I agree Bella. Being a SAHM, that is my dress code all the time : casual. I also really like JJill linen pants. The white ones below come in some beautiful colors. I am going to get the deep red this year. The striped tank is linen, too.

I also like really light weight cotton skirts like the one below form Boden.

Thank you Isabel! I just might look for some linen things, and I'll definitely make a point of shopping for cotton. I will just relax about wrinkles, and it won't kill me to use my iron for cotton blouses/tops.

That reminds me - I still wanted to get that Jiffy steamer I saw featured on Costco's website awhile back.

I do have a couple of 'shirt dresses' that worked out quite well last year. Just that they're not throw-on-and-go items. Just my luck that they are both 'dry clean only' according to their labels.

I will find cotton and linen this time - thanks!

VC, I am the woman who loves to iron......but I just don't care in the summer. And no one runs from me screaming, " My God , look at her wrinkled clothes !!

I actually find that linen is getting easier to care for and it doesn't "crinkle" as much as years ago. I also find it rather durable. I sit on rocks at the park and in the sand, then I just throw it in the washer. I do iron my pants and add very light starch if I attend something a bit nicer..but that's it . And yes, you mentioned before if should start looking now.

I would love to know how the steamer works out, I might consider that too

A couple more dresses that look lightweight, both from Land's End.

Wow, this is so interesting. Thanks for asking the question, Isabel!

I get the impression that one thing that can make a season especially hard is our own expectations. Those of us who have moved from one climate to another may have special difficulties with the seasonal variations of our new location. I know I found Vancouver's early summers so bewildering when I moved there for a 3 year period. My friends back in Ontario were already in their linens and cottons in June and I was wrapped in sweaters. I didn't know how to deal with it! Mind you, there were compensations, like flowers in February.

I'm having a grumpy evening so I am tempted to say ALL seasons are tough for me to dress for!! I still don't have a great working wardrobe so I don't feel especially fab in ANY season, yet!!! (GRRRRRRR).

Thank you for letting me get that off my chest!

Traditionally, I find spring and summer the toughest seasons to dress for. Here are my reasons.

1. Spring - I never bought myself many "springlike" pieces because the season being so short and changeable, it didn't seem "practical" so I simply wore winter clothes right into the summer (or froze in my summer duds) and in any case felt a mess. I am trying to buy a few pieces and do what you describe Angie doing, Isabel...make that transition from winter to spring almost as organic as the one outside! But it may take me a few years to get there. I do know that brighter colours, stripes, and crisper fabrications seem to tell me I am dressing in a springlike way.

2. Summer. I can't bear the humidity, and summers are generally humid here. I can't stand to layer or wear jewelry. So outfits become super simplified and not very fashionable. I live and work in an un-air-conditioned house and although most stores and businesses are air conditioned, the majority of my time is spent at home or outdoors.

Jonesy, I, too, got married in August in the midst of a heat wave. In our backyard...and we did all the cooking for the event, including the cakes! Oy.

Interesting question.
Back in Portugal the season I had more difficulty dressing for was summer, followed by the weirdly warm fall we used to have, basically because I couldn't wear layers nd scarves.I always flt very casual.
In Canada my difficult season is winter.The too cold outside/too hot inside combo drives me crazy and besides more formal occasions I couldn't find a way to dress that I feel 100% as I want to be.
The reason summers don't scare me anymore is that I found the brilliancy of a well cut dress and a pair of cute sandals.

Shall we just cancel summer then? I'm on board.

Suz - I know just what you mean about Toronto and the outlying areas - I lived there for quite awhile too. And there isn't really much of a spring. It's all winter, winter, winter and then all of a sudden it's boiling hot. The only thing that helped me with 'spring' is to buy some clothes that were still warm, but in spring-like colours. I can see from your recent NY trip that you've managed to start doing this - those Marks Report booties are just perfect on you!

Isabel - thank you so much for your suggestions - I feel a whole lot better about finding a few things that will look nice and still be comfortable. I think I'm just challenged when it comes to finding summer clothes - and have made quite a few mistakes. Time to toss the mistakes and go for cotton and linen. And yes, I've done the 'hide out in the one room that has air conditioning' thing too. Just that last summer I was traveling so much and so often that I didn't have the time or energy to try and figure out what to do about keeping this place cool.

I still say we should just cancel summer altogether. I'm not a fan of winter either.

(laughing here...)

eta: I really like that Boden skirt and the Land's End dress - thank you Isabel!!!

