It’s that time of year. The end of summer. And while the temperature is still hovering in the high 80’s to the low 90’s with muggy humidity, it doesn’t stop the masses, nor the retailers to believe they are in the midst of autumn.
Yesterday’s high was in the 80’s. But the trees are beginning to turn. It makes me sad.
The mornings are slightly cooler as are the evenings once the sun goes down. However—please keep your Pumpkin Spice Lattes, donuts, coffee, pasta and anything and everything else pumpkin spice away from me. If I do pumpkin anything it’ll be pumpkin pie during the holidays.
I love Starbucks but get that Pumpkin Spice $hit away from me! Please!
And I also don’t want to see anyone wearing riding boots or a heavily textured scarf or a thick nubby sweater yet. It’s not even mid-September.
I’m talking to you–me! Seriously, this won’t be worn until November–or later!
But it’ll be time to transition into the clothing that we don as the air achieves that blend of crispness and clarity. Same with makeup. The tan has begun to fade and the cooler weather brings back my fish-belly white face!
That’s right. The tan is fading and soon I will look like Casper the Ghost’s mother.
So how am I doing it? And just what am I doing to transition. I’ll tell you.
Not much. Not much at all.
I have no capsule wardrobe but, in my closet, and within the confines of my dressers I keep a stash of “year ‘round clothing”. These are items that can be worn all year and I usually wear them in the winter’s end and summer’s end.
A couple of skirts that have been worn on both the hottest days and the coldest days.
One of my “year-round” skirts is this lepoard pencil skirt from J. Crew and I pair it with a lightweight jersey pullover from Target. I wore this a few times over the summer and it’ll be in regular rotation in the coming weeks….
Another “year-rounder” is this pencil skirt from J. Crew Factory. It’s pretty old and I’ve thrown it in the trash only to rethink and take it out. I wore it last week on a gray, cool morning. I even took the closed shoes out!
And yet another “year rounder”. A skirt I picked up years ago on the clearance rack at Old Navy for $6.00. I’ve washed this many times and it’s never faded. This is one amazing skirt!
Pants that I shy away from in June, July and August, but make their appearance again in September.
My J. Crew elephant pants. I wore once over the summer but these will be coming in handy beginning September’s end! When it gets cooler my choices are a blazer or denim jacket!!!!
Another transitional outfit. Some suiting. I keep my blazers out all year–just in case and last week another cool day had me in black Pixie Pants (discontinued) and a black schoolboy blazer from J. Crew and my new favorite Tee by ThreadTank And if you love this Feminist tee, you can get a discount of Ten percent by using my code: TYPICAL10
We went out to dinner last Saturday night. I wore this. A fantastic transitional ensemble. The evening was cool enough for booties!
And I’m not big on cardigan sweaters but I do have a couple that pair well with my sleeveless dresses.
Today’s outfit is a perfect example. It was hot and muggy this morning so I wore one of my Lilly Pulitzer shifts I picked up at the After Party Sale. I WAS going to save this for next summer. Anyway, the HVAC at work gets wonky and cold in the afternoon. I threw a pink cashmere cardigan by J. Crew over it. Transitioned!
A black bolero cardigan turns this sleeveless ten-dollar LBD from Old Navy into a dressy fall frock!
The two denim jackets that I own will be worn if it gets unseasonably chilly but for the most part, will be hanging around in the closet till mid-October before making a regular appearance.
One of my denim jackets. Surprisingly, this photo was taken last October and this entire outfit has never been stored away. The pants and jacket are in my closet and the tee is in my drawer.
The sandals and open shoes will stay out as long as possible—until the first frost. And with that first frost, the sweaters, wool skirts and scarfs will be taken out of storage.
I can still get a few weeks outta you …..
My “ladies in waiting” until the temperatures really go down. These boots are one of two purchases I made for this coming Fall/Winter season. There’s really nothing else I need. Or want.
And that’s how I transition.
I also transition by hitting the end-of-season sales. Example: I love me those Lilly Pulitzer dresses. There’s something about the bright colors, the breezy look the casualness that evokes all things endless summer to me. And the clothing is pricey. But the brand always has a great “After Party” sale of which I partook in. I got three frocks for next summer which will be packed away.
These two dresses came home with me after last week’s Lilly Pulitzer sale. I’ve already worn one but I’ll most likely not wear the other one until nex summer.
There are plenty of shoes and boots in my closet and after assessing the situation, there is nothing needed. Although I did add a pair of Bass Weejuns to my loafer collection. For the sale price of $51.00 there was no way I could resist.
I couldn’t resist these loafers. The bows. The bows. And loafers are always in style (at least in my opinion they are)!
Now for the face. One thing I learned and realized this summer is that less is definitely more when it comes to my pro-aging visage! Given the fact that Summer 2019 was filled with stellar weekends, I had a real tan! And that meant, on most days, no foundation.
Makeup free in Cincinnati! And this was BEFORE the spray tan! Trust me, it’s quickly fading!
And when I did wear it, as I have begun to go back to every-day wearing, I revisited cushion foundation. I realized that the cushion foundation is more of a CC cream in cushion form and I love it. Applied with a light touch, it glides on the skin giving it an even finish.
And I didn’t spend a fortune either. The Wet’nWild Cushion foundation is a steal at Walmart for $5.99 and the Lumi Cusihion foundation cost me about the same at TJ Maxx! It’s light and mature skin friendly!
There will be no further purchases of foundation for the coming fall/winter. I have enough in my stash and to tell you the truth, like a lighter coverage than a heavier one.
I tell you these cushions pack a wallop!
I discovered stackable makeup which I’m loving and I also discovered cream eyeshadow.
This stackable by Subtl Beauty is my new “go-to”. If you haven’t seen, here’s my blog post that explains more about these stacks: The Only Makeup Kit You’ll Need….
Quite honestly, there’s nothing I need to buy. After giving my makeup a big clean and organization, there are enough palettes, contours, blushes, highlighters, liners, lipsticks and brow products.
.These are the palettes I kept out but there are more in drawers. Proof that I don’t need any more palettes. For a long time!
And the Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks have become a great cream shadow. Why do I have all those palettes anyway?
Same with the brushes. I’ve got enough.
So yeah, that’s how I transition. How do you transition? I would love to know, but please don’t tell me you took out the pumpkin spice!
Oh yeah, I’ll also be transitioning into darker wigs!!!!