Slightly cooler temps mean I can wear my skirts (they all fit at the waist, so make me too hot once it's above, say, 85/29), and I reached for this linen/cotton one. It's an almost watermelon pink, at the very edge of how bright I can go before being washed out. I really like it, and it seems perfect for warm weather (although I see in these pics that the hem's falling down in one spot), but the colour makes it a bit challenging at times. I prefer wearing it with knits, whenever I add one of my frilly woven blouses, I suddenly feel too femme.

I love wearing shades of the same colour, so I couldn't resist adding a blush tee on top, and the off white belt seemed to go best. But then of course the whole look was terribly sweet, a bit like a bowl of sorbet! First I added my bee brooch, as insects are not a traditionally girly subject (and echoed the pewter with a hair slide). That was fine for at home wear, but when I went out to run errands, I wanted to cut the sweetness a bit more. I came up with two options and thought I'd show them both to the forum to get your opinions! (Apologies for the photo dump.)

The first option is a little straw fedora, fairly straightforward. Does it de-sweeten things? The second option is a deliciously lightweight, drapey jacket. I thrifted it last year because of the 70% linen/30% silk blend, the little round collar, and big pockets, despite the beige colour. I originally intended to dye it grey, but I was afraid dye would destroy the feel of the fabric, so I've been putting it off. And much to my surprise, the beige didn't look terrible (soul-sucking? hehe) with this outfit at least. I tried it over top the rest of the outfit, inspired by some Japanese styles that I've seen, and I actually quite liked it. I think the way it changes the proportions definitely cuts down on the sweetness, but does it look intentional? I also tried it with the belt over top, just to give you another option. (The jacket and hat together didn't work, probably due to the different beige shades.) If it helps you make up your mind, I'm not bothered by a bit of frumpiness in my look, as long as it seems intentional, and I prefer to look quaint, so a bit quirky and old-fashioned.

What are your thoughts? For my errands, I wore the jacket unbelted, and felt good, but for the future I'd love to have more input. My feelings aren't easily hurt, so feel free to be honest if you don't care for it!

ETA: forgot to say, my hair looks a mess in later pics because the only spot I can stand for full outfit photos is right next to my vent! So if the a/c is on, it blows my hair around mercilessly.