a list of 15 items that sort of feel like the foundations of my core summer pieces. For things like tanks/tees, I like to have about 3-4 that I keep in rotation with varying necklines (white, black, beige, etc).

All of these items I own and love. All are linked here.

1. A great white/black/beige tank

2. A great tee or two

3. A pair of denim shorts

4. White cotton or linen pants

5. Light denim

6. White denim

7. Sandals

8. Elevated flip flops

9. An everyday bag

10. A black dress

11. A flowy dress

12. A summer sneaker

13. A cotton sweater

14. A linen button up

15. A grass/woven bag

In Part 1 & 2 I talked about current trends and what’s in my cart…adding the items that feel fresh and of the moment is always tricky because these purchases tend to feel emotional. The two keys are 1) identifying the feeling you are trying to achieve before purchasing to make sure you’ll actually wear it. And 2) try a trend in a way that will fit into your style adjectives so the has the ability to work well with the majority of your closet and could even become a core piece.

I’ll give you an example. You all know about my quest for white trouser-style pants. Looking at these two pairs, I’ll dissect why I ordered the ones on the right.

At first glance, they are basically the same. So here’s where we have to be discerning. The ones on the left sit higher on the waist, which would work really well for someone who is looking for a more polished, tailored look. Cute! But that just doesn’t go with my easy/chill summer vibe. I’m looking for something that fits loosely around my waist, that I can either tuck or untuck a top, and that I can wear with flip flops and tank top or heels and a button up. So I ordered the one on the right…I’ll keep you posted. :)

Round Ups

I added a bunch or summer roundups to my ShopMy page to make it easy for you to find what you’re looking for (Summer Whites, Swim, Summer Tops, Summer Dresses, Linen/Cotton, Stripes, Sandals and more). I hope they are helpful! If you’re looking for something specific, feel free to send me a message or drop a comment - I love the hunt. :)

May Favorites

It’s always fun to look back over the month to see what your favorites were! I really love knowing what resonates with you. :)

These were the top 5 most purchased:

1. Ozma Field Pants

2. Pistola Denim

3. Amo Denim

4. Donni Linen Pants

5. Mirth Clemente Dress

And these were the top 5 most clicked on:

1. Coco Shop Lime Shell Dress

2. Buck Mason Linen Dress

3. Jamie Haller Double Buckle Sandals

4. Mirth Clemente Dress

5. Posse Gingham Dress

Finds and Favorites

I thought I’d add this section for paid subscribers this week as a bonus. I’m going to share 7 of my favorite finds!