Breaking up your dominant season into several "mini seasons" sounds like a great idea to me. That's how I handle the many, many months of cool, wet weather here in Seattle. It might sound silly but there are certain scarves that I only wear in January and February for example -- I really like how this strategy brings structure to the long stretch of dreary weather. And, more and more I am realizing that I do want to dress slightly differently in different sub-seasons (long sleeves consistently, but different weights of fabric for example).

That is more of a strategy for dressing. I don't have much advice about shopping though.

Definitely agree with the idea of separating the summer into seasons - mine are spring summer, travel summer, very hot summer, lingering summer, almost not summer, and gradually warm winter.

I'm sorry you're sick of summer! Our summer starts late, so I'm still enjoying the warm weather. Once fall sets in, it's dark and dreary and rainy or snowy for six months, and it can be really depressing.

I think you are right on the money with the idea of dividing up your summer into parts. I believe that Suz has had success with a midwinter refresher, with winter being her longest season. I haven't yet tried that idea because by the time I feel the need for a refresher, the offerings are picked over. I think the early bird gets the worm in this case, and you would have to plan so as to shop for the midseason refresher when things are still relatively new on the racks.

Jenn, I love the UK climate for all the change, I enjoy the summer a lot but I love the change of rain, wind and sun.

My thinking shifted on high summer once I owned I wouldn’t ever ‘go brown’. I’ve moonbeam white skin! Then, I suddenly felt differently about v hot weather.

I like Shevia’s wardrobe splits especially.

I hope that you find techniques that work especially with the upcoming move.

So Cal is warmer than No Cal, of course, but I think our seasons are:

1. Hot Days, Hot Nights (July - September)
2. Hot Days, Cold Nights (October)
3. Cold Days, Cold Nights (November - January)
4. On-Off, Over-Night Rain / Rainy Weekends (February - March)
5. Bright Cold Days, Cold Nights (April - June)

Cold being a relative term, the rainfall pattern having everything to do with our (heavy) traffic patterns, and really... the correlation with month is pretty sketchy... we just ping pong between these seasons from week to week...

... Right. Scratch all that. We have two seasons: Rain and Fire.

Dress accordingly!

I think I come alive in summer. I loved the LA weather on my 2 trips there, one a June and one a July. Hot but not too humid, and lovely swimming pools to frequent. I also got stuck there for a day one January and the weather was also very nice!- I did a LA city tour to fill in the time.
I'm with you for getting a bit of SAD- this year I had it in June. Although we are still in winter here in August the days are getting longer and Sunday was very Spring-like, I was gardening and cleaning up outside on our building site for hours.
I think your sort of morphing capsules sound a great idea for the future. Are you partly moving because of son going to college?

Nope, sorry! Im still enjoying summer, i like as much sun and light as possible:) Also I prefer to wear skirts and sandals, and dont mind wearing the same over and over.
I will feel differently in 6 months...poster child for winter SAD here!

We have many versions of summer here- warm, dry summer then hot, dry, then hot, humid, then back to warm, dry. It makes it hard to give full reign to my love of tailored jackets that, for a sizeable part of the year, you don’t want anything more than a light shirt!

My strategy for the end of season blahs is to buy a few new items to refresh. These are pieces that I can see working once the weather warms up and can be worn in future months.

I am OVER winter. It has been cold, wet and dreary. However, my new sweater, skirt and jacket have definitely helped me retain my enthusiasm for dressing!

No strategy advice from me , just commiseration . We’ve had an unusually hot summer which is still carrying on and I am DONE with it . However , I feel this way by mid March too , so I just resign myself to clothing repeat fatigue and keep my head done and persevere . I’m in Toronto today where it’s much nicer and not so hot - and still wearing a dress I’ve already worn what feels like 100 times this summer. I kind of don’t care anymore - ugh .

Jenn, my dominant season is summer. I am not letting myself get longing for fall. I love summer and heat, but highs in the 80s start in May and continue well into October. That's a solid six months of summer. I can't let myself get impatient in early August or I will be miserable for another two months. I did it two years ago and still remember how cranky I was throughout September.

I do get very bored of my clothing. This year I have been living in knit fit-and-flare dresses from Amazon, but at the beginning of August I switched to a uniform of t-shirt and jean shorts. It was an instinctive move, not a conscious strategy, but it's really helping so far. It feels like something is different, with marginal impact on comfort. I also got some new jewelry pieces: a pinkie ring and a couple necklaces. And I'm experimenting with a new hairstyle (face-framing updo braids) which may not be the most flattering, but is cool, and different.

I also tell myself how grateful I am of the warmth in the evenings and when changing clothes. I hate being wet and shivering out of the shower, and always having to wear socks or slippers to keep my toes from going icy, and the shivers from putting on cold clothes. When I get impatient with summer, I remind myself of those things.

Am high fiving, Suz.

