Joining the chorus to say this is absolutely wonderful, Brooklyn. You look amazing, and I so appreciate you laying out your thought process in such clear and inspiring terms. As well as being completely *plonk*ed (yes, it’s a verb now because I said so) by your outfits, I’m reading this over again and taking notes. I’ve recently had a little epiphany about my spring wardrobe and am hoping that by following through with some of your techniques I can bring my ideas to some kind of fruition.

@suntiger & @Brookyln Unfortunately I'm also in a place where such colours are in slim pickings over the summer (at any point). You'd think because we get such mild, subtropical winters here that people would be ALL over lightweight clothes in autumn colours (so that they'd actually wear them) but by early fall/ Autumn I'm already seeing items that are simply ridiculous for the climate (like burgundy puffer coats - I'll often see people wearing them with flip flops lol)! The rest of the time, Hong Kongers seem to favour either black or pastels, so I still mostly shop western brands. But I agree that the demand for such clothing in natural fibres is still there!

@Brooklyn you dyed it yourself? Amazing- how did you manage to get such even coverage? I'm worried about doing anything like that in my own washing machine, so was thinking of taking clothes back home to the UK to dye (but then COVID happened) lol

SarahD8, thanks. I have no problems with “plonked” I’m glad you found it helpful.

Zaeobi, can you order from Australia? You might have more options (although it’s definitely not like the US). I didn’t dye any of the tops I’m showing here myself. I was lucky to find those colours. But I would have loved a burgundy cropped tee for instance, and couldn’t find it, so I dyed an older one myself. Results are hit and miss so I usually only do it with an older tee or something I’ve stopped wearing. This is a photo of a top I dyed myself. The top was kind of a pale grey. I still liked the pattern but I’m trying to reduce my stocks of grey. So I dyed it teal. You can see it’s sort of come out a greyish blue. The undertone still comes through. I still like it better than before but I wish it were a true teal! It works better if the undertone is white and better still if the undertone is closer to the final result you want to achieve. I do it in the machine BTW. It is a bit of a hassle. I always wash darks afterwards because sometimes there is a little bit of dye still in the next wash.

Loving all your outfit combos and find them invigorating & your last pic above of you and Miss B is precious. She’s got a great smile
Super pattern mixing.

Thanks Jenna! She’s a treasure.
My skirt pattern mixes with Ms B too. We have a very co-ordinated look

Very nice combo Brooklyn! Great inspiration for summer!

Zaeobi, if you are still reading. I think you favour longer skirts? Midaxi and maxi skirts are really trending here (maybe more so than in the north). And we are coming into Autumn so Autumn colours should be appearing. So it might be worth a look at our retailers. Here are some pics from Veronika Maine. $15 AUD for delivery to HK (it was free international delivery for a long time, and still is over $400). Just a thought.

Thanks Minaminu!

Ohhhh Brooklyn Love that second dress (and the third but I think 2 would be better for my life and shape.

Going to check it out.

Brilliant strategy, Brooklyn! Luscious palette, but the teal is killer and the teal bag is heirloom level.

Thanks RC. I’m guarding that teal bag against Sally I think with a paper bag waist you really need to tuck your top in. And I really don’t like tucking! I don’t mind a semi tuck, but I don’t think that would work. But I’m definitely thinking about a similar style - high waisted, baggy shorts. I have this floral pair and I’d like some others in a similar style.

Sally, excellent! Good luck!

Gotcha! Beautiful shorts...

Any chance you could unlock the pix on this post again, or message them to me if you prefer?
Thanks!

FI, no problem. I will leave them unlocked for a few days.

Just for future reference, you can private message me if you would like me to unlock the photos on one of my posts for a while. Occasionally other forum members have done that when they missed one of my posts. I don’t mind and it saves bumping it again.