We've had a few really warm days lately, which inspired me to get out my S/S clothes and see what I have. I've been struggling with what to wear for pants/shorts in the summer for years now (see my other thread here), and I feel like my current options are not very inspiring, so I sat down and did a full inventory. Afterwards, I came up with a list of possible additions that might add a bit more variety and fill some holes.

casual shorts:

• Uniqlo chino shorts, turquoise — too large in the waist, shorter inseam than I’d like. fit well a couple years ago, not anymore. should probably replace with something else
• black denim vintage Levi's cutoffs — made from old jeans that DH wore many years ago. sentimental value, look pretty good cuffed. heavy denim — not good for really hot days.
• blue denim vintage Red Engine cut-offs — I hacked a pair of straight leg jeans last year to try bermuda length shorts. unfortunately, I really don’t like the way these look on me. also, they’ve now got some very persistent stains. saying good-bye to these.

gear (obviously I have enough gear, but does one really ever have *enough* gear?):

• Patagonia baggies 2 pairs — 1 solid, 1 printed. great gear shorts.
• Patagonia running shorts — 2 pair. 1 extremely old (backpacking trips only), 1 newer (for road and trail running, day trips, etc).
• Athleta cropped joggers (nylon hiking pants) — these are great travel pants. they’re lightweight, don’t wrinkle and look fairly cute/current for gear pants.
• Ex Officio roll-up pants (nylon hiking pants) — loose fitting, roll-up to capri length. my favourite hiking pants for extreme heat, and they provide full sun coverage (great for boating, desert trips, etc)
• Prana yoga knickers in black — nice cropped leggings for yoga, hiking, and to wear under tunics (again, not great for the hottest days).

skirts:

• black jersey a-line skirt from Toad & Co — knee length. I wore this a bunch last summer, but only on days when I didn’t need pockets.
• purple jersey maxi skirt from Alternative Apparel — picked this up several years ago to experiment with maxi lengths. nice for beach/extreme casual, but maxi skirts aren’t really my thing. and, no pockets.

lightweight and cropped pants:

• Uniqlo linen pants in sage green — these were my favourite thing to wear last summer, rolled to ankle length. fit well, very lightweight, nice color. The drawstring got lost in the wash, so now there are little holes where the cord used to be — I don’t like to tuck or semi-tuck with these.
• Boden Richmond wide leg crops — black, versatile smart-casual pants. pretty substantial, not good for super hot days.
• Boden Richmond ankle pants — see above.
• old J Crew Waverly chinos, 2 pairs, grey and sage green — I’m always surprised how much I like these. perfect weight, all-cotton, slightly tapered, perfect for cuffing, and they’re from the last generation of J Crew pants that actually fit me. wish they were a higher rise though; they start out at my hip and by the afternoon sit even lower.
• vintage J Crew cropped jeans, black denim — I loved these jeans for so long. they got to be a bit too big, and then one of the ankles had a run-in with some bleach — oops. So I hacked them last year, but they ended up a bit shorter than I’d like. also, the button fly is starting to disintegrate. these are placeholders until I find a new pair of faded black jeans — it’s so hard!

possible holes:

• a loose woven skirt, knee length or midi length, with POCKETS. Grey, black, or navy would be the most versatile. linen, cotton, silk, or a blend.
• more lightweight linen pants — again, black or grey would be best (I don’t like wearing the green ones with red (or red and white) shirts — looks too much like a Christmas palette). also considering linen shorts and overalls.
• black jeans — not actually a summer wardrobe hole, but as all my old black jeans have been turned into cut-offs, it’s a noticeable hole in my f/w wardrobe
• more cropped wide legs/culottes — I would like to add more of this silhouette in different fabrications — cotton canvas, drapey silk, linen, etc.
• chino shorts in an interesting color (not khaki or navy) with a 4-6" inseam