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This Time of Year

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

Ugh. It's the worst. We're going on vacation next week, and there's nothing I'm excited about packing. I'm bored of everything. It's not that I don't have enough clothes--I'm not quite to ten wears on many of the things I bought at the start of the season--I just want summer to be over. Anyone else feeling this way?

I'm a little worried about this feeling being exacerbated when I move to a more mild climate. I'm thinking that, instead of my current thinking in terms of Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter, it's going to be more like First Summer-Hot Summer-Third Summer-Rain. I'll need to give myself permission to have a couple of different warm-weather buying phases, I think.

What's your strategy for those end-of-season blahs?

Dressing

50 replies

Latest reply was from Jessikams

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I'm not with you here Jenn, I'm afraid. I LOVE Summer and I LOVE my Summer wardrobe. I want to continue wearing it for a while - and can, FINALLY. So much variety, pretty, ease and comfort.

That said, I have gorgeous Fall items waiting in the wings for those first cool Seattle Fall days in Sept. I'm very excited about them too. I do like the change of seasons. Also enjoying that retailers are bringing out early Fall collections because I'm ALL about shopping early in the season.

Your wardrobe for LA will need quite the shift. It can be 80 degrees on Xmas day! Your strategy for three types of Summer and lots of transitional sounds dead right.

always trying

Veteran

This is our hot season and I hate it. I have enough stuff to get by, but am getting tired of all of it, even though some has had little wear. Only thing about it I like are sandals. I am so anxious to start wearing jeans, booties, sweat shirts and sweaters.

LaPed

Veteran

Oof, well, I feel like I've just barely started wearing summer clothes. After two weeks of sunny 80s/90s, I just arrived home and it's rainy and in the 60s for the foreseeable future, so pants and lightweight jackets it is...

I tend to get this feeling more in March/April, when I want to be wearing spring stuff but there's still snow and ice on the ground, and vast seas of ankle-deep mud prevent the wearing of cute shoes. I have a little collection of sweaters/scarves/etc in wishful spring colours to help me get through that last stretch. And I tend to do my S/S shop while it's still winter outside (March/April) so I have some things to look forward to. (Also, I really don't need much in the way of "high summer" clothes -- transitional stuff like linen pants and jersey dresses are pretty easy to add by shopping early in the season. The mini-sun dresses and board shorts and strappy camis that you see this time of year are much less useful to me.

I feel like a lot of companies do "pre-fall" collections now -- lightweight fabrics in autumnal colours, plaids and such. I wonder if it might help to browse those, and shop with a warmer climate in mind...

Runcarla

Veteran

Can you mix and match things in a different way than you might normally combine them? What about changing up how you style your hair (change your part, wear it up, braids, head wrap). Vacations are a time for your best, known, combinations and not for experimenting with new things. Maybe add something from your vacation destination as a souvenir?

Some of your restlessness might be a response to what is coming down the pipe for you. If your closet is working for you, you can put your energy into the move.

Have a great vacation!

Anonymous

I certainly want summer to be over. I am literally counting the minutes until I can resume going to the parks and greenways. I want to be outside again. Summer is stressful for so many different reasons. Heat and humidity reign supreme where I am. It is literally impossible for me to exercise out of doors. I get overheated and headachy.

JAileen

Veteran

This summer has been exceptionally brutal for us. We set a record for number of days at 100+. We’re at nineteen *so far*. The heat combined with the smoke from California, usually “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, but occasionally “unhealthy” has meant I have been irritable most of the time. I need to apologize to my friends, but especially to my husband. He is a Texan and the heat doesn’t faze him, but he doesn’t deserve to live with a grump.

I look forward to hearing others’ thoughts on this, particularly those in hot climates. My husband says our dominant season is winter, but it sure doesn’t feel that way.

