5 Summer Wardrobe Staples + 10 Ways to Wear Them

+ OUTFIT DIARY #30

Complaining may not be the best way to start off a newsletter, but, I’m STRUGGLING with this whole summer dressing thing!

This is not entirely surprising, but every summer I’m optimistic that this one is going to be different. In the wise words of Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada:

“I had hope. My God. I live on it.”

Hope that I could feel confident in my summer wardrobe (spoiler: I don’t) and not like I wanted to revamp the entire thing (spoiler: I do)!

In all transparency, there’ve been multiple times over the past few weeks where I’ve seriously considered throwing in the towel on my low buy year. I want nothing more than to go to a consignment shop right now and buy some fun clothes for summer. I downloaded The Real Real app (again!) and I’ve added items to my favorites that I want to order, but haven’t yet.

I’m having some regrets over all of the decluttering that I’ve done during my no/low buy challenges. Not because I regret getting rid of any single item (I don’t), but because it would be nice to have some items in storage that I could “shop” from when I’m feeling like I am right now!

[I do have some items that I’ve put back for fall consignment that I was going to bring in mid-July but I think I’ll hold onto them a while longer].

I’m trying to remind myself that I already have nice clothes and I can also sew myself clothes or alter some things that I already own and I’m hoping that will help me get over the hurdle. And in the meantime, I’m relying on some warm weather pieces that have been wardrobe wonders for me over the past 2 summers that I’ve not been buying clothes.

Summer 2025 Wardrobe Staples

When I sat down to write this newsletter, I wanted to only include the items that immediately came to mind. I got to 5 before I had to really start thinking about it so I decided to just stop there. These are the items that I reach for on the hottest days and the ones that I reach for when I’m in a dressing slump:

1. Eileen Fisher Black Tencel Slip Dress - I bought this at a consignment shop (August 2021) after having one on my list for a while. I have worn it so many time since then and it is also a layering staple during the colder months, so a year-round wardrobe staple!

2. J. Crew Cotton Striped Shirt - I thrifted this shirt in the summer of 2023 and it’s been a go-to light layer for me ever since. I don’t tend to go outside during the hottest part of the day, or I try to stay in the shade as much as possible, but for the times when those 2 things aren’t possible, I rely on this shirt for sun protection.

3. Vintage Cotton White Shorts - I thrifted these vintage white shorts in the summer of 2023 and I love them, or at least as much as I can love shorts. I really like the shape of them and they give me gym short vibes but the material is dressier so it’s easy to dress them up or down.

4. Z Supply Linen-Blend Pants - I thrifted these in the period between my no buy and low buy years. One thing I had realized I was missing during my no buy year was loose, comfy pants and these have been a great addition! They appear grey in certain light and green in others.

5. Eileen Fisher Silk Top - I thrifted this top in 2023 and it’s been a wardrobe staple for me ever since. It has buttons up the back and I actually prefer to wear it backwards with the buttons in front - I think that it’s much more visually interesting this way.

As I look at these 5 items laid out like this, I am aware of the lack of color. A few years ago, this probably would’ve bothered me because I feel like there’s quite a bit of messaging that warm weather clothing should be colorful and cheerful. And while I do have a few colorful items in my wardrobe, they aren’t the ones that I reach for the most.

10 Possible Outfit Combinations

Once I had the 5 items, I was able to create 10 realistic outfit combinations. I’ve worn all of these outfits at some point in the past and will repeat them many more times in the future.

1. Black dress alone

2. Black dress + black top

3. Black dress + striped shirt (left open, buttoned at the top only, knotted at the waist)

4. Black top + grey-green pants

5. Black top + white shorts

6. Black top + grey-green pants + striped shirt

7. Black top + white shorts + striped shorts

8. Striped shirt + grey-green pants

9. Striped shirt + white shorts

10. Black dress + grey-green pants (dress straps are adjustable so I can bring it up to show the pant legs for a layered look; the pants are loose so there’s a possibility to tuck the dress in to create a cami look, but this may not work)

I think that I’ve created a great little capsule wardrobe with the 5 items, which will come in handy this summer for traveling. I can envision all of these outfit combinations looking good with my sneakers, fisherman sandals, ballet flats or Birkenstock sandals. I would likely wear my cream colored bucket bag or a small black handbag and some silver jewelry.

To illustrate the versatility of these items in my wardrobe, here are a few ways that I’ve worn them during late spring/early summer, together and with other items in my wardrobe:

*All of the outfits above were taken from previous Outfit Diaries.

Which 5 items in your wardrobe would you consider to be your warm weather wonders?

---

This past week was not a good one outfit-wise, or at least originality-wise. I had days where I was doing house projects and was in ”project clothes” and then days where I basically repeated the outfits that I’ve already shown you above.

It’s possible that the rest of my summer may look like this, so I was wondering:

In the meantime, these are the outfits that I wore this week:

Outfit Diary #30

Saturday

Putting 2 of my warm weather staples to work (again!) with this outfit. It was really warm out and we were heading downtown so I wanted items that were light and airy. I tucked one side of the shirt in to give it a little shape and visual interest.

I also knew that we’d be walking a lot so I wore my silver sneakers and I took my nylon belt bag to hold my phone and lip gloss since they’re too heavy for the shorts pockets.

Sunday

A similar outfit as the day before with shorts, sneakers and a shirt, but I added a tank top this day and left the shirt open. I also added a belt with silver hardware to complement the silver sneakers.

I recently bought a different denim shirt (a little heavier than this one) and my initial thought was to get rid of this one because when I had previously worn it with a dress, it felt too oversized. ButI actually really like it over shorts, and it’s another great option for sun protection, so I’ve decided that I’ll keep it afterall!

These vintage shorts have huge, deep pockets and a structured waistband so I never need a handbag to carry my stuff.

Monday

My daughter wanted to go to an antique shop this day - she had seen a really pretty turquoise necklace the day before and couldn’t stop thinking about it so she wanted to go back and get it.

I decided to repeat an outfit from last week - black slip dress, new denim shirt and my brown fisherman sandals. I added my long memade necklace and tote bag.

When we had visited the antique store the day before, I had also seen a turquoise ring that I liked. My intention had been to wait until July to buy it if it was still there. When we were looking through the jewelry, I couldn’t see the ring anywhere and I figured that someone had bought it since the day before. I felt really sad about it, but then my daughter spotted it, so I decided to just go ahead and buy it now!

Friday

I met my husband after work for drinks and pizza at a local brewery this evening. I wore my black maxi dress and layered one of my daughter’s tops over it (I actually paid half for it because I knew that it was an item that I might wear too). I wish that I had dressier sandals, but these fisherman sandals were the best option.

I added my long necklace and a small black bag. It was a fun evening. Then I came home and watched the newest episode of Love Island - I’d never watched it before but I feel very invested in the relationships now 😅

I think at some point I’d like to have a long slip dress that has a bias cut with a little more shape, not to replace this one which is great for hot summer days, but as a dressier version.

Saturday

See what I mean by I’m just wearing the same things over and over?!? We are heading into a bit of a heat wave so I layered an old cropped tank top under the black slip dress and added my black Teva sandals.

I accessorized with my long necklace and added some lightness with my tote bag.

---

If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, please leave it a 🖤 and consider re-stacking and/or sharing it 🫶🏻

I hope you have a great week!