Reflections On Summer Style

This summer was an interesting one for me, sartorially speaking. Sometime earlier, I became rather obsessed with Ralph Lauren, a designer that had never really been at the forefront of my fashion interests before. It took me a while to figure out why his work started to resonate with me all of a sudden; it wasn’t until I was perusing Ralph Lauren: In His Own Fashion that the answer came to me. Lauren is not an innovative designer the likes of Issey Miyake, for example. Rather, his genius lies in his ability to tell stories using clothes (and to design clothes that can vividly tell stories). As it happens, within the last few years, I have come to understand and view clothes as tools for story-telling in my own life. My use of the style avatars (which started in around 2018) was a first step down this path; with time, my approach has evolved, but the core practice remains the same. So I admire Lauren because he creates clothes for the same purpose that I wear them.

I also enjoy many of his aesthetic choices.

Over the last couple of years, the Adventurer avatar morphed into the Historian, with its witchy academia influences (thanks, A Discovery of Witches!) and, more recently – as I have been watching a lot of TV shows set in or featuring English countryside – a tweedy, country estate sort of vibe. Lauren’s runway collections offer a lot of inspiration in that respect, no surprise there.

His southwestern-inspired collections, on the other hand, were something of a slow burn. Initially, I thought I wasn’t interested because anything remotely cowboy-adjacent has never really been my bag. But then I had a closer look at the clothes and realized that there were many elements that spoke to me. The quilted/patchwork pieces. Prairie-style maxi dresses. Southwestern textiles and jewelry. [Ever since my trips to California and Arizona back in 2017 and 2018, I’ve wanted to see more and learn more about the American Southwest. For now, through books, but some day hopefully a big road trip.]

Anyway, as will have become obvious by now if you’re been following my recent posts, it was this aspect of Lauren’s aesthetic that became my main style influence this summer. For one thing, once the weather warmed up, a lot of the Historian outfits that I had been wearing became rather impractical. But this sort  southwesten-cottagecore-ish take on the Bohemian – which I’ve also called my “Jo-March-on-the-prairie” aesthetic – seemed well suited to the weather.

And that is what I have stuck with, by and large, all summer. Here and there, I sprinkled in some colour (reminiscent of the old colourful maximalist version of the Bohemian).

It’s probably the first time in a long time that my outfits have been so cohesive. That was not my goal or intent, by the way. It just happened that way; instead of feeling drawn to exploring different themes with my clothes, I experimented with the one. And I enjoyed it very much – much more than I might have expected given how close to a “uniform” this came to be. But I have to say that, coming to the end of August, I am very much looking forward to a change. I am excited to get back to the Historian, and all my lovely wools and plaids. A few of my summer pieces may end up being transitioned to fall, but I think most of them will be laid aside until next year.

Which makes me think that it might be time for my avatars to evolve into a seasonal pattern. Fall and spring are definitely Historian territory. Summer is Bohemian time (whether the old Colourful Maximalist version, or the recent Southwestern Cottagecore version). Which leaves me to wonder: what is winter going to be? Time will tell.

What I Wore: August 2022, part one

Details: Aerie bralette (retail), vintage belt (thrifted), BCBG skirt (thrifted), mom’s necklace

Thoughts: I wore this for my birthday — and outfit made of some of my favourite things: mom’s necklace, a highwaisted skirt (with crop top!), the colour turquoise. I could have chosen a black top, but I thought the green would be a more memorable choice for pairing with the blue.

Details: homemade jacket (thrifted), Vince top (thrifted), Pilcro jeans (thrifted), mom’s necklace, Fluevog shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: I love this little chore jacket, especially because it was someone’s handmade project. It makes a fairly simple outfit feel special. It’s a bit of a heavier fabric, so better for cooler days; that means that I will have to wait to wear it again, but I am already making plans. I think the warm colours will work really well with some of my fall clothes — especially a few wool skirts I have in mind.

Details: Farm Rio top (Poshmark), Papillon dress (thrifted), BR belt (thrifted), Barbara Barbieri shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: I decided to jazz up up this simple white, gauzy dress with some bold colour. The crochet is like built-in AC, which makes this top a great layering option for hot days.

Details: Aerie bralette (retail), Sweetgrass vest (thrifted), H&M pants (thrifted), Cotton Ginny belt (thrifted), Barbara Barbieri shoes (thrifted), Rebecca Minkoff bag (thrifted)

Thoughts: I LOVED this outfit. I’ve been really leaning into the whole wear-a-bralette-as-a-top thing on my days off. It’s so nice on hot days; add a vest and some high-waisted bottoms and, hey presto! Cool (literally) and funky outfit.