Jonesy, a wedding in August? Eek! It must have been so hot! Were you wearing a full-on bridal gown? Those things are so heavy and hot and it must have made it even worse. My friend got married outdoors in the afternoon last July (during the height of our record-breaking heatwave). They handed out paper fans at the check-in table, and the bride wore a full gown for the ceremony, but changed into a cute little white dress for the reception. It was SO HOT!! But we still danced and had fun, and it was still such a beautiful event. We just embraced being sweaty. I bet that's how people remember your wedding too. : )

VC, that sounds terrible!! I can't imagine living in such a hot place with little or no air conditioning.

S-U-M-M-E-R!! BLAH!

I have been looking for months now for a simple cotton dress that is not strapless nor has spaghetti straps. When I find a style I like, it's polyester. ARGH!!

I am going against everybody (except celia) and say winter. Winter is just so cold and miserable here that often I just wake up, shiver, and make a beeline for the same 2 pairs of sweater tights, layered, a pair of pull-on jeans, one of 2 heavy scarves and my wool cardigan, topped with a ski jacket. This is my uniform for the dreary winter days-- and by uniform, I mean the exact same items of clothing worn day after day because I know they're warm and I'll be comfortable. xD

In western Washington, I find SPRING definitely the hardest season to dress for, because the temperature may fluctuate 20 degrees when the sun comes out, or it may rain, hail, or snow at a moments notice. I personally dash around alot, but one needs to be prepared and water repellant clothing is a very good thing.

Summer, however, is SUBLIME in western Washington, and it gets HOT 85-90 degrees, only for a week or so. But when the weather is very warm I wear simple clothes, a dress, sandles, maybe a necklace. I tried to post a pic from Mexico to give you the idea, but it would not load. I will try another time.

I love simple dressing. Layers I find somewhat burdensome. I may live in the wrong place.

I'd have to say late summer/early fall. I'm sick of my summer clothes but it's not cool enough for full fall clothing. I tend to end up in jeans and t-shirts out of simply nothing else to wear that's comfortable.

High summer. UGH!

Summer here, too. The UK doesn't have much air-conditioning, I run hot and I cannot BEAR feeling hot and sweaty - it's not just that I don't like dressing for it, and I just plain don't like it, and find myself dreaming of snow and frost and chilly winds

When we lived in Pittsburgh, I would have said the winter was the toughest season for me to dress for. Like Jyoti, I had a uniform of silk long johns, jeans, a turtleneck pullover and a wool crew neck sweater. I had just a few of each item and I wore them over and over and over again. I wore athletic socks and trainers in the house because they were warm. Besides the blizzards and three feet of snow, it was always cloudy and when it *did* finally begin to warm up in May, it stayed cold inside the house for another month or so because our house was on a north-facing slope. I remember thinking how ridiculous it was to be wearing a turtle neck and wool sweater in May. Even when I dressed up for church, I froze. I would wear riding boots, a long lined wool skirt, tights and long johns, a merino wool turtle neck and a wool blazer. I'd throw a full length down coat over top it all. I'll never forget coming home on Sundays to a cold house and sitting on the couch in my coat while hubby built a fire to slowly defrost me! Brrrrrr! We had small kids in those days, and I didn't get out much, and when I did I never felt very fab. Of course I wasn't into style and fashion yet!

When the opportunity came to move to Phoenix, we jumped on it. In general we love the warmth and the mild winters, but I've had to learn to dress for the never-ending summers and their extreme heat. My biggest complaint is the stores, restaurants and commercial buildings that keep their air conditioning so freezing cold. Sometimes there is almost a 50 degree temperature difference between inside and outside. Most of us don't keep our homes that cold as we've acclimated to the weather and it would be cost prohibitive, to say nothing of what it does to the environment. So if I'm running around in strappy sandals, a denim skirt and a cotton printed top, I need a scarf and a blazer to go out to eat or do any shopping. Then I feel like I look top heavy because my top half is bundled up and then I have bare legs and skimpy sandals on. The temperature difference doesn't seem to bother anybody else so I guess I'm just really cold natured.

My mantra for summer clothes is: cotton, linen, rayon, silk! No synthetic linings. No unlined skirts that would require a nylon slip (must get/make a natural fiber one). I'm trying to avoid buying knits as they are hotter and just gross if it's humid. And I'm through buying anything that needs a topper to be seen in public (like spaghetti strap dresses). Like AJ, I am having a hard time finding dresses with more coverage that are not polyester. But I love a challenge and I'll try not to complain!

Great read! And the comments are so different depending on where you live.

If you live in Seattle - Spring is going to be the hardest. So cold and stays cold till June. The rest is easy.

