We are in the dog days of summer. A constant in my life right now is the feeling of being too hot and an overwhelming sense of lethargy. In order to keep cool for the rest of summer it’s important to focus on one of the most challenging tasks that you have to manage throughout the summer -getting dressed. It’s also one of the most mundane tasks around!
Summer doesn’t last long enough to invest in an expensive wardrobe that is both up to date and fashionable so here are a couple of tricks that I follow.
- Look at Magazines before summer hits! Get a feeling for what the summer fashions will be. Is there a hot color for summer? Is there a signature piece of clothing that you think would be a great investment?
- Shop Your Closet-Now that you’ve looked at the magazines, now shop your closet. You may have something fairly similar to what is in style. Maybe you can tweak the piece (if it’s clothing) so that you can be on point this summer.
- Dresses are your friend–Ladies-the dress is the gift that keeps on giving. You look nice, it’s easy to wear, comfortable, can be paired with flip flops/tennis shoes (walking tennis shoes)/dressy shoes. If you don’t have a few nice dresses for summer, get some now.
- Rock Cotton and Linen–Both materials are light, comfortable, and easy to wear.
- Man-made materials-While I would say that you should be leery of polyester (smells seem to cling to it) most materials seem to be light enough to wear throughout the summer.
- Invest in Sheer-But, wear appropriate undergarments. I have a series of work appropriate sheer gauzy tops. I pair them with tank tops. I don’t ever wear sheer bottoms. I don’t get why this fashion persists. Ladies you need to wear slips. End of story.
- When and Where To Buy Summer Clothes-I recommend purchasing Summer Clothes either at the end of Summer, or a month into the season. For new clothes if you wait a month you’ll hit the first round of sales. Never pay full price. Use what you have until your bookmarked items go on sale. Used Clothing Stores-Find a store that is well maintained, smells good, busy, and has great merchandise. It might not be in your neighborhood. Explore! Once you find a thrift store that fits your personality get to know its sales policies, extra discount days, and when new merchandice is put on the floor. I have purchased amazing brand new clothes (with tags on) from the thrift store for years now. Several of my summer dresses were purchased from the thrift store.
There is no reason to break the bank purchasing clothes for summer. The last thing I would like to say is you want to purchase items that can be restyled throughout the year.
Typically I incorporate a lot of my summer items into my Fall and Spring wardrobe and will layer those pieces with my Fall and Winter items.
For example, I wear dresses over skinny jeans for a slightly boho look and then pair it with my Frye ankle boots (or wedges).
Also, don’t forget to experiment with colors. And, for the love of all that is Holy-DON’T wear hoodies as a staple clothing item.
Hoodies are for: hiking, camping, and gym time. That’s it.
Continue looking good peeps!
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I bought a bunch of clearance winter stuff last spring. I’m looking forward to buying some summer clearance this fall so I have myself ready to go next summer.
I would have done the same but I still wasn’t shopping 🙁 I’ve updated my whole wardrobe this year so I’m pretty set for 2015. My clothing budget will be half of what I spent this year. I am looking out for clearance bikinis because those small scraps of clothing are expensive for what they are!
I definitely shop my closet as most of my clothes are well made/last long and suit my personal style. I agree with the idea of buying pieces that you can work with year round. I’ll usually buy a couple of new pieces each year and get rid of a couple in turn just to not get completely bored.
I really learned the hard way that quality trumps quantity almost every time (except dive restaurants!) I am investing in good pieces but trying to be savvy about where I find them: Leather jackets=Magical Goodwill, Frye boots from 6pm.com, etc. It’s amazing how easy it is to find good quality items for less than retail when you put your mind to it.
I am complettely agree with this post, since I fixed abudget for shopping also if I fall in love for something in the shop I think if I already have something similar in my closet and if I could use it often, in the years I bought something and then I never used-this is waste of money…great post!!!
This year I revamped my entire wardrobe, so next year I will be limiting spending by quit a bit. I just want to shop my closet and use what I already have. The most important thing for me is to get this best quality items for the least amount of money….even though shoes sometimes are an issue for me. I might have a slight shoe obsession! It’s really strange how often we buy the same thing over and over again.
I absolutely love dresses and skirts. Can’t wait to get back to wearing more of them in summer! I just prefer having, er room to breathe in the crotch area so to speak. Female pants are usually cut fairly tight/close in that area.
You can never go wrong with a dress-unless it’s too sheer which DOES seem to be an issue for some people. I just BUSTED out laughing re: crotch comment, it’s never good to wear clothes that are too tight.
Seriously, I find it so hard with pants! Especially with the move toward skinny fit pants in the past few years – somehow seemed to be less of an issue when wide legs were more popular.
Am still laughing.
Sheer bottoms are a thing?!! Ick.
My summer wardrobe is tiny, because my office isn’t dressy AT ALL and it’s always freeeezing in there, no matter the time of year. I wear my jacket all year round, which kind of sucks. I also run a space heater all year round 🙁
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen sheer dresses without slips. In fact, it’s kind of challenging finding slips because manufacturers have started adding sheer “slips” to dresses/skirts. I run cold too and can’t wait to start wearing fall clothing! I bought a gorgeous sheer burgundy sweater this weekend. I feel like fall arrives just in time to save people from themselves LOL.
Most of the “summery” clothes I have were purchased at the tail end of last summer. It’s an easy way to save money, and trends don’t change too dramatically over a year, so there are no worries about looking “out dated”.
I’m planning on buying a new bikini in a couple of weeks. I also find that the trends run pretty consistent each year: shorts, cute sandals, light tops, or dresses. I just purchased 2 pairs of shorts and a couple of maxi dresses. Am just about done with shopping for the year. There is a pair of shoes that I’m lusting after….we shall see.
I love the magazine idea! I take pictures of the styles that I love. And a trick I use for fall: I have a few cute $12 sweaters from Forever 21 that I wear over dresses with a blazer. That’s 4 different looks with 3 pieces: dress, dress + sweater, dress + blazer, dress + sweater + blazer!
I also went to LA and fell in love with a thrift store there. I totally need to find the good ones in DC. I will take your advice for sure and start my thrift store hunt tonight!
I am addicted to magazines and there is no way I’m not buying the September issue. So, I try to find inspiration from them. TWELVE Dollar Blazers ROCK!! I get costume jewelry from Forever21 (4Eva21) It’s the gift that keeps on giving. I am shocked at the amount of amazing stuff that I find at Goodwill. I think the key is to find one that you really, really love. Keep me post on what you find.