Details: Anna Sui top (thrifted), Lucca Couture skirt (Poshmark), Suttles and Seawinds vest (thrifted), Rafael Alfandary necklace (secondhand)

Thoughts: I already wrote about this skirt, but here it is again: I am obsessed. The tiered silhouette is perfect, and the lace makes it extra cottagecore-y, which suits my current aesthetic perfectly. This outfit was inspired by some of my favourite runway looks from the SS2011 Ralph Lauren collection: head-to-toe cream with prairie/Southwestern accents.

Favourite Purchases of the Summer

I thought it might be fun to do a little recap/lookback at pieces that I added to my closet this summer that proved to be “superstars”. Overall, I think I am getting better at choosing more “wins” than “fails” (even when it comes to pieces that are calculated risks, aka style experiments); that is definitely the case for Poshmark purchases, likely because I tend to sit with those decisions longer than my thrift ones. By its nature, thrifting does tend to encourage snap decisions, which is ones of its downsides. The mantra I’ve been repeating a lot lately is “if it’s not a Hell Yeah, it’s a No”.

Let’s look at some Hell Yeahs.

Gap Dress

I got this because I have a thing for early 2000s Gap, and the pattern (rose floral on a blue background) is catnip to me. Turns out, this dress is probably pre-2000 — even better!– and fits so much better than I could have imagined. The material is light and airy, perfect for hot summer days.

Patchwork jacket

For once, my obsessions overlap with current trends — I have been wanting a quilt patchwork jacket for ages, and finally got one courtesy of my very talented friend. It’s made from upcycled thrifted textiles, which is even better. The vibe fits perfectly into my Jo-March-on-the-prairies summer aesthetic. Although it might not look it, it’s super lightweight and the balloon sleeves allow for good ventilation, making it one of the few toppers appropriate for the warm August weather.

Lace skirt 

I “sat” on this Poshmark purchases for ages and ages, unsure if it was going to look nice in real life (the listing photos were poor). I’m glad I took a risk with it — thanks to a tempting price — because it’s absolutely perfect for my summer style. It allowed me to finally bring to life some outfits I had been dreaming about for a long time, influenced by (who else) some of my fave Ralph Lauren runway collections.

Max & Co magenta skirt

High waisted full skirts are my jam, and this one was extra special because of that gorgeous colour. I also thrifted a similar one in dark turquoise silk, but I think this one has the edge because of its material; I love the swishiness and feel of silk, but I prefer the more hard-wearing cotton fabric. High waisted skirts paired with crop tops has been one of my go-to outfit formulas this summer, and I think there is potential there to explore come fall as well.

Esprit belt + Turquoise belt 

I have been finding SO MANY amazing belts this summer, and they’ve become one of my favourite accessory. Almost all my outfits now include a belt — have you noticed that? Anyway, it was hard to pick which ones I like best, but I eventually narrowed it down to these two. The Esprit belt (left) is one of the most versatile; the brown colour works well with my summer clothes (better than black in most cases) and the buckle is just the right balance of versatile and statement. The vintage belt (right) was chosen as a sentimental favourite — I am obsessed with turquoise and silverwork.

Adriano Goldschmied jeans

I finally found the perfect pair of not-too-tight-not-too-loose broken-in boyfriend jeans … and found them in the light wash that best fits it with my summer aesthetic. They’re so soft and comfortable! I’ve barely worn any other jeans this summer.

Old Navy sandals

I really questioned my decision to buy Old Navy sandals on Poshmark, but I am so glad that I did. They’ve proven as versatile as I had hoped (you can spot them in a few of these photos, they’re the plain brown pair) and I’ve gotten lots of wear out of them. And I *still* haven’t seen a similar pair at the thrifts all season! If I had waited to thrift them, I would have been SOL.

Capelli bag

This was definitely a more frivolous purchase, but it brings me so much joy. It’s such a well-made bag, and the flowers are a lovely touch — not to mention, they pull in some of my favourite colours.

Max & Co green dress 

I got this dress fairly early in the season, and knew immediately that it was Peak Aesthetic. And so it was. It’s got that prairie/cottagecore vibe, plus it’s long and airy — two of my must-haves. I don’t love the feel of the material (it’s a kind of rough, synthetic crepe) or the quality (meh), but the style is perfection. I also think this will transition to fall easily — just imagine it with a velvet blazer.

Suttles vest

You guys know how much I love vests — they’re the perfect “third piece” for summer outfits — and this vintage patchwork number (see above) is the best one I thrifted this season. Plus, you guessed it: it’s gonna rock for fall too!

And there you have it: 10 recent purchases that have jazzed up my outfits this season. Speaking of which, next week let’s talk about the summer aesthetic and how that “journey” panned out.