How To Not Hate Dressing For Summer
A part two, from a reformed summer dressing hater
I’m here for an encore of one of my most-read and shared posts from last summer, because back in May 2024, I thought I had hot-weather dressing nailed. It turns out I was just getting started. After a solid summer ‘24 season, I have even more insights, ideas and outfits to share with you. Because not only did I like getting dressed last summer, I LOVED it. Who am I?
This is coming from the girl who lived in jeans and a tee for the entirety of June, July and August and counted down the days till autumn. I’m reformed! Now a summer dressing lover and your unofficial correspondent on how to make styling for the sweatiest season work for you. I’ve got you.
I actually think it’s my favourite season to get dressed for now…
A chance for your anklets to get some airtime!
More opportunities for your outfit to be on show instead of being bundled under heavy coats!
Cute little linen dresses!
Here’s the secret sauce…
STOP BUYING CLOTHES YOU HATE!
That’s it. That’s the post. It’s the realisation that I had last year, and I’ve truly found it to be the key to making getting dressed for the most contentious season easier. If your wardrobe is full of pieces that you felt like you should buy, but you don’t actually like, then it’s going to suck.
Summer feels the truest test of our ability to ignore trends and remain laser-focused on our personal preferences. In the cooler months, a trend piece can hide under the noise of more clothes on your body, but during the summer, it lies front and centre. For example, Bermuda shorts are having a moment, but I know thanks to their long-line silhouette that it’s not really for me. Perhaps crochet is your thing? Or maybe it isn’t? You love florals? Or you don’t? The way to create summer dressing ease is to only buy into the pieces that you truly love, create your own list of ‘must-haves’, and ignore the rest.
There are other, more practical issues with dressing for summer that create hurdles, and they will look different for each of us. For me, it’s sweat. I sweat. Like, a lot. So I don’t wear a huge amount of grey. This deodorant does a good job, but it’s not perfect. I don’t LOVE wandering around with massive sweat patches, so I’ll stick to colours that don’t show damp areas as obviously, and everything needs to be breathable and dry quickly. Hence, my reliance on cottons and linens. Ultimately, there are probably going to be some limitations for all of us, but finding solutions is better than giving up completely. You CAN be a summer dressing lover, I know you’ve got it in you.
HOW I MAKE SUMMER DRESSING WORK FOR ME
It’s a floral-free zone. I’ve learnt my lesson with this one. I always felt the need to buy patterned or floral pieces for my ‘summer wardrobe’, and they’d barely last the full season before I’d sling them on my donation pile. It just ain’t me. No matter the background colour of the print or how small the floral detailing was, it didn’t matter. I didn’t really like it. I wouldn’t say I’m big on patterns in general, but I appreciate the texture they can add to an otherwise minimal outfit; whether it’s a vintage leopard print bag, or a gingham pair of trousers*. That’s my version of a summer pattern palette.
No frills. Summer dressing can lean a little more frilly and feminine, and whilst I’m not completely against a light ruffle or gather here and there, it’s not my natural default. Instead, I prefer mini dresses that are straight up and down, linen waistcoats, knitted vests, and tunic silhouettes; pieces that are cut in the simplest of ways. Instead, I add interest with textured bags or chunkier jewellery items. I was here for the first round of Peter Pan collars circa 2010, and I’m not sure I’m ready for round two.
Black & white. Despite my colour analysis, I do find myself wearing a lot of black and white in the summer. It’s simple, and in terms of inevitable sweat patches, I find them the least inconspicuous colours to wear. I’m slowly building up the confidence for a grey T-shirt, ok? White feels like a more natural fit for the summertime than black, but if I’m wearing darker colours, I just make sure I stick to sheerer fabrics like linen, cotton, and silk blends. It’s a rare day that I’m not wearing those fabrications.
Mini dresses > maxi dresses. Because of my psoriasis, I’d always shunned any clothing item that involved me getting my legs out. But last year I realised that the more I got them out, the better my psoriasis looked (Vitamin D, baby!!!), and actually I loved how a mini dress worked in my wardrobe. I’d toyed with maxis before, but struggled against the more formal vibe they give, especially when they are in a block colour. It never felt like a natural fit. But a LLD - little linen dress? I wore them all summer long. A practical piece for days when you’d rather just be naked.
Long skirts, not for me. ‘Must-have capsule wardrobe guides’ would often depict a midi or maxi length silk skirt as a summer staple, and for a while, I obliged. But it just never right on me. The proportions were off, and as is the whole point of this post, it might be a hot weather non-negotiable for others, but for me, it felt forced. It turns out I have a long ol’ torso (something I discovered in my dressmaking classes), and proportion-wise, a long skirt added more length to an already long trunk. I needed something to break it up - SHORT SHORTS! A ta-dah moment that reaffirmed my love for a classic pair of denim shorts.
HOLIDAY WARDROBES
One final thought on summer dressing that it’s taken me years to realise - you don’t need a holiday wardrobe. Of course, it depends on the climate of your home country and your usual destinations, but there’s a good chance that there can be high, if not complete, crossover when it comes to dressing for both. Almost all the clothing that I’d wear on a holiday, I’d wear at home in some sense. I treat what’s in my wardrobe as one - it’s all the same. Now, there might be a few holiday signalers in your wardrobe - think a silk pareo (although Leandra makes a strong case for city wear), or a crocheted little dress that you’d struggle to get more than one or two uses from a year, thanks to the U.K weather. But for the most part, your ‘holiday wardrobe’ is just a section in your usual wardrobe that’s reserved for really bloomin’ hot weather, whether you’re home or away. Want to see how it looks in practice? Check out this post or this post for ideas.
There’s a mini flash summer sale I’m running on all paid subscriptions till Sunday - both monthly and annual, so if you’d like to take up that offer, you can do so here - I’d love to have you! In the meantime, I’ll be back tomorrow with my Style Edit ,and on Sunday with my Wardrobe Diary for the week. We’re back on a roll!
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Thank you for publishing this today. You have impeccable timing. I’m going on vacation next week and I bought holiday clothes. I might keep 1 or 2 things that align with my style but I have to make a lot of returns. You’ve made packing and the summer much easier. 💕
I’ve revisited your post from last summer so many times and I love this follow-up!! I’m just sitting at the airport to go to Madrid and packing is so stress-free since I don’t have another wardrobe and persona for my summer get-aways. And I’m with you on the sweat-patches!