budget-friendly,  fashion,  seasonal,  style,  summer,  Uncategorized

Summer Wardrobe Syndrome

May 25, 2012 /
Dress, H&M, $12.95

I have a recurring problem that pops up every year around this time. My husband has come to anticipate it. The sequence goes a little something like this:

First, I stand inside my closet with my hands on my hips and declare that “I have no summer clothes.”

Then I remember that they’ve been packed away in a huge Rubbermaid tub since September. I retrieve said tub and promptly throw half its contents into a bags destined for Goodwill, ReThreads (my favorite secondhand store), or an upcoming swap party. A garment gets tossed in a bag if it meets any of the following descriptions: (a) I can’t zip it or can only zip it if I suck in my stomach, (b) I’ve worn it so many times it disgusts me to look at it, or (c) it’s too short to be respectable on my not-getting-any-younger ass (“too short” is, of course, a subjective term, as is “respectable”).

Target hat, $14.99

After I’ve sorted through everything, I stand in the middle of the closet with my hands on my hips and again declare, “I have no summer clothes.”

Once I’ve gone through everything, I hang up the items that survived the foregoing test.  And my closet looks rah-ther empty. Luckily,  stores at this time of year are loaded with fun and trendy options like the ones shown here. And they’re affordable enough that, if I wear them all summer long and then, lo and behold, they end up in one of the Goodwill bags next year, I feel okay about it.

 

16 Comments

  • Kate Neville

    January 24, 2014 at 2:38 pm

    Your Mom told me about your blog and books—Congratulations!!!—Have really enjoyed reading the blog…have ordered the book! Wow how did you grow up and I have not gotten older?
    Do you remember Sibley Street?
    My solution re summer clothes- have gone on Caribbean Cruise past couple of years in January so my summer clothes are enjoyed then, and never completely packed away.

  • Mick

    June 7, 2012 at 5:41 am

    I guess men are luckier in terms of clothing. We can get away with wearing almost the same items all year round, which is almost impossible for women.

    I know what you mean; my wife also complains about the same thing.

  • Susan

    June 1, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    Gabrielle, I live right near the St. Vinny’s on Willy Street, so sometimes my weekly visit is just a quick pass-through on my way to somewhere else. My favorite purchase was a midcentury Lane end table. Gorgeous! Thanks for stopping by the blog.

  • Gabrielle @ LookSharpSconnie

    June 1, 2012 at 4:31 pm

    Ahh! I am so glad you commented because this is the coolest blog and I’m so happy to have found it.

    I chuckled aloud at this – because I literally do the exact same thing. Except where you clean house, I whip out a second Rubbermaid container and proceed to indulge my inexcusable hording tendencies for yet another season.

    Which Rethreads do you go to? I heard the one not on state street is better than the one on it – but I’ve yet to get there.

    And Vinny’s once a week?! Crazy! What do you buy? What’s your best purchase ever?

    Thanks for the comment and for directing me here!

    -Gabrielle

  • Style Maniac

    May 30, 2012 at 7:32 am

    Umm, are we twins separated at birth?! I do the exact same thing. (Also insert “spring” in that sentence.) What is it about summer clothes — they get crummy looking so fast.

    My only salvation for summer dressing has been to co-opt bathing suit coverups as street clothes. Works most of the time if you are in a creative field. But when I recently had a meeting at a downtown office I had to go on a serious shopping safari to hunt down a real skirt, top and close-toed shoes.

  • Jimmy

    May 29, 2012 at 5:12 am

    I guess the problem is the trendy part. I go for items that never goes out of fashion, so I can be sure that I have something to wear the next summer.

  • Ruta

    May 28, 2012 at 6:59 pm

    Haha, I loved this story. I never pack away my summer clothes. I wouldn’t say I really have seasonal clothes. Obviously there are some pieces that just cannot be worn all year, but I like to layer a lot so I end up rewearing a ton of stuff all year, so I never really end up with the no summer clothes problem. Although I do get bored of my clothes, so hence the “i have no clothes” problem.

  • Kerri

    May 25, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    So true! Great ideas. I start saying this every spring when we have one unexpected warm day and I am unprepared. I only disagree here: I think you ARE getting younger. Or you live in a time machine and keep coming to the future. I swear you look as young and unwrinkled as the day I met your 18 year old self.