Regarding the Summer heat - it's very hard for me although I *love* to wear a little sleeveless dress and be done. Or long shorts and a sleeveless blouse. Love that! And I also like the heat! It's the a/c that I find IMPOSSIBLE. I have lived and traveled in the hottest Summer climates and you just can't dress to suit the outside and inside temp when you run cold like I do. Singapore has the hottest and most humid climate around (Tapei and HK in the Summertime too) - yet the a/c's are set to 65 and 68. It's impossible to wear sandals and breezy clothing when you are me unless you stay outside. I want to wear jeans and closed shoes in 65

I second VC's motion with much enthusiasm !!! I am not expert VC, but the material, for me, makes a HUGE difference. And with cotton I mean woven ( not knitted, like T shirts ). If you do go for linen, make sure that it is 100% linen, if they mix in cotton or polyester, it makes it heavy and uncomfortable.

I hope it works out ok for you too.

It dawned on me that Summer is the only season that I cannot dress to make myself for comfortable. And that is the crux of the matter for me.

Claire, your description of what you wore in Pittsburg is divine to me...I can feel the coziness ( though it is not how you felt ). I love "cozy". Though extreme cold, single digits with wind, is not my favorite weather, I least I can dress for it and feel comfortable, in my view.

Celia, yes, I totally get it. That must have been so hard !!! I was little when we moved to the US so I love the snow. But for my parents, even figuring out what to wear on their feet, was a challenge.

Diane, I am moving to your house !!!

Suz, you cracked me up, grrrr.

Claire,, Hmm, rayon. I haven't thought of that. I will bet you that bamboo rayon is great. It is suppose to have the properties of silk. I won't do silk because I sweat like crazy and it would be a nightmare with silk for me. You brought up a good point about slips and linings. I usually wear a slip, but I do try to avoid it as much as possible.

This is year continues to be a tough year for natural fabrics because the prices have gone through the roof, especially cotton, so there are many more polyester fabrics out there.

Spring is tough because of all the possible scenarios. But I love layers, have a couple of great waterproof coats, taupe and sand boots ( though moving into shoes and sandals is tough....), a cute umbrella, cute rubber boots, lighter weight cashmere and wool scarves...and so on. So I generally feel that I have what I need to fell comfortable and dry. WIth that said, we don't have long Springs generally in terms of on going rain.

Angie's post also made me think that with being a SAHM, I don't have to worry about meetings or being in and out of buildings.

I don't know how those that commute other than by car can figure any of it out !

Isabel, you hit the nail on the head here: "...but the material, for me, makes a HUGE difference." SO true! Wovens ONLY, cotton, linen (indeed it wears like iron!), maybe bamboo, silk if you don't sweat too much or if it's easily handwashable. Certain weaves of fabric also work well for staying cool - voile, organza, lawn, seersucker, eyelet.

I can dress happily for summers now, but it did take me over a decade!! Here's some tips, but first the key point. *** When you're wearing only three or four articles of clothing, every piece needs to pull it's weight style-wise *** I dress for summer in dresses, blouses, skirts, and capris. The trick is to reflect your own color palette and style references in these pieces (pattern, detail, silhouette, etc.)

So, IronKurtin's dress could be an asymmetric tank-style in distressed linen with loose panels running down the front and sides, all in shades of charcoal grey.
While Claire may choose a sleeveless fit and flare shirtdress in seersucker stripes of coral, tangerine, and lime. Both are loose-fitting dresses that beat the heat, but style-wise they're from different universes!

Another way to approach this is to 'pull out' or emphasize only certain parts of your style. I love antiquey-feeling pieces, from victorian style jackets to edwardian underthings. During colder months i won't wear many lacy pieces, besides socks or a scarf. But during summer i wear my little lacy camisole-flavored tops and petticoats to death. I'm vergeing on obsessed with style consistency so at first this switching my look out was hard for me to deal with....but now i embrace it and actually look forward to re-visiting these different parts of my style persona.

The trouble is in *finding* these pieces. Fortunately, i sew my own clothes and this has been a large part of my strategy - but a lot of this has to do with fitting my non-standard bod. Once i figured out what to look for i was able to start buying much more ready to wear. I do find that i buy my summer pieces at different vendors than my pieces for other seasons, so looking farther afield may pay off.

Even if you don't sew, it's easy to dye things to fit your color scheme, switch out buttons or add some trim more in line with your own aesthetic. A plain old men's sleeveless tank makes a very different statement with frilly lace edging the neck and armholes, or dyed shocking pink.

You really need cute shoes that you can wear without socks. I've had a lot of luck with Aerosoles sandals - comfy, great support, stylish, good prices especially on sale or at outlets. Vegan options, too. Moleskin is priceless- apply it to The Shoe wherever it rubs. Again, when you're wearing three or four articles of clothing, every piece needs to pull it's weight style-wise.

