The Summer Capsule Wardrobe: An Update

June marks the beginning of the summer capsule wardrobe in my calendar and after May threw us some absolute sunny blinders weather-wise, I was pretty chuffed to give myself the green light to dust off my summer clothing from under the bed, rid my wardrobe of the heavy coats and knits, and treat myself to some new purchases. My spring edit served me well, but it was time for a switch; I fancied adding in some lighter fabrics, a bit of colour (I KNOW!) and a more boho flavour for the upcoming months. The colder months are when I like to embrace tailoring a little more and will happily live in black for the whole thing, but the warmer months are when I like to channel my inner Nicole Riche L.A girl (yep I was a ‘Simple Life’ addict). So expect to see the odd tassel, plenty of silk and a bit of dress and boot action coming soon…

MY FOUR SUMMER CAPSULE WARDROBE COMMANDMENTS

INJECT SOME COLOUR. If you follow my Instagram then this is something that you’re probably bored of already, but after years and years of dressing like Wednesday Addams I think I’m finally ready to let a little bit of colour creep into my wardrobe. Now you know me – of course it’s in a highly controlled way – but hey, it’s there. A tomato red is my colour of choice as when I reach for a bright lipstick, or a nail colour that isn’t nude, it’s practically the only pop of colour I’m ever brave enough to go for, so it seemed like the right choice. Now that’s not to say that I’ll never wander into the territory of other colours, but I think as a starting point it’s nice to choose one accent colour as it fits with the whole ‘everything goes with everything’ thing, which is what I love so much about the capsule wardrobe jig.

STAY COOL. I’m terrible at summer dressing. Whilst I love the idea of a warm breeze and some (SPF-protected) freckle-inducing rays on my face, the reality is that the minute my body comes into contact with heat it becomes a clammy, heart-pounding mess. Couple my overactive armpits with a hate for having my arms and legs out and I can often be found drowning in a pool of my own perspiration in the corner of the tube platform. It ain’t pretty. Well this summer I’m trying my best to embrace summer dressing. I’ve been saving pictures left, right and centre on Instagram of girls who look cool, but more importantly cool temperature-wise. Little floaty tea dresses – I’M READY FOR YA.

TRY NEW BRANDS. I could quite happily dress head-to-toe in & Other Stories and be one happy bunny indeed. In fact I’ve made most of my summer capsule wardrobe purchases from there already, so I’ve sort of broken my own rule, but I am looking to source the rest of things that I want to pick up from new brands that I haven’t tried before. I’ve made a little list of what my current shopping list looks like below, but I’ve found some great jumpsuits at Madewell, camisoles from Alice & Olivia and dresses from Mango. Expect to see a surprisingly colour-filled haul soon.

GET LEGGY. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not the biggest fan of getting my limbs out – but this year? They’re coming out. I’ve spent way too many sweaty days with my legs stuck to my jeans and so I’m going to try and venture out without leg coverage more than I ever have before. I think suffering with psoriasis on my left leg that looks like I’ve been bitten to buggery by mosquitos is probably the main source of my neediness to cover-up, but the older I get, the less I care (and the more I sweat!), so it’s time to crack them out – pseudo-mozzy bites and all. I found myself a great Striped Linen Paper Bag Skirt from Topshop which combines many of my favourite design features and I’m actually excited to wear it. Who’d have thought it?

So what’s my shopping list looking like so far? Well, I must admit that I’ve done a fair amount of shopping already, so there isn’t much left to grab. I’m really tempted by a Realisation Par Dress (honestly, have a click and you’ll be tempted too), but seeing as they are pretty pricey and I’m not usually the biggest wearer of dresses, I’ve ordered some from Mango instead to ease myself in. I reckon I could do with a pair of non-denim shorts too, but the ones that I’ve found and tried on make me look my Dad and that I should be wearing some kind of bum bag, so if anyone has any suggestions then I’m all ears. Here’s a few other bits that have been catching my eye…

MY SUMMER CAPSULE WARDROBE SHOPPING LIST

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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