First of all, I want to thank everyone who reads this blog for sticking through and reading during the summer. Your comments and support are incredibly appreciative—especially since I just did not have the time to devote to writing. So………. onward and upward!
Seriously. Thank you! Merci!
Technically, it is still summer until Thursday, September 22nd! Ohhh, and I should be in Ohio babysitting my grandson Owen whilst Oona goes in to the hospital to give birth to grandson number two—unless she goes in earlier.
How much grandma pays attention: I ordered the book Owen is reading in this photo because I want to bring “Big Brother” gifts to him. Now the book is in my sunroom so we can read it when he comves to visit. Let’s hope I pay more attention to him when I see him. I think this could qualify me as one of the worst grandmothers on earth! Nah. I love my li’l ishkibibble!
Okay—so as it remains summer for less than three full weeks, mentally, I’m in a summer-to-autumn frame of mind. Days are definitely getting shorter. I wake up to darkness and by the time The Frenchman and I finish our dinner—it is no longer light out nor is it that magical hour of twilight. It’s freaking dark outside. Nighttime dark! Early morning and evening coolness adds a conundrum of what to wear and the reality that (skip Autumn altogether) the bitter-cold is on the way.
You are now entering the Twilight Zone–and that is how I feel about Autumn!
Don’t even get me started on the Pumpkin Spice obsession that people have. WTF is the matter with these people? August 26th hits and they are pumpkin spicing and Halloweening while the temperature is in the 90’s!
Speak for yourself. That stuff tastes nasty. N.A.S.T.Y.!
Not gonna lie—I experience seasonal depression. And my husband is here to get me through it. It is simply because I love certain features and particulars of summer. The long days. The hot weather. The barefoot driving. The beach. The number of books I get to read when I’m sitting at ocean’s or pool’s edge being carried away to an imaginary world—pure escapism.
On our last day of summer beaching, I finished this classic masterpiece! Rebecca Sharp is now one of my fictional favorite characters–right up there with Bernadette from “Where’d You Go Bernadette”, Ignatius Reilly, Miss Havisham and Holden Caufield!
Barefootin’–at the beach, in the car, at work, in the house. Summer is the time for airing the dawgs out!
I’m getting off topic (sort of) here. What I want to write about is what I wore this summer. Two weeks in France had me gloriously living in swimsuits and casual wear. I was thrilled.
Fear not the two piece. It can actually be more flattering AND comfortable then the one-piece swimsuit.
This, along with the two-piece in the top photo were my most-worn bathing suits this summer!
The weather was hot as balls but not humid. And as hot as the mercury rose, there remained a level of comfort. Granted—at times that level was thin but the comfort remained.
Yes–it was incredibly hot but there was no humidity!
Then we arrived home. And arrived to heat and humidity which is the usual summer weather for the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic states, air-conditioning has been a must. Ahhh—the conditioning of air. When we were in France, it wasn’t needed simply because our apartment had the greatest cross-ventilation. In addition, the Mediterranean Sea breeze kept the temperature at a pleasant level.
Who needs A/C when you have a Sea Breeze entering into your dwelling every day? And, might I add, one that is NOT humid!
I’m not a fan of A/C to make a room/home/office cold. It’s more preferable for me to use it to cut the humidity. I rarely drive with the air conditioning on. For me, rolling down the windows of my vehicle work better because car air-conditioning is just …cold.
Basically, I am the “she” version of Steve Martin in Father of the Bride. The office airconditioning has me freezing to the point I really should have winter outwear on hand!
Why do I keep veering off-topic? This post really is about what I wore this summer—especially to the office! My wardrobe frame-of-mind completely changed. I came to the realization that the majority of workers in our company are working from home. They can work in their pajamas, only in underwear, or even naked if they want—as long as there isn’t a Zoom meeting! However, working in an office environment, has, in past summers, had me dressing up in a more professional manner.
Not a fan of shirtwaist dresses but I had this hanging in the closet. We had “Executive Guests” a couple of weeks ago at work. The memo said to “dress professionally”. Guess what? The “Executive Guests” never even encountered me. I was pissed.
This summer I changed up my game and ……………………. dressed for comfort—and many days that meant shorts. Yes. Shorts! My productivity is greater when I’m comfortable. Here’s a look-see!
Yes my loverly friends–I wore this get up at work and loved every second of comfort!
And I wore this–I did manage to slide into sandals before leaving the house. But allow me to say that it doesn’t matter HOW old one is. Who cares about the cellulite or veins or crepey skin (which I have)–being COMFORTABLE is more important!!
A fancier version with Lilly Pulitzer shorts! These stretchy shorts are wonderful–too bad they are discontinued!
I believe this outfit was worn to work on a very casual Friday!
I continued to wear dresses, however, due to the comfort level–especially maxi dresses on the days I was too lazy to shave my legs.
Hands down, my most-worn dress of this summer. It has a built-in bra so I only need two articles of clothes. Panties and the dress! I wore this all over France, to the office and my go-to-weekend dress. I’m wearing it today as I write this!
And with decollete is like shoe leather, I’m not stopping that from wearing comfortable clothing!
Can’t go wrong with a LBD during the summer. This is from Old Navy–I think I paid $12.
Here’s another cutie. This bodycon dress from Amazon is very curvy and belly friendly!
This purple frock matches our front-lawn flowere!
And the sleeveless maxi will always step in when too lazy to shave the legs!
I did wear the skirts as well!
Ultimately, will these clothes get me through Autumn?
Yes…
This jumpsuit was purchassed to bring to France but I found it was just too much clothing for me to wear. I wore this to work and felt like toast. Plus it was a bitch to go to the bathroom in. This will be great for Autum with ballet flats and a blazer!
I am a fan of the sweater-and-shorts combo. This is perfect for those cooler beginning of Autumn days. No longer summer but not quite into the crispness of Autumn!
This pleated skirt was worn once over the summer because the material was just too heavy for my comfort. But with a navy blazer during Autumn, it’ll rock. BTW, this is a thrifted skirt I paid $2.75 for!
One item of clothing that I keep away from during the summer is pants (and jeans too). I just cannot stand how long pants feel against my legs in the summer. It’s like fingernails on a blackboard–it gives me the creeps!
A fun Autumn look! Long pants, a sweater and blazer. In my opinion, this is one of my favorite pants looks!
Closed and point-toed shoes, a blazer over any summer frock will bring the outfit to a very Autumn-friendly level!
One last thing–please do NOT allow age or any imperfections stop you from wearing what you want to wear or what y9ou prefer. Remember, influencers and the fashion industry want your money. They want to dictate to you how they want you to dress. Wear what you are comfortable in!