Accessories can make a big difference. Hats are wonderful! They protect from the sun, add tons of panache, and can compensate for wilted locks. Brooches in lightweight materials add sparkle if you can't cope with necklaces or bracelets (again certain materials, like wood and ivory, can make all the difference in wearability). Wear earrings if you can tolerate it and make them count. And search makeup forums for tips on makeup in the heat. These days we have foundation primers, long-wear formulations, and tubing mascaras that stand up to the heat and humidity. A bit of maquillage helps you feel more polished and will amaze your friends and family!

I hope this helps someone out. Obviously it means a lot to me, i've written a veritable tome! It does take effort and thought to be able to find your 'summer style', but isn't that what YLF is here for? Happy Saturday!! steph

#1 - Nine West Cotton
#2 - all cotton separates - bag adds color
#3 - Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Diamond Life dress, lightweight cotton seersucker is much cooler than the olive drab color looks
#4 - floaty layers allow lots of air, bare feet are a summer classic
#5 - switch boots for strappy sandals in #2 or #3 (as mentioned above, last summer was weirdly cool in the Bay Area)
#6 - linen dress out of Rebecca Taylor for Vogue Patterns V1152; again switch the boots for sandals in #1 for more sizzling temps

Steph, those are great tips and observations ! Thank you. The visuals are also wonderful.
I think that up until a couple of years ago, it was really about just getting through it. But with kids that are a bit older now, they want to go to places more in the summertime so I spend more time outside than before.

I am going to try the cool layer...I don't layer in the summer and this really throws me for a loop. Thanks again, this was wonderful !

Well, I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in having the most difficulty dressing for summer! I live in the midwest US, where it can be swelteringly hot and humid in summer.
I love summer, but as I get older it's harder to hide imperfections in summer clothes. It was so much easier as a youngster when I could throw on short shorts and a halter top, or a bare little dress and sandals and look great.

I appreciate the visuals, Isabel, and those are some great tips, Steph! I'm hoping for lots of help in what to wear this summer. I'm going to need lots of help to try to look reasonably decent.

I hate for Autumn/ Fall, its chilly but you put some more clothes and you start sweating. Winter- wear all your wardrobe at once no tension, summer- don't wear anything still no problem, spring- colorful and cute dresses, jeans, tops with some coverups only. But fall-eewww, I hate it. And there's our rainy season-oh god wear anything you'll look like a wet chicken at the end of the day.......

Summer is hard here for me. Basically it is the Angie problem, although I do not deal with the extreme heat well because of my heart problems, dressing for heat isn't that big of a deal here, because we do not have to deal with it for 9 months like some of you, so getting to wear something sleeveless with nothing but a pair of good shoes or maybe one accessory or two is nice rather than a pain and style limiter.

That said, coming from living in the desert where it was hot or pleasantly warm from 8 to 8 everyday and unless you were in a very new building the AC just kept it decently cool during the day, living in CO again is a challenge.

It will be between 32-45 degrees and cold when I get up in the morning and I often have to run my heater during the commute and I still deal with frozen arms and feet if I'm not wearing pants, closed shoes, and a sweater. By 2 pm it can be 103 degrees. Also, most of our heat is because of extremely strong sun rays at high altitude, so on sunny days it can be only in the 60s and you can feel like you are being baked alive when you are in the sun, even though the breeze can be cold and it will be cold in the shade. Most houses don't have AC or only have window units and some of the older businesses don't have air. Businesses that do have air tend to over air-condition which means it can be very cold. As soon as, if not before, the sun goes down you are back in the 40s and 50s.

I hate to be a huge whiner, but I have a hard time regulating my body temperature, so going back and forth from too hot to too cold is difficult. Around the clock cold is easier because at least I can bundle up. I feel sick when I'm too hot, then I am in pain from the cold and will end up with cold sweats, then I'm hot again. So either it is sweaty jeans or icy feet.

Summer! I used to curse the humidity, but after spending 5 years in North Texas and 5 years in New Mexico, I discovered that whenever the temp goes above 80 degrees, it doesn't matter if it's humid or dry. HOT is HOT!

My biggest issue is indoor temp. My DH keeps the thermostat set at 79 degrees, which is fine for him but uncomfortably warm for the rest of the family. But hey, no one dares touch the thermostat! At work, it's either too cool (my boss is heavy and sets the thermostate at 74 degrees, which is too cold for me) or it's too hot (the previous boss comes to do volunteer work with the 4-H'ers and loves to leave the doors wide open, whcih lets all the hot air in and all the cool air out.

I've learned to dress in layers, but there's only so much clothing you can take off, especially at work!