Expiration Date

Back in June my friends and I had a conversation regarding my dislike of Summer Solstice, as a summer baby I should bask in the celebration of mid summer, but instead the mere mention of it sends me into panic mode, call me a glass half empty but I don’t want to mark a milestone that tells me summer is half over. 

Fast forward to right now and the jokes on me, i needn’t of worried, the summer didn’t come to be able to leave, while I can’t do anything about the BBQs that didn’t happen and the garden parties that were rained off I have come up with some ideas so your summer wardrobe isn’t entirely wasted, there are certain items that have a seasonal expiration date, Linen I’m talking to you, sure they can be put away until next year, but that’s a bit of depressing thought in August so lets talk about how we can stretch those summer pieces out a little longer, regardless of the weather. 

Layers, If you have read this column before you’ll know I’m a fan of layered dressing, I love how layers bring dimension to an outfit, but layers only really work when the temperature drops and consequently layered dressing is the only thing I enjoy about cooler weather, summer layering isn’t just about adding warmth its much more resourceful than that, use it to cover up parts of you prefer not to expose, to keep an outfit interesting and most importantly to extend the life of clothes that only really work in real-time summer, ie when the sun is shining. 

Summer layering 3 Ls loose, lightweight and long (long sleeved tops, long length dresses)  Shirts are the ultimate layering tool, cotton or denim work best, silk shirts are stunning worn open as a layer but the fabric is too slippy to tie so it isn’t multi functional, and that’s what we’re after here, Tie a shirt around the waist of your Slip dresses and add a blazer & trainers, trust me, immediate cool Scandinavian girl vibes. 

Extend the shelf life of those long summer dresses by throwing over a loose knit to create a skirt and top, this works particularly well in monochrome combinations, long white skirt / black knit, long black skirt / cream knit, not so well with tropical prints. 

Wardrobe adjustments for a non-summer-summer, this summer baby is off to top up her glass, its only half full.