Organization and Summer Inspiration

Hi, I’m new around here.
I’m looking for motivation, inspiration, and advice as I take a more
intentional approach to my style. This
seems like a lovely community of people, so here it goes…

A few weeks ago, my husband accepted a new job that required
us to sell our home. Our
realtor suggested we clear out our closet before any showings, so I resorted to
shoving clothing into various dressers and hanging the rest in the
basement. With clothes literally spread
all over the house (and my car) and a dry-cleaning/hand-wash mountain hidden in
a corner last week’s outfits were just short of disastrous. Luckily, we sold our home after just one day
on the market (must have been that clean closet) and I’m ready to move my
wardrobe back to its rightful home!

I’ve decided that my clean closet is the perfect opportunity
to take stock of my clothing options for summer, especially as 80-degree
weather is tempting me to ditch my jeans in favor of lighter fabrics. Summer is my least favorite season for
shopping, so I know my existing options will be limited.

As I am revisiting and organizing my
warm-weather wardrobe, I’d love to know what item(s) in your closet get you
excited for summer.

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11 years ago

NDMom

Active Member

Welcome! Ooooh, isn't that clean slate so appealing! I love wearing my crop boyfriends, fun toppers, and pointy toe flats this year! I have really pared down my closet and love looking in at all the coordinated colors that remain: blues, grey, silver, white, black, etc. Have fun!

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Welcome, and congratulations on the quick sale. Summer is a tricky time for my style. But I will tell you I love all of the shoe options I love my cut out shoes and wedges.

Aida

Welcome and congrats on the sale! My summers don't get truly hot, so I continue to layer throughout summer but in lighter fabrications. I look forward to my sheer tops, flared jeans, flats of all kinds (pointy, oxford, and smoking slipper primarily) as it's often to wet to wear those in winter/spring here, and lightweight slouchy bottoms.

Aziraphale

Lol -- "must have been that clean closet".

I like summer, but I get hot easily and I find shopping for summer the least exciting because it's hard to add interest to an outfit when you can't layer. I find I gravitate to casual styles in the summer. Loose tops with nice drape in linen or cotton work well, as do very lightweight, breezy button-front shirts. I go for quality over quantity, because simple tops require good fabric to not look schlumpy. I often wear shorts or skirts in the summer. I avoid anything tight. For me, a really great pair of sandals is a must, since and I'm not a big jewellery-wearer. Great footwear always ups the style quotient of an outfit.

carter

Great story! From now on, all my clients must completely empty their master closet prior to the first showing:-)

It's 86 degrees here today. I wore a drapey tee, ankle pants and sandals. I was miserable. The only thing that gets me through the summer are lightweight, super loose, crossover sleeveless blouses. Not a fan of trying to dress to look acceptable in the Summer!

Thistle

Still is the 50s here. As a high . . . So I am terrible at warm weather fashion. As a matter of fact, we might see the 80s by the end of June. Not kidding.

When it does get that hot, I tend to wear knee length skirts that have some swing to them, a cotton top, and I carry along a cardi for the arctic AC. I know they aren't everyone's cuppa, but I do like soft cotton maxis for the dead heat of summer. I just like more coverage when the sun is beating down as I burn so easily.

Karie

(website)

I find summer dressing very difficult. I don't work in the summer, so my dress is very casual, and I have a hard time finding shorts that I like. A lot of what I wear in the summer is gear for mornings at the gym and for gardening in the afternoon. We do go away to the lake (Ontario) a lot, and for those trips it's usually capri's or skirts.

Meredith

I am so glad to hear I am not alone in my struggle to find
comfortable, presentable duds for the summer heat!!!

Aida and NDMom, I plan to live in pointy flats this summer!

Ladywone, I love cut out shoes! My cut out booties are my current favorite.

Aziraphale, Great point about looking for quality over
quantity. I think a big pitfall of my
summer shopping is the tendency to buy cheap tops. They don’t make me feel fabulous and I have
to replace them every season. This year
I will try to take your advice!

Carter, My husband was pretty grumpy about clearing out all
his clothes, but it did make the closet look spacious!

Thistle, I’m with you on the necessity of a topper to brave
the summer AC!

Karie, I think I’m going to embrace a style similar to
yours. Like you, I don’t work all the
time in the summer. When I’m home I’m
cleaning, walking the dogs, gardening, etc. so gym gear wouldn’t be out of line
for around the house. I can always throw
on something nicer if I decide to go out.

abc

Welcome. Congrats on the sale of the house. Lol on your comment that it must've been the closet. Change takes time but if you stick around you will see results and it all feeds on itself. Welcome to ylf.

Cindy S

Congrats! When I lived in the 100 degree summers of Central TX, I only wore lightweight silk, cotton, or linen tops...and still often felt I was conducting my own personal sweat lodge...one thing I discovered was a preference for longer sleeves, they seemed cooler than sleeveless somehow. Good luck!

crutcher

So happy you have sold your house...one headache down...

Jaime

What fun to start with a clean slate! Summer for me is about long shorts, fun shoes and drapey tops that can be worn on their own. Congratulations on your home sale too!

rachylou

An empty closet is so inviting, is it not? But add me to the list of ladies who find summer difficult. I go on a style detour in summer. That is, my summer style is a radical, temporary switcheroo. For most of the year, I ask "What would Deborah Harry do?" In summer, it's "What would Sophia Lauren do?" Lol.

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