Our trees have started turning yellow around the leaf edges this week. Never have they turned this early in the 20 years we’ve lived here. We even found a few fully yellow aspen leaves! (Photo 1) Fall seems like it’s arriving early this year. School starts in two weeks too. Sooooo, I think a summer wrap-up now is appropriate. Long post ahead. Skip to bottom for last paragraph for gist.

Note; I didn't post many WIWs this summer. It was a busy summer, weird weatherr, lot of repeat outfits. Have included few outfit photos below. 

Tropical pants sadness
I wore both pairs a LOT until early July. The fabric of the black pair shrunk after hand washing them, mostly in the waist and hips, but not in length. Prior to this I washed them delicate cool water in the machine. The hand wash water was also cold. Can’t figure it out tbh. What’s ironic is I hand-washed them to avoid shrinkage after my olive jogger slacks horribly shrunk. (Knee jerk reaction: wash all the things by hand.) All my other pants fit the same, so not weight gain. I have considered buying a replacement pair but not sure if I will. Unless we have an unseasonably hot September, there isn’t much time left for summer clothing.

Most surprising outfit: all green shirt and maxi skirt outfit. Almost returned the top because of the fluid ease/volume. Angie was right: styled, it was great! The skirt felt like a total bomb until I felt inspired by Brooklyn’s top and maxi skirt outfits. It’s my new favorite outfit! I actually do love the skirt a lot. It didn’t go with most of my Dolce Vita wardrobe, however. So not a lot of versatility and why I had such a hard time styling it originally. Even though it’s rayon jersey, I will wear it this autumn and winter with tights and my boho stuff. We’ll see how that goes.

Most worn outfit: tropical print pants or oatmeal linen pants, with tank and midi cardigan. Posted at least a couple WIWs about this I think? .Super duper comfy. Wide leg pants was a new style for me and it was awesome! Will definitely try similar silhouettes and styles again next summer.

Most wears:

• Off shoulder orchid and black tops.
• Oatmeal linen blend pants too -- photos 2-5
• Print tropical pants (until shrinkage).
• Clove cardigan, which has been worn to utter pills and tatters; it needs replaced somehow.
• Green fluid top with jeans or maxi skirt, so breezy and easy.
• Navy dresses, both long sleeve and stripy smocked versions.
• Cream sleeveless ruffle blouse. Fabric is starting to pill a bit. But gosh, I love this top.
• Stone cropped trench, thrifted mid-season. Can’t get enough of it tbh!

Not worn at all:
Crinkle dress. I didn’t have any occasions to wear it at all. And the cut and fabric are so beautiful and lovely, I just felt bad not wearing it more glammed up—so I didn’t. It wasn’t appropriate for church without a topper, which kind of ruins the vibe of it. I also worried about ruining the crinkle fabric if I had to wash it. Being a “broomstick” skirt type fabric, it’s a bit tough to wash and keep the shape. I still do not regret buying it. I do regret not wearing it though. Might sneak in a wear if it warms up before Sept. Just because, fabric be durned.

Band tees. They’re a few years old. Both crew neck and I found myself wishing and wanting more open necklines. I also wore these a lot during the worst of my illness. So not sure how to handle them if I’m honest. However, I actually love them enough I don’t want to dump them either.

Crinkle burnt orange top. It was a bit smaller and cropped in fit than my other tops to begin with. Just never felt quite comfy enough when I would try it on. Also, my strapless bandeau I bought as a quick strapless bra option really wasn’t supportive enough to wear with this top. The cool weather also made it challenging to wear. That was true for all my off-shoulder tops, though the others got a lot of wear on warmer days due to better fit and torso length.

Linen black jumpsuit. Weather was a factor for this one. Also, the first one of these shrunk significantly when washed. I haven't washed this one yet... so I haven't worn it yet lol!  

Why DV Didn’t Work Out

• Weather was not conducive to Dolce Vita this year. Two-thirds or more of the summer was cool, rainy and even humid. It was just weird for us. Our summers are typically hot summer days bookended by cool mornings and evenings, with average 10-15% humidity.
• Some days I struggled this summer to get out of sweats. After all the health stuff sometimes my confidence still fluctuates tbh. Makes me realize I need to consider upgrading loungewear/sweats this year. 
• Comfort was missing from DV too, which I didn’t think about or reckon on. I don’t think it’s an age thing. Even 10 years ago when I was in my 30s, I craved and wore jersey fabrics and such. I like dressing cool and glam. And I like secret comfort. Need both.

Biggest takeaway: I missed boho.
Boho is my home. I opined about it in my A/W post here. I even chose a boho outfit this summer because I was missing it so much. While I enjoyed my foray into a cleaner lines and 1950s inspired looks, I learned for the future that 1-2 pieces/outfits of this style are plenty. An entire summer wardrobe of it is too much. I missed 

• softer, drapier fabrics and lines
• ease
• artsy school teacher wears Anthropologie vibes
• juxtaposition. 

Often times too, I felt really over dressed in HTT Dolce Vita outfits. It was too much glam. Overall, DV was just outside my comfort zone. (Maybe way outside?) 

The no’s helped me find my yes’ as our wise leader Angie pointed out. Her words gave me so much perspective that I really don’t feel this summer’s wardrobe was a failure or a frustration. So thank you to Angie and to all of you <3 Your feedback, wisdom, therapy, and laughter always make my heart shine <3