Jenn, I thought about that. A/C in LA will make your Summers a lot more bearable.

smittie, maybe it's part of my malaise that I'm thinking I shouldn't invest too much in fall/winter this year!

bj1111, I usually love wearing limited travel capsules, but it sure is nice to come home to more options, isn't it?

La Pedestrienne, it was a total revelation to me that my summer SAD was not reverse-seasonal-affective-disorder, but just the same thing that hit me in Seattle. I try to remember to go out in the light for a bit each morning when it's still cooler now, which helps.

SarahD8, it will be interesting to see if I gravitate towards mini capsules when we move. That's not something I do now, but it might be a way to alleviate boredom without adding a lot more clothes.

shevia, LOL.

Gigi, at least for summer items, brands tend to come out with a "resort collection" during wintertime. That's not really something that happens in summer for winter clothes!

Jane, I am very pale, too, and I don't think that will change, even in California. My husband turns tan the minute the sun hits his skin. If I skip the sunscreen, I just turn red.

rachylou, rain and fire. Got it! It was interesting to me that Burbank actually gets an inch more rain a year than we do here in Colorado. (Still not much.)

JenniNZ, I'm kind of hoping for a house with a pool The move isn't because kiddo is graduating, but that did make the decision easier! I'm not going anywhere until the end of school year next June.

suntiger, I'd probably feel different, too, if I lived in a place that didn't have sunny winters. In fact, I did when I lived in the Midwest! Spring used to be my favorite season. Now it's fall!

Chiara, I don't want to be a connoisseur of the different types of summer, but I might have to become one!

Bijou, yup, I think a late-season refresh might be the way to go. That's so much easier for me in winter, when I love the clothes, than it is in summer, though.

lisap, I think I sometimes just need someone to tell me to suck it up and deal with it. LOL.

Ginger, at the start of summer this year, I wrote down all the things I liked and was looking forward to about the season. Maybe I should go back to that list!

Angie, yes! When we first moved to Colorado, we didn't need A/C, but the climate has CHANGED in the past twenty years. It's much hotter now, and I regret not putting in air conditioning...and I'm not talking arctic A/C! Just having the house down below 80º makes a world of difference!

texstyle, I suspect those "lightweight items in autumn colors" will be essential to my style going forward.

Jenn, that sounds like a really good idea. It's made a difference for me. A way to "deal with it" that is at least somewhat logical.

When looking at places to live, pay attention to exposure, whether the place has double-pane windows, and black-out window coverings. My living room has a southwest exposure and a really huge window. Nice view, but it made the room impossibly hot until we got double-pane windows and changed all the sliders back to double-hung so we could really get the ocean breezes at night.

I've really noticed climate change in the last half dozen years. . . .It will also make a difference if you change from one micro-climate to another. Or if you get Santa Ana winds more often. IMHO, California's relative lack of humidity when it's hot makes it easier to bear. But I still don't want to go to Death Valley or Palm Springs!!!

Jenn, sorry to be a bit late to answer. I've also read your other post about moving, and am putting my thoughts together fo a useful answer.

Rachy nailed the "seasons" very well. I'll add that in the Valleys (San Fernando, and San Gabriel especially) the air quality is not fab in the summer/fall, especially during fire season.

DH and I have lived in Pasadena for 20 years. He's worked at Disney in Burbank the whole time. Prior to that, a couple of years in SF, and NYC before that! And I "lagged" each move for several months. So hopefully I'll have some useful thoughts for you!

Though I spent my first 12 years in SoCal, I am not a summer person! I don't tolerate the heat and,now, for health reasons, stay out of the sun. I crave sweaters and leather jackets! So summer, especially now that I'm no longer working, is pretty much a make-do season for me. Tees, light chinos, sneakers. Sometimes a light white linen long sleeve shirt layered over a tank. I try to jazz it up with interesting colors, or cuts, my favorite stripes, long gauzy/linen scarves. Though I love to buy, I end up beong a big repeater of a few favorites. I did enjoy my summer office wardrobe - navy, white, ivory, poplins, silk, and a swell lime green leather tote that I happily used for many summers.

But always glad for any hint of cooler temps in Sept/Oct, always a bit grouchy when Halloween was hot and the pumpkins rotted : )

I remember you were checking out Poetry a while a go - their linen things work nicely here.

Any way, I certainly hear you about the summertime blues! Maybe a new scarf or a couple of special tops for the vacation?

This time of year (medio August), I make a list of summer items that I love and would like to get some more wear out of before I have to pack them away (around medio September). And then I focus on wearing one or more of them every day for the rest of the summer.

This year, my list is shorter than usual, as temperatures have been unusually high for the last three months, so I have actually had the opportunity to wear my summer items a lot, and I have enjoyed it.

I look forward to do some shopping for fall items in the next couple of weeks.

I now live where it is hot summer six months a year and I definitely get tired of it. Half of my wardrobe is summer clothing, so I have lots of options.

I feel the opposite! I’m still enjoying playing with my summer clothes, “discovering” new outfits, and feeling anxious that I’m going to run out of hot weather soon...