Joyce B

Veteran

I like Summer but it is going way too fast for me . We are getting too much rain but I still love Summer.
I hope you will start liking the season because you will get a lot of it in LA. I wish I had a job there, too .

anchie

Veteran

Sorry that you feel that way. Especially because of your move, I hope you find strategy that works for you.
I love summer and already mourning that it is almost over, school is only 10 days away.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

I think I have a bit of SAD that plays into this for me. The gray of Seattle was VERY hard for me, and that was the first time I ever understood the desire to take a tropical vacation. I love our sunny-but-cold, Colorado winters and shoulder seasons. The combination of our un-air-conditioned house, hot summers, and my heat intolerance means that I end up spending a lot of time in the dark in the summer, just trying to stay cool, and I'm sure I'm affected by the lack of light. We won't rent/purchase a place without both sunlight and central air in LA. That's non-negotiable.

Angie, you love hot summer! We're exact opposites in that respect. I love being bundled up and outdoors in chilly weather. My absolute favorite is crisp mountain mornings, when the temps start in the 30s or 40s before warming up for the afternoon. I have no doubt I'll still be able to find that within a few hours drive of LA. And that being said, I think I'll really enjoy the extended transitional season.

always trying, I did just purchase some new sandals (see Find) and, I agree, those are the one thing I'm really enjoying wearing right now!

LaPedestrienne, sunny 80s/90s are our default this time of year...a rainy day in the 60s would be more or less unheard of from June-August.

Runcarla, ironically, our vacation is to...LA. It was planned before any of this came about. I did just get a new hairstyle a few weeks ago. I'm still getting used to it!

Sterling, yes! You get it! I spend LESS time outside in the summer, not more. We are lucky to have low humidity, but as I often remind people, a dry 100º still "feels like" 100º.

JAileen, you get it too! We have not gotten much of the wildfire smoke this year, but I know what that's like from the past several years when we had large fires burning here in Colorado. Not being able to be comfortable outside is the common factor here.

Joyce, I think I will always have trouble with very hot days. The trick will be employing strategies to mitigate that! I'm very upbeat about the move...I just know that it will require some coping mechanisms for me.

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Jenn

(website)

Veteran

anchie, as I told Joyce, I'm quite upbeat about the move, I just know that I'm temperature-sensitive, and will need to be proactive about dealing with it. And honestly, having the right wardrobe, and one that you're excited about wearing, does help!

Joyce B

Veteran

Jenn, I don’t know what summers are like where you live, maybe they are humid which makes them harder to tolerate. I the LA area summers are dry, making them easier to tolerate but of course there are 100 degrees and above temps at times which is tough.
What I like is the dry heat and daylight.
It must be very exciting (and a lot of work) to plan for your upcoming move.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

Joyce, our summers are also dry and hot. LA summers are actually quite similar to here, except that eastern Colorado often experiences quick and damaging thunderstorms on summer afternoons (our rain pattern is inverted from the west coast, with most of our rainfall coming from summer monsoons, but humidity rarely climbs above 50% otherwise). I still have another Colorado fall/winter/spring to go, though! We'll be splitting time between two residences until next summer.

Joy

Veteran

When I lived in Kansas, it seemed like summer started in May and often was still going strong in October, I got so tied of it. Now we have a bit of a nip in the air already in the mornings. The crisp mountain air is welcome.

We lived in Orange County, just south of LA for several years and the seasons are very different. For the first time I would wear out the clothes before they went out of style. People wore mostly lots of expensive casual and I felt like I needed to up my game. The first winter and holidays will be the hardest but you will gradually develop new traditions like the decorated boat parade and an appreciation of the poinsettias blooming season. The "winter" mornings may be foggy until the clouds burn off. There are lots of micro climates so it depends on how close you are to the ocean. Most people in our neighborhood went to the river (Colorado River) or desert for vacations. Las Vegas was considered "East" It will be very different and may take some adjusting.

One friend with three boys complained that the summer sports never stopped. Local schools went year round. You can save money and closet space by not needing seasonal clothes or air conditioning. But that may have changed. This past summer sounded like lots of heat.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

Oh Joy, I love fog! That's something to look forward to. We probably won't be super-close to the ocean, as our #1 priority for house-hunting is to be within a 15-20 minute commute of the studios in Burbank. We're already scoping out cabins in Big Bear Lake for a wintery getaway. (My husband lived in Orange County as a child, and both his parents grew up there, so we've spent quite a bit of time in southern California over the years, and are familiar with the area, though him moreso than me.)

