“Summer” is long here. This year the warm weather started in September. Generally it stays warm up to and including April. That’s 8 months of warm to very warm weather.

Experience has taught me that I can’t wing it in summer. I need to have some kind of a plan going in or I am bored, bored, bored with what I’m wearing by January with still 4 months to go.

Fortunately, I have a few ideas for refreshing my spring/summer style this year. I’ve been gradually implementing them.

This post is about the first refresh.

I wear tees a lot in warm weather. I’ve been moving away from patterned bottoms to solid coloured bottoms, so that enables me to wear more pattern on top without pattern mixing challenges. I decided I could use some more graphic tees. In particular, I’ve been drawn to “arty” tees - tees that feature an art inspired design. An arty tee gives me an opportunity to bring some more colour, interest and, of course, personality to an outfit. A pretty arty print can also provide some juxtaposition with tougher bottoms, like cargo pants and distressed denim.

I looked for prints that appealed to me in colours that go with the colours I generally wear on my bottom half. Particularly with white tees, I prefer print colours that tone with my bottom half, because that helps to reduce the amount of contrast in the palette.

All of the white tees shown here are from Redbubble. They are boxy, 100% cotton and inexpensive.

For most of my tees, I cut the bottom off and allowed the hem to roll for a more cropped look. I also roll the sleeves because I think that looks more modern and flattering. I put a couple of stitches in the underarm to hold the roll in place.

This is a simple refresh, but it has worked well for me.

Pics 1-2: My teal peacock tee in London. Probably my favourite tee.

Pics 3-4: Abstract metallic tee from Zara.

Pics 5-7: Chinese print tee.

Pic 8: Van Gogh print tee.

Pic 9-11: Burgundy floral tee.

Pic 12: Floral tee from Allsaints.

Pic 13: William Morris print tee. I was hoping to find one in London but failed. I settled for this one from Redbubble on my return.

Pics 14-15: Egyptian cat tee from the British Museum.

I also bought a Union Jack tee in London but it developed a hole after first wash. Alas it is consigned to sleep wear now.