Comments on: Oh, summer. You are so…hot.

By: Kim

Kim — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 05:15:04 +0000

As an incredibly translucently pale girl myself, I find my skin actually HURTS when summer sun touches it, even for a moment. That said, my summer wardrobe (in southern Nevada, god help me), pretty much consists of white linen elbow length jackets, a pretty tank underneath (coral looks beautiful on us pale gals), and capri pants or lightweight slacks in a khaki, olive, or pale blue shade. Throw on some pretty summery sandals and a nice statement necklace and you’re good to go! I actually get a lot of compliments on looking fresh and pulled together in our 118 degree heat… little do they know I’m really hiding! Just try for summery colors and light textures and it’ll work great! Also, a huge pair of sunglasses really helps to keep your face cool, I sweat about 200% less with giant shades on. Oh, and this year I had a fabulous pant find… Victoria’s Secret Beach Pant in linen…. so cool, forgiving of Reubenesque derrieres, and they look just beautiful and effortless on. AND, they don’t have thigh chub rub issues, unlike my experience with summer dresses. :)

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 19:19:03 +0000

I pretty much live in leggings, tunics & the already mentioned tissue weight cardigans or occassionally maxi dresses. The cardigan thing is key though, they’re one of those ‘where have these been all my life’ things.

By: Meaghan

Meaghan — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:52:07 +0000

awww a vegan ice cream parlor makes me want to move to NY for that one reason only ~ lucky :)

By: dewi

dewi — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:20:39 +0000

In response to posters that live elsewhere that is always hot.

There is no comparison with what to wear in NYC with what people where everywhere else.

They don’t sell much pastels in stores in NYC and nothing is less appropriate for work in midtown or downtown, or walking around the city then something that looks “tropically breezy” .
Unless you call a black linen dress tropically breezy :)

I think that solid color Linen or a sun dress is about as breezy as most nyc people want to look.

By: dewi

dewi — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:09:19 +0000

I wear loose Linen pants and loose shirts for the summer.
Linen does come in black. :)

NYC is crazy hot and humid and disgusting during very sunny days and i find Black is too brutally hot to walk around in the sun.

I tend to wear white, grey, brown linen pants or some loose cotton pants and some other color then black for a top .

By: sunny

sunny — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:28:49 +0000

soooooo glad you asked this question. I loved reading the comments! Am in Wisconsin where in May, the weather decided to go all 90s on us..with high, high humidity. YUCK.

This summer’s uniform has included capri cotton leggings under a tank dress (both black) with a white 3/4 sleeve cardi on top……….cute pink a-line skirt with a black cami and black 3/4 seleve cardi on top (the black and white cardis get alternated on work days)…..

essentially, camis, tank dresses, skirts, light cardigans and the best piece of all: a tissue weight white tee that goes with everything. need more tissue tees..they’re heavenly.

By: ruby

ruby — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:43:18 +0000

as someone who lives in subtropical australia i feel qualified to comment on the summer wardrobe scenario, especially as someone who hates humidity and heat! i have a heap of dresses, mostly floaty or made of cotton, linen or other light fabrics. i team them with tights and boots if it gets below, well, thirty degrees celcius. anything that is floaty or won’t stick to your skin is fine!

those vegan places sound amazing! do you know of any websites that have recipes for amazing vegan food like this?

By: donna

donna — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 02:06:48 +0000

My summer wardrobe staple are shirtdresses in tencel (which is a natural fibre made of bamboo which acts like Linen but doesn’t wrinkle as much) ; a hat, sandals and a grande iced nonfat vanilla latte. And a bike.

By: joan

joan — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:31:10 +0000

try Lucy – the sportswear clothing store. there are lots of khaki cargos (in black!) and light sweat-repelling shirts. perfect for the gym, chilling at the house, or hiking around. they have stylish sportswear and super comfy.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:11:28 +0000

I’m really looking forward summer so badly! Nice photos!