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I'm with LaPed. I feel the way you are feeling now from late February until early May. The worst part of winter, here, and it goes on and on and on and everybody else is starting to think of spring.

I'm with Angie and Anchie on summer. I adore it and feel sad that the light is starting to fade already.

It's been hot and humid and we don't have AC, but I just park myself in front of a fan during the day and do my exercising in the evening or early morning for the most part. I'm also affected by lack of light/ shorter days so the long long days of summer and the sunlight make me so much happier and more energetic.

Like you, I'm prepping for a move to a different climate (in a few weeks -- eek!!) and already know I'm going to love some aspects of the change and feel sad about others. (We'll be in Vancouver next year.)

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Oh -- you asked a question about strategy!

Your idea to divide your warm season into parts makes sense to me. I do that for winter. I have early winter, mid-winter (the really heavy stuff) and cold spring, which involves some sweaters in "spring-like" colours.

I often do a knits refresh in the January sales, and sometimes buy footwear on sale, too, in winter.

And then I will start looking for spring footwear much earlier than I will be able to wear it.

You could do something similar in reverse. I still aim for two to three "big" shops per year (each one usually takes me a couple of weeks of plotting, planning, buying, returning), but I will typically buy an item or two as a refresher in between seasons.

Kathie

Veteran

I get it! I simply wilt in the heat and humidity, and miss being outside. Since moving to the mid-Atlantic, I’ve tried to escape to Seattle, Maine, or New Hamshire for a week or two in August. It’s just enough of a break from high summer to get me through late September. Thankfully, we just bought a home with central A/C, so I won’t have to listen to the constant hum of window units anymore.

I wish I had more suggestions for you! Enjoy your vacation- at least it will be a change of pace, if still a warm climate.

Anonymous

I have a high tolerance for humidity. I think that makes a big difference and is why I love summers so much here in muggy Canada.

Hang in there and hey, you can use this downtime time to dream up big plans for your fall wardrobe!

I have actually been spending quite a few hours planning out what I think I’d like to wear—have been revisiting Kibbe and such.

bj1111

Veteran

i like your plan for multiphase summer season shopping / wardrobe. my sister lives on the west side and it seems to stay temperate. if you live close to hubs' office in the valley, i'm sure you know it can get beastly in the height of summer.

i get your ennui. i have the same, but that's due to a stupid busy travel schedule. i tend to have plain clothes and accessorize with shoes, but have a limit to the number i can carry on. i've been wearing my work travel uniform with the same 2 pairs of shoes and i'm bored bored bored.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

Suz, I bet you won't miss those cold winters and hot summers at all, once you're in Vancouver! I seem to recall that you lived there in the past, so you know how it goes, but I highly recommend investing in a light box and using it in the winter time once you're there. I think that would have helped me a lot in Seattle! I'm encouraged by your being able to still do just a couple shops a year even with a long dominant season. Maybe I'll still be able to to spring/fall shops like I do now, but replace my usual mid-winter mini-refresher with a mid-summer one in SoCal. And in the meantime, I'll need to take it easy this winter in Colorado. Did you shift your shopping strategy at all in the past year, when you knew a move was on the horizon?

Kathie, I knew I couldn't be the only one!

LaPed

Veteran

Smittie, I like the humidity too! The dryness when I lived in Las Vegas put so much strain on my skin and hair, year-round. You need a *really* good moisturizing and conditioning routine for a southwest climate.

Jenn, I definitely know what you mean about being holed up in the dark in the summer -- that's how it was for me in LV. I'm good up to 100 degrees or so, but 115 -- eek, that's a bit too deadly to be enjoyable for any chunk of time. We'd always wait 'til after the sun set just to walk the dog. I ended up with worse seasonal-affective issues there than I've ever experienced in the northeast! The best weather (crisp cool 60s) takes place during the shortest days of the year, and I ended up feeling like I was never outside as much as I wanted to be. Very frustrating!

