WordPress, out of what I can only assume is concern for/disappointment in my lack of posting, has been giving me little nudges in the form of reminding me about posts I wrote each day in past years. This is how I came upon my Summer Uniform post from 2021. Which, you may recall, was just over a year into the Covid-19 pandemic. Shudder.
While I was none too pleased to think about THAT time in our collective history, I did enjoy revisiting my Summer of Shorts, and am pleased to note that I now wear shorts regularly (in summer) with nary a thought. But it also made me realize that I have a new uniform this year, and I’m loving it.
My uniform has four simple components.
Component 1: Wide-leg summer-weight pants.
If you recall, I’ve had some trouble tracking down the exact right pants. The current styles tend to accentuate my pelvic area, which is not an area I am keen to emphasize; no shade if that’s an area you want to flaunt. But I have found three pairs of pants that don’t do that, and I’ve been wearing them on rotation.
These linen cotton pants from Loft:
These linen blend pants, also from Loft:
And these pants from Old Navy:
I would LOVE some navy pants with a pinstripe, and am continually on the hunt. To that end, I tried to order these navy striped pants, but my order was cancelled because they sold out. And now they are back in stock (and on sale!) but not in my size. This is the holy grail of summer pants, for me. I’ve ordered, tried on, and returned an embarrassing number of similar options with no luck.
I am a big fan of this component because it feels like I’m wearing pajamas, but it looks like I have made a teeny bit of effort to look like I haven’t just rolled out of bed. I tend to get compliments on my outfits, too, which is always nice. (And when it’s cool enough, I add a denim jacket on top. Perfection.)
Component 2: Basic white top.
I’m pretty sure I first saw this top on Instagram, although I can’t remember where. It’s a nice, bright white. It isn’t see-through. It has a nice balance between T-shirt and tank top. And the material – some sort of polyester/cotton blend – has a nice weight to it that feels a little “dressier” than most tees. I love this shirt so much, I now have three – two in white, one in black.
Component 3: Long pendant necklace.
This may no longer be in style (if it ever was), but I wear a silver metal hoop on a long silver chain pretty much every time I don this uniform. I got it a million years ago and it’s long enough for the pendant to reach nearly to my navel. I’m not finding a lot of things that are similar, which tells me it probably IS out of style. Here’s a current option. I also love a necklace stack like this one or this one.
Component 4: Comfy sandals.
You already know all about my favorite sandals. They continue to keep my feet happy without offending my aesthetic sensibilities (such as they are).
Flip flops (I have three pairs) or wedges.
By the way, I wore the flip flops on our spring vacation to California and they performed admirably. One day, my husband suggested we take a “short walk” from our hotel to the beach, and I figured I could handle a short walk in flip flops. (Normally I wear walking shoes for walking, because my feet are delicate flowers.) In fact, our walk ended up being 2.3 miles each way. In the hot hot heat. And my feet were totally fine! Any other shoes, and I KNOW they would have been at least sore and at worst full of blisters, but they were happy as could be. (My poor kiddo, who was wearing Old Navy flip flops, did not fare as well.) I could not have worn any other pair of flip flops for four-and-a-half miles. The experience made me fall in love all over again.
What are you wearing this summer?
