Inspired by Anchie - Wardrobe Tweaks

Anchies’ recent post about Capsule Reevaluation inspired me to share with you these thoughts about the tweaks I plan to make to my wardrobe and the reasons why. Here we go.

Due to global warming:
In the past few Summers I realized that the only thing I can stand and need in “tropical” weather is a breezy viscose dress (and pretty sandals of course!).
Pants (even if lightweight) feel too hot. I need only 2-3 pairs just in case. I had decided to stop buying Summer pants for a while and make do with what I have, but ended up buying two pairs because I liked them (I always pounce upon things I like, even if I do not need them at the moment - it's a good strategy due to my picky taste). They will come handy next summer since my much-loved white pants are starting to show some wear and the seersucker ones have suddenly ripped!
Tops. “Regular” t-shirts feel too hot as well. This summer I've been reaching all the time the only two flowy tops I own. I must remember to look for fluid tees when shopping from now on.
Dresses – I need to have more. I want to put together a pretty collection of casual and dressier ones.
Skirts. I have no summer skirts but I think it would be nice to have a couple breezy long ones to wear with the fluid tees. Long summer skirts are also good to protect legs from the scorching sun.

Due to my increasing intolerance
I have always been fussy with clothes. I do not stand turtlenecks because I feel choked, I do not stand the feeling of a collar on my neck, I do not stand tight cuffs, and generally all what feels even slightly constricting. Lately even my usual Cold Weather Uniform of sweater +pants sometimes feels fastidious. I find myself fancying a comfy long/sleeve tee layered under a warm, soft, cocoon-ish cardi or an unstructured jacket. I would also like to find a warm long winter skirt and also a warm long winter dress. The time always comes in Winter when I am SICK of feeling my legs wrapped in pants.

Due to doctor’s recommendations.
It seems I have a foot inflammation and my doctor recommended wearing medium-heel shoes (and medium-heel sandals and flipflops as well). I only have low-heel footwear so this is an excellent excuse to go shoe shopping – YAY!
Thank you for reading! Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Have you recently made any changes to your wardrobe for whatever reason?

1 month ago

Star (Lise)

Veteran

Sisi Except for the bit about turtlenecks I could have written this post. I am on the Black Sea so more north and a bit cooler but we have humid and hot summers. I too can only wear light cotton or viscose when the heat strikes. Cannot wear even cotton pants at this time. I too have planned to invest in a bunch of dresses, mine should also not have sleeves. The tops must be made from cotton or viscose and be fluid, I have two shells that fit the bill perfectly. Not oversised baggy cotton tops. Skirts can be good but must not have a waistband that is too fitted. The shoes, same story. I need a mid-heel that is supportive. If they are too flat then I get very painful arches and heels. Must not have cheesy or rubbery soles either. I do wear turtlenecks in our long and cold winter, other than that we seem to be some kind of dress code twins.

Runcarla

Totally agree about summer clothing. I made a ‘tweak’ last summer, and it bore fruit this summer. Eschewed knit t-shirts in favour of woven tops in linen and cotton. Also shorts, and light weight dresses. I do have one pair of full length linen pants, but they did not factor in much since they ran too warm for most days.

I recognize we will have cold weather and snow in a couple months, but extreme summer type of weather for half the year seems to be the new reality.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

It's good to have a plan, Sisi! Good to be flexible about it too.

Summer in Italy is HOT. Not much a/c either. You are dead right to stick to and embellish WHAT WORKS

Nice to hear you embellish your dress collection!

How high is a medium heel?

Oh! To answer your question:

Seattle Summers are much hotter than they used to be. And they last longer too. The a/c business is booming! We have a/c too. It's life changing living in our VERY sunny loft, which would hit 30C to 38C daily inside without a/c. Now we can keep our loft to a comfy 24C during the day in warm and hot weather.

I started tweaking my wardrobe 5 years ago to reflect hotter weather - embellished the high Summer component, and it was a good decision. Many more white bottoms and cotton dresses! Only one skirt

After reading your post, and commenting, I went to check out my numbers. From mid-May to present - approximately 150 days):

black linen shorts - 39 wears
beige/stone linen shorts - 35 wears
black linen pants - 11 wears
dresses - 16 wears

sleeveless tops all 10+ wears
long sleeve black mesh, and white cutwork cotton blouse 10+ wears each

Skirts 6 wears
jeans of some sort - 40-50 wears
merino sweater of some colour - 10 wears

A summer refresh ‘haul’ (see Finds below) featured heavily in what I wore, with the new dress my most worn dress (10 wears!).

Custom Find

by Runcarla

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Lisa

This is a great analysis on how you'll move forward with your wardrobe, bravo!

Over the past few years, I've had to adjust my wardrobe to a warmer climate. Also, greater temperature variations from morning to midday to night. The sun in the southern US can get quite hot!

Learning to layer has been a key adjustment for my wardrobe. It's not uncommon for me to sport 3 layers in late fall and the winter months. For example, today started at 50F but rose to 80F by noon. So I layered a vest over a long sleeve shirt over a graphic tee. Then just peeled off the layers as the temps kept rising.

Another change for my wardrobe is the addition of shorts. Going one size up took care of any tight fabric around my thighs and now I find shorts comfortable to wear.

Most recent is the addition of dresses after years or not owning or wearing any. I think I just needed the right dress at the right time to rejoin team dress. Since then I've been able to thrift a nice variety of dresses and I'm enjoying the variety. They also work quite well for warm weather as a change from shorts.

Jaime

Doctor's orders to buy new shoes - and you live in Italy! It is the dream .
Your plans make perfect sense. I agree that loose clothes are much better in the heat - I prefer a very thin cotton long sleeve top to a tee anytime I am going to be outdoors.

Sisi

High five, Lise!
Runcarla, I find your Summer capsule very functional and also very
stylish.
Angie, thank you for your comments. My doctor recommended 4-5 cm heels, which I consider medium.
Lisa, yes, there is also the challenge of temperature variations. You
seem very good at layering! I am still struggling with this.
Jaime - you made me laugh!

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