I can’t believe it’s already June, and at the same time, I feel like 2023 has been 3 years long already. To say that it’s progressed at full-tilt and packed a wallop is an understatement. Summer snuck up on me this year but I’m now ready to embrace it. Before I start to tell you about what things I’m most excited to start wearing again and what I’ve learned from them, let’s just get one thing cleared up first.

I am not – and, let’s face it, have never been – Hot Girl Summer.

My lifestyle icon remains, above all, Jessica Fletcher. My summer is about puttering around the house and garden, thrifting and antiquing, doing needle crafts, reading, writing, and solving cozy mysteries in my quaint Maine village (I wish!).

I think it’s important to be very clear and realistic about your priorities, because there will always be articles and social media dangling tantalizing prospects of different “yous” that you might be, and you need to recognize them for the traps they are or else end up with a bunch of things in your closet that will mock you with their unsuitability forever.

Gen Z TikTok: not today, Satan.

Ok, look, I don’t want to sound like the old fogey that I am. There is a fine but very important balance between being open to new ideas and knowing which ones serve your needs and which don’t. I’m not ALL about saying “no” but I am also enthusiastic about saying “no” when it’s needed.

Before I engage with any consumerist propaganda about the “it pieces” for summer 2023, it’s important to do a little self-reflection first about what things (a) I wore a lot and enjoyed a lot last summer, and (b) am excited to wear again this summer. This exercise serves a couple of purposes. One, it helps me to focus on my actual needs and lifestyle and reinforce in my own mind what the key pillars of my summer wardrobe are. This, in turn, gives me a framework for evaluating any potential new additions to my summer wardrobe.

Let’s break this down by category.

Shoes

My favourite (and most worn) shoes last year were, in no particular order:

… Birkenstocks, Old Navy flat sandals, Fluevog gladiator-style sandals, and Barbara Barbieri grommet sandals.

These shoes cover the gamut of my various aesthetics and, most importantly, meet my comfort requirements. I have no patience for uncomfortable shoes – that means high heels, straps that dig in, etc. Looking at this list, I realize that I don’t really need or want any new shoes, unless we are talking about a pair of big buckle Arizonas in black (one of the early “it” shoes of the year, and still sold out most places) and/or a pair of vintage kitten heel mules, preferably Manolo Blahnik. I don’t need another pair of Birkenstocks but it’s a trendy shoe that happens to be fully in alignment with my (life)style, so if a cheap pair falls onto my path, I am not going to say no. As for the Manolos, it’s something I have been wanting for a while, as they would be perfect for the 90s-influenced outfits I’ve been enjoying lately. I think I would prefer a closed-toe version (more of an all-season item) but I am open to something strappy provided it’s comfortable.

Toppers

Other than vests, my favourite toppers for summer are my Prairie Trail Goods patchwork jackets:

These are lightweight and, because they skim the body and have puffy sleeves, are quite breezy. I can wear them on relatively hot days and not get sweaty. I like wearing some sort of topper to cut down on the amount of sunscreen that I have to wear, and to “dress up” some of my plainer summer dresses. Cropped jackets like this help to give definition to sack-like dresses (which I adore) and work well with high-waisted pants, jeans and skirts.

For summer toppers, I don’t want anything too tight or structured on the body. No delicate or “sweaty” fabrics (cotton and linen are best). And oversized fits are “tread carefully” territory for me – they don’t tend to work well with the romantic/prairie aesthetic I like, so unless I have a clear plan for the item, no impulse buys allowed.

Dresses

I love summer dresses with length, volume, and swish:

I know exactly which dress I want to add to my wardrobe this summer, and it’s a white version of the black dress in the photo above. I’ve also realized that I prefer summer dresses that are sleeveless; I know that puffy sleeved cottagecore dresses are still quite popular and, while they do fall within my aesthetic wheelhouse, I’m personally not a fan. I can’t double up on sleeves if I’m wearing a topper (see above) because I hate the feeling of bunchiness.

Slip dresses are mostly a “no” for me; the fabrics they tend to use are wrong for me – too clingy, too staticky, too “sweaty”.  Short dresses are also out; I only enjoy wearing short hemlines with opaque tights, which is obviously not an option in the summer.

Pants

For the past few years, I have one pair of jeans and one pair of pants that I wear on repeat in the summer:

I’ve talked ad nauseam about my search for a pair of wide-leg palazzo jeans, so I won’t bore you with that again. As much as my IG newsfeed is currently awash in wide-leg, full length pants (in beige or khaki) paired with sneakers, I decline to participate. I don’t like how those pants break at the feet, and I know my short inseam will only exacerbate that problem.

Accessories

My must-have accessory for summer, every summer, is a straw fedora-style hat:

I need a hat to protect my face (and ears!) from the sun, and through trial and error, I’ve found this style best suits my head/face shape and is the most versatile for the outfits I wear. I will not be tempted by any other kind of hat, because I know I am only going to default to this one regardless of anything else I buy.

As far as bags go, I have 2 modes:

… ludicrously capacious (non-luxury) tote or tiny crossbody. Most days, it’s the latter. I just don’t like to feel weighed down, or have my hands occupied. The key to using small bags is having a minimalist wallet and stashing a Baggu foldable tote in case of any purchases. I haven’t been interested in designer bags for years now, but I am very keen on Coach bags again – either the vintage leather ones or some of the recent art collabs (like the Basquiat one). Something classic or something playful, but small and not too heavy.

