My style theme for Summer* this year is “desert rose”. (*It’s not actually Summer yet but I’m using the term “Summer” loosely, as a synonym for warm weather.)

I’ve started exploring this theme and am sharing some of the outfits.

I’ve grouped them by colour scheme rather than in the order that I wore them. They fall into 2 broad categories:

*Neutral (2-4). These are the easiest for me to put together and function well as FFBOs. Here the emphasis is on pattern, texture and shine. Although they are neutral, I incorporated a lot of brown. To me this gives the outfit more warmth and makes it less crisp than, say, a black and white or blue and white outfit. The neutral based Moroccan interiors seem to use a lot of brown to the same effect.

*Colour (remainder). These are outfits where I lean more into the colour aspect of my theme. I like analogous/tonal colour schemes because they make it easier to achieve a more low contrast, moody look. Generally, I like to work in as many tonal colours as possible for a complex but blended palette. I have still tried to be intentional about texture, pattern and shine. Especially texture.

I included some inspiration photos as a reminder of my theme and to make the outfits look more interesting The photos were general inspiration only, I wasn’t actually trying to copy or interpret them.

Weather for these outfits was variable. From 21C (pic 18) to 37C (pic 13). Some outfits were worn on a short holiday.

Pic 2: Neutral with texture. The skirt, although mostly ecru and black, has some brown accents. I love the medallion style pattern, it’s my version of dots. It has a crinkled effect, which is quite textural. I think the necklace, shoelaces, ribbed cotton tee and leather bag also added some textural variation.

Pic 3-4: Neutral with shine. I wore this to go shopping at a local flea market. All outdoors, hence the hat and sunnies. The top is one of the Zara tees that I duplicated.

Pic 6-7: Mustard tie dye skirt variations. I tried to add texture via the knit top, the necklace, the beads, the woven bag, the quatrefoil bracelets. I like the subtle pattern mix of the textured knit top with the patterned skirt in 6. I plan to do this a lot more over Summer.

Pic 9: Wide leg jeans.

Pic 10-11: Flares. I passed on most of my tunic tops when I passed on my skinnies, but I still have a few. This one is from 2018. I like a longer top (or jacket) with flares. I wore this to the hairdresser, hence super flat hair. The top is a linen blend, so it is a little wrinkled from sitting.

Pic 13, 14, 16: I got this skirt last Summer and it became an instant high Summer workhorse for me. It also made me start thinking about a desert theme! It’s made from a light woven ribbed cotton that is a joy to wear in the heat. I hope they make another version this year. I wore this outfit to lunch with a friend on a hot day. Outdoors but undercover. I think of quatrefoil motifs as being very Moroccan.

Pic 18-19: The long sleeve knit top is cotton, quite textured and quite sheer. Gossamer like (love that word!). Very handy for transitional weather. I’m wearing a sleeveless cutaway style top underneath the knit in a similar colour. Because of the sheerness of the knit, the solid underlayer creates a nice angled effect around the shoulders (hard to see in the photos, I should have moved my hair.).

Pic 21: Getting into the spicy colours, which I think are very North African. I plan to do more of this over the coming months. The Zara tee is a DIY dye job (RIT colour formula: caramel camel, double strength).

Pic 22-24: Texture extravaganza! Cotton open knit top, beads, shirring, bracelets, woven bag. I loved this and want to do a lot more variations over Summer. I dyed the knit top in the same batch as the tee in the previous outfit. The sandals are also DIY old gold (Tarrago). I wore an olive green tank under the knit top to connect with the green undertone of the necklace and sandals and make the pattern of the knit top pop.

Really enjoying this so far. What do you think? Do you see my theme in the outfits?