By: Jessica O'Brien

Jessica O'Brien — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 19:09:32 +0000

yummmmm. love these shots!

dressing for summer? sundresses! they’re easy – 1 piece and float away from the body, keeping me cool. i like stretchy cotton ones.

sundresses.
shorts + loose tank top + cute sandals.
more fitted tank top tucked into skirt.
also, for jewelry, i stop wearing bracelets and necklaces (too hot) and wear more earrings!

By: kim

kim — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:11:10 +0000

fisherman’s pants!!! they are super cute and one size fits all! the pants are loose but since you tie and fold them instead of zipping or buttoning, they accentuate the waist. they also come in all different lengths: long, cropped, short, etc. just type it into google or etsy and you’ll find something good!

By: lesley

lesley — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 13:19:13 +0000

“translucent, pasty-white flabby arms ”
you too, eh? :P
My summer thing: boxer shorts under skirts. Very cool and comfy. Usually a skirt with a little volume so the boxers don’t get all rumply, knee-length, swingy, 50s-ish. Upstairs, I tend to just go for tanks when it gets really hot. I HATE being hot and will expose way more flesh than would normally make me comfortable in an effort to get some relief. Or those super-thin t-shirts. And of course 1000 lbs of spf 8 billion sunblock. :)

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:40:37 +0000

Although I read your blog religiously, this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to comment. As I type, my husband is rideculing my cardigan to the tune of his harmonica. Delightful.

A lightweight cardigan in summer is a must. I find a pale forearm less offensive though so I push the sleeves up to the elbow. I also have some simple lightweight tees from the Gap that have sleeves that almost hit the elbow. I will wear when the temperture is too unbearable even for me.

As for the bottom, I have to wear shorts. Again, I find pale calves less offensive than pale thighs so I wear Bermuda shorts or sometimes even something shorter. As long as I have a longer sleeve on top, I feel put together with shorts or a short skirt on the bottom. I tried the whole leggings things last summer and couldn’t even unstick them to use the bathroom. Eww.

Also, as others commented, sandals are a must. However, jeans should be retired until at least September.

Happy summer (along with the rest of us here in sweaty New York City)!

By: leni

leni — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 05:17:23 +0000

layer colorful tanks, of course!

By: this humble abode

this humble abode — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 22:34:44 +0000

You should really consider San Francisco. It’s sweater weather here all year round.

By: Lori

Lori — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:47:38 +0000

Ahhh… I love leggings… Loved ‘em in the 80′s and love ‘em now…

By: Lisa-Marie

Lisa-Marie — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:26:32 +0000

I’m in Scotland, and the weather here has become too hot to deal with. I tend to be a jeans/skirt with tights/with a long sleeved tshirt and then a shirt and a scarf and maybe a jumper, person in spring/autumn. in summer, i do short(calf length) leggings, denim skirt, short sleeved t and shirt. or leggings with a 50′s dress a cardi and a floaty scarf.

By: kristen_v

kristen_v — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 13:33:20 +0000

Just when I was feeling sorry for myself about our brutal sticky humid North Florida summers! Hooray, other people are suffering, too! Just kidding.

I second the linen suggestion, just make peace with the wrinkles…appreciate them for their unique character as you might pale skin. I do wear a lot of linen (frequently in black!- its less see-through) dresses, and skirts with lightweight cardigans for those buildings where the AC is really cranked up.

And so true about the remarks that when your feet feel cool the rest follows suit. We think its our right to we’re flip-flops year-round in Florida.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:48:39 +0000

I can bet you anything my skin is lighter than yours. No one has ever, ever beat me on an arm-to-arm test and that’s not a lie. After about age 15 I stopped caring what other people thought of my skin (though in Brooklyn, I often get, “Hey snowflake!” or “Hey, white girl,” or “Go get some sun”) and I wear as many or few clothes as I feel like because I just can’t sit there trying to cover up just so people don’t call me pasty. There’s no reason to suffer in the heat, and you know perfectly well that you’re skinny, what’s this “flabby arms” bit? Just wear what you want to! If you’re too hot, put on a tank top. No one is judging you. But in reality, it seems like you like to layer and like to wear lots of clothes no matter how hot it is out and that it’s only sarcasm about the skin and all. Why not layer tank tops or something?