After going through this exercise, I found myself backing off a bunch of items that I had been tentatively eyeing online. Although cute, they don’t align with my needs and preferences. I’ve also refined my list of pieces to look for going forward; I’m focusing on the must-have elements and the absolutely-not ones, rather than specific items, because this allows me latitude to remain open to “surprise” options while keeping me on track to avoid bad buys. So I’m calling this a success!

Details: Ralph Lauren dress (Poshmark), Lord & Taylor cardigan (thrifted)

Thoughts: I love this dress even though the halter neckline is a style I normally avoid. The good news is that the back is high enough to allow me to wear a strapless bra; not all halters are. But the plaid patchwork pattern — ahh! It’s so good. But it is loud. I keep this dress for days when I feel like leaning all the way in with colour.

Details: Equipment shirt, Denim & Supply jacket, Nocona belt, H&M pants (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (consignment)

Thoughts: This outfit is a good example of warm weather layering. Obviously, I wouldn’t wear this outside in +30 degree weather, but for an average Edmonton summer day, it works. The shirt is a cotton-silk blend and very lightweight. The jacket is a cotton knit, also light. The scarf gives the illusion of an extra layer but it adds nothing to the actual weight of the outfit. The pants are also cotton and roomy (with built-in air venting). I feel like I’ve unlocked an extra achievement when an outfit is practical *and* perfectly suits my style.

Details: Lee x H&M top, Laura Ashley skirt, Golden jacket, Napoleoni shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: It’s crop top season, baby! I’m almost 43 and, yes, I wear crop tops. Don’t let people who weren’t even alive when you were in high school tell you what you can and can’t wear. I love crop tops because they pair so well with high-waisted bottoms, which I love. It’s a marriage made in heaven for a long torso like mine. I had been looking for a denim bustier-style top for a while before finding this Lee x HM collab piece at the thrifts last fall; it was too late in the season to wear it then, so I’ve been patiently waiting for the opportunity to bring it out. And, now, I’m happy I did. I debated what topper to use for this outfit, but decided against my 2 usual defaults — something black or my greyish Tabitha cropped jacket. Both would have worked, but I ended up feeling this olive-blue colour combo more. It felt fresh and unexpected.

Details: Topshop dress (thrifted), Prairie Trail Goods jacket, Toni T dickie (thrifted), Steve Madden shoes (retail)

Thoughts: Here is another clevel layering trick — this collar dickie totally switches up the vibe of this dress, plus it nicely bookends the chunky shoes. I liked how cream/off-white ended up being the grounding neutral in this outfit. Gives it a totally different feel than when using black as the neutral.

Details: Club Monaco shirt, Kimchi Blue pants, J. Crew shoes (all thrifted), Rafael Alfandary necklace (consignment)

Thoughts: I spent months, back in 2015-2016, looking for this Club Monaco shirt secondhand after seeing it on a coworker. I guess what they say about thrifting is true; wait long enough and look long enough, and you can find pretty much anything eventually. I had stopped looking for it in the meantime, but when it popped up on a rack near me recently, I had to get it. For the sake of nostalgia if nothing else. But it *is* a cute pattern too, plus one of my favourite shades of blue. This was an outfit that 2016 Adina would have worn, but it’s an outfit that works for 2023 Adina too.

Here’s my fashion confession: I am not an outfit repeater. Ok, that’s not absolutely categorically true; I do sometimes repeat outfits, but it’s an exception not a rule. I appreciate the ethos of outfit repeating so I have made it a part of my life in a way that complements my personal philosophy of dressing-as-a-creative-act.

Enter the remix.

Just like the colours in a paint-box, clothes are wonderfully versatile. Building a secondhand closet means that I have a lot of “colours” to play with, so the remixing possibilities are limited only by my ingenuity. I talked last week about how I use fashion inspiration to spark creative experiments; it’s all about finding new ways to wear the same old clothes. I have been on the remix train for a long time (since around 2015) so I have built up practices over the years to support that. For example, whenever I’m deciding to buy a new piece of clothing, I try to think of at least 3 ways to wear it with things I already own. If I can think of 3 on the spot, it usually means that there are a dozen more ways to remix it. I don’t like “single use” clothing — i.e. things that can only be worn one way — and tend to avoid it. One example of that, for me, is self-tying wrap dresses. I have tried to wear them in different ways, but I haven’t found a way to layer them that works for me; I don’t like how they look with blazers or other toppers, and I hate that you can’t swap out the belt. So I just don’t buy them anymore.

Another useful practice was marathon try-on sessions. I would pull out a bunch of clothes from the closet, throw them on the bed and then try on different combinations — no matter how “wild” or unlikely. I learned a lot of things from that, by trial and error: about pattern-mixing, about colour theory, about proportions. My eye was the guide — I would try an outfit and look in the mirror (taking a photo is even better) and go with my gut on whether it looked “right” for me. After years of practice, I can now do this exercise largely in my head, without needing to empty out my closet … though trying things on is still the best gauge of an outfit’s potential. It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes an outfit that worked well in my mind, doesn’t quite translate in real life.

Often, remixing is a question of very small tweaks; change out the top, or change the accessories, or add a new element. The habit to break is thinking that item A always has to be worn with item B. That kind of thinking will stop you from imagining other possibilities, for both A and B. Break them apart! Nothing terrible will happen, I promise.

Y’all know that I am not about didactic “telling” when it comes to (personal) style, but I like to offer people different ways of approaching things by showing. Recently, I’ve starting posting remix collages along with my OOTDs on Instagram, as a way to showcase how pieces can be worn in different ways. Each collage is a photo of my OOTD side by side with 2 other outfits featuring one item from the OOTD. Here are some examples:

I hope these remixes show how items can be used to create outfits with different aesthetics, for different occasions, and different seasons.