How To Dress in the Heat Without Losing Your Mind

Notes on embelishing, warm weather layers and some shopable outfit formulas from me to you

May 13, 2023

I know many of us feel like our personal style — quite literally — gets stripped away during the warm months. We’re forced to shed layers and go back to basics — and repeat, repeat, repeat. We feel that any sense of interest or excentricism from our outfits disappear simply because it is too damn hot! But I’m here to share with you what my plan is to keep my personal style expressive, experimental and full of variety, while also not being a sweaty mess.

My plan is this: to zoom in. Grab your favorite warm weather base — whatever that may be — and build from there. And you’d be surprised at the possibilities, the options, the inspiration. Yes, I’m talking about the art of SPRING AND SUMMER LAYERS. Sure, fall and winter are all about layering. And maybe you can’t have the same level of texture May through August. But what you can do…is annotate, adorn and embelish!!!

I think we need to remember that sometimes our outfits are less about adding things and more about directing the eye to what we want it to focus on. It’s about how to highlight the narrative that you’re trying to have your outfit tell.

Ever since my first English 101 assignment, I’ve always loved being able to highlight and annotate. I got it from my dad — who used to cover his walls with sticky notes adorned with his favorite qutoes (attributed to philosophers or himself). Same with his books — you can tell the ones he loved the most, dove into the most or at least, related to the most were the ones covered in faded highlights, exclamation points in the margins, harsh underlines and of course, his own input on the sides.

I feel like it’s the same with building outfits and rewearing them: you’re pointing the eye, you’re calling attention, you’re circling and directing. Essentiallly, the magic is when you’re able to frame these simple, sometimes borning summer pieces and make them your own. How do you make a t-shirt not look like just another t-shirt? How do you make a dress that thousands of people have feel like your own? YOU GIVE YOUR INPUT.

This is especially important to me because while I don’t identify as maximalist, I do like to employ a certain “more is more” philosophy in my wardrobe. But I’ve been trying to do this by adding and subtracting with intention, instead of just adding for the sake of adding.

And that’s the key to layering in the warm seasons: it’s less about layering and more about embellishing! See my pinterest board here if you want to dive a little deeper.

So here’s a spring and summer style toolkit from me to you:

🌞 HOW TO LAYER IN THE HEAT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND: SOME INGREDIENTS TO HAVE HANDY

1. Silk scarves. It’s been proported by fashionable people on TikTok and beyond that scarves are IN, IN, INNNN! But here’s the thing: they never left. They were just waiting for their time to shine — maybe in the back of your mom’s closet or in the sales basket of your favorite vintage store. I’m not being dramatic when I say that scarves as of late have helped me get excited about my personal style again. I view them as a necessary tool of color and texture to have in your palette when painting your outfit. Hot tip: get a varity of sizes!

2. Vintage bed jackets and chemises. The world of vintage lingerie never fails to enchant me. If you’re looking to create a summer wardrobe that prioritizes rest, lounging and languishing — look no further than the “lingerie” tag on Ebay and Etsy. There are sooooo many silk bed jackets to brouse through, each one more beautiful than the last. And you can style them so perfectly and thoughtlessly for every phase of the summer: the beach cover-up, the shoulder shrug in an air-conditioned restaurant or a feminine touch with a pair of worn-in jeans or denim shorts.

3. Crochet. I always used to give a moment of silence when packing away my favorite knitwear after the winter. But in reality, there are so many thin, lightweight types of knits to wear in the warm months. Crochet being the best one of all. Also, if you’re afraid of everything being seen through, here are my quick and dirty tips: 1.) Simple bike shorts that are cotton and in a thin material. 2.) Silk pajama shorts or 3.)....Just a black bathing suit bottom, boxers or panties because at the end of the day…who cares!

4. Belts. I’m afraid I’ve been underestimating the power of belts lately. I often only limit myself to wearing belts for their purely practical purpsoe, which is to hold up a pair of pants that are too big. But! There are so many types of belts out there that can be used to underline the parts of your outfit that otherwise looks too bland during the summer. A simple black dress can immediately be transformed with a vintage belt chain, or even a crocheted, rope belt adds a bit of a boho style to a simple shorts and tank outfit.

5. Brooches. Yes, I do believe broches are a form of layer — who are you going to call, the layering police? Believe me, you’re going to have those days where all you can manage to put on is a pair of linen shorts and a “boring” tank top. You’ll have days where even the above items will be too suffocating for the 80 degree day. So start browsing througy your mom’s vanity, Etsy or the thrift store to find a series of little talismans that can carry you through the summer and add a bit of detail and fun.

5. Perfumes. This is the time to play with fragrances. We’re sweating, we’re moving through life, it’s the time for us to let our true scent shine through. Again, there will be days when even putting on makeup will be too much. But we can entice the senses in different ways with our outfits. And I’m no perfume expert by an means, but I know that the beauty in a lot of perfumes is how they dry down and soak into the skin and your clothes and yes, even the grass and breeze around you.

Now let’s get into the specific formulas, or as I’ll call them in this post: annotations. I also categorized this in order of how hot the temperature is…