According to the song, when it’s summertime the “living is easy”. While that may be true in many facets of life, for a great many people summer dressing is far from simple and from the moment that the first spring flower raises its head from beneath the soil the anxiety begins. Not just a question of what to wear, more a question of why the winter style that you are comfortable with is so difficult to translate into summer looks.
As someone who, for many years, tried to ignore the warmer weather and actually attempted to avoid it altogether by migrating between areas of air-conditioning, I feel your angst. And, although I’m by no means cured of my seasonal disorder, I have taken steps to alleviate the pain. Here are a few things that I learned:
1) Don’t fight your inclinations. If you’re a person who enjoys wearing dark, muted colors resist the urge to force yourself into brighter hues just because the sun is shining.
2) Be honest about how much skin you want to bare (either due to health or aesthetic concerns) and don’t buy anything that doesn’t conform to that standard. Otherwise, although you may end up with a perfect summer wardrobe, it won’t be your perfect summer wardrobe and you’ll be back at square one with nothing to wear.
3) Take a look at your winter clothes and decide what defines your style. If you’re a scarf person, find some sheer ones. If you’re a jacket junkie, look for a lightweight one. Its common sense (though it took me many years to work it out) but don’t jettison what makes your style unique simply because the mercury is rising.
And if, by chance, you are one of the few who read this and say “summer angst, what summer angst?” you are one of the lucky ones…bask in the rays of your good fortune. I’ll be the one casting envious glances at you while I stand in the shade.