We spent a lot of weekends in LA when we were in LV, because it's a relatively easy drive and the weather is so much more tolerable, especially in the summer. Close enough to the mountains and the coast that there are plenty of options for cooling down! Can't wait to see what direction your style will take once you've moved.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

Living in the land of eternal drizzle I can never really relate to people complaining of the heat but I do get that we never really experience the extremes of climate that large parts of the world do.As for end of season blah I ve just bought a vest top in a really funky colour that goes with my other summer stuff as a minor end of season refresh.

Katerina

Veteran

I totally get it, Jenn. I do not cope with heat very well myself and this summer has been exceptionally warm here in Sweden as well. However, most people I know love summers and the hot weather, so I try not to complain too much. The weather has changed here now, raining and a lot cooler. Seems like the summer is over. I am quite glad about it. Possible to wear trousers and blazers again

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I’m right there with you in ennui. This is my second summer back in the humidity of the Midwest and it’s been worse than last year. I started my seasonal job back up again earlier this year. It’s got a dress code and I’m doing physical work so I’m literally in wicking-type shorts, closed toe shoes, and plain tees in colors that don’t show dirt (no sleeveless allowed) five or six days a week. Thankfully my fall classes start in a week and I’ll be able to wear more decorative and interesting options there, although obviously nothing too elaborate until the weather starts getting cooler.

KMM

I’m ok up to about 75-80° but after that I start to feel wilted. I live in dresses this time of year and I can’t recall the last time I wore jeans (maybe sometime in early June). But summer is a short season here so I try not to complain too much, even though I’m already craving crisp fall days and boots/sweaters/jackets. I do like the idea of an early winter/midwinter/cold spring break down for wardrobe planning... in my climate that would totally make sense.
On a related note, I have my fall Boden order already planned out

Barbara Diane

Veteran

I get bored with my summer wardrobe but never look forward to F/W or the clothing that accompanies it.

There will probably be new shopping opportunities in LA and new ways to change up your wardrobe.

Insisting on A/C is smart. I regret not having it as there were only a few days that would have warranted it back when we purchased our home but now it would be well used.

Lucy

Veteran

I get the sensitivity to the weather - I always thought I would go and study in the UK, but six weeks there did my head in with the constant grey skies and drizzle.
I love summer! Which is just as well as I live in a climate where it's pretty much summer clothing for 9-10 months a year.
But as you say there are varieties of summer. We have the long summer = short sleeves, perhaps a denim jacket at night. Then, the hot summer, where singlets become a necessity and you need to think about fabrics that breathe. Finally, the ridiculously hot section - which is maybe 3 or 4 weeks - where everyone just wants to die from the humidity. Even the heat lovers like me begin to wilt.
So I do have a wardrobe that accommodates all of this.

Sal

Veteran

I can understand but more get that feeling at the end of our dreary wet winters.....especially when spring teases us but never arrives.

Last year we took a vacation in spring rather than mid winter (not to a warm place but to a colder place) but that helped. I also added three late winter refreshers - two of which have been worn extensively this year. I do that with sales racks - I am not a great sales shopper but last year I did find tall boots at a good price which met all my criteria.

A holiday sounds just the ticket - a chance to get away and you probably won't worry about the clothes once you are there.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Jenn, thanks for the tips. I have a small (travel sized) lightbox already and will probably get a larger one when I move. You are right -- I did live there before so I'm familiar with the short grey winter days. I'm still not sure if this will be a permanent move (for now, it's one year) but I'll sure love going without the heavy parka and snow boots! I wasn't sure about the move until late spring, so I didn't really alter my shopping beyond looking for a great raincoat at NAS, which I haven't yet found.

I do manage with two main shops, or really, 3 -- NAS and then fall shop (usually early October), and then spring/ summer (which in my current climate means early June, usually...but I sometimes buy needed footwear earlier if I can.) So I'm optimistic that you'll be able to do something similar (but in reverse). With the summer refresher. If NAS keeps going the way it has been the last few years, you'll probably be able to buy the odd "summer" item in fall colours, which will be perfect for your needs.

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