my best purchase of august: a red cotton skirt i can wear 4 ways
my best purchase of august: a red cotton skirt i can wear 4 ways
reflections on fall fashion + august favorites (mix of vintage and new)
happy sunday!
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table of contents for today’s newsletter:
1.) reflections
how i approach fall fashion
let me know your favorite fashion season in my survey (i want more tropical + desert climate representation!)
2.) product favorites
a red cotton skirt on sale that i can wear 4 ways
$25 secondhand short-inseam yoga pants i surprisingly love even outside of the climbing gym
storybook-inspired brass hooks from ebay
mascara brand i found in japan this summer
i want to enjoy fall fashion without christian girl autumn brand marketing
The Bay Area is a famously temperate climate. You can layer here almost year-round. So when it comes to seasons-based fashion discourse, I have to admit I can’t relate too well to dressing for extreme temperatures.
Personally, the difference between my wardrobe from season to season is way more about styles/aesthetic preferences rather than being driven by practicality. For example, I’ll switch out my “summer” hot pink miu miu shoulder bag for a “fall” patent brown miu miu bag, which are approximately the same in size and shape and material. Just different in the vibes. That’s what excites me about “fall dressing”—syncing my creative expression with the changes in nature. (Which, mind you, doesn’t have to mean brown and rust and vermont-y colorscapes! It can mean anything that inspires you about life during that season).
Summer and Fall are my favorite seasons. I love dressing for both, it’s when I feel most vibrant, energized and beautiful. Sheer dresses with tall boots, light knits with puffy sculptural skirts, knee socks with loafers OR jelly sandals—these are just some styling ideas that make my heart buzz. If you have a favorite fashion season, take my survey for an upcoming newsletter.
Christian girl autumn brand marketing can be really exhausting at these "transitional” season-to-season inflection points. And fall marketing goes especially hard. There’s always been cultural meaning assigned to fall ( the Moon Festival, Oktoberfest and Diwali are a few I am familiar with) but it can be easy to forget that when you’re inundated with pumpkin-flavored product releases and ads for sienna-colored floral frocks.
Like anything in life, there’s space to like and dislike the things that come with fall. We are complex creatures and hold multitudes! I don’t actually like the taste of moon cakes very much, but I still feel the magic of buying some every year at Ranch99 and admiring the illustrations on the tin mooncake boxes. I love wearing tall boots and miniskirts, but I’ll pass on suede and fringe. I have never resonated with Gilmore Girls as a show but I’m obsessed with witchy white girl shows old and new, like Charmed from the 90s and the Netflix Sabrina series. I don’t care for the taste of pumpkin, but I get scent-euphoria from the wafts of pumpkin spice in a cafe.
Next, my favorite buys from August.
1920s boudoir caftan dress
A reader tipped me off to a local vintage sale (here.studio.california, of the palms) this weekend. These things can be hit or miss, but it DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Also, I learn a lot about vintage clothing just by going to these events and looking through the clothes—how are they tagged? what decade are they from? can I tell the fabric by touch? what design influences do I notice? This is one way I practice being a lifelong student of clothing.
The color and embroidery on this cotton caftan dress stood out to me on the rack, but I wasn’t sure about it until I tried it on. The sides are completely open, making it very flowy and accommodating to layering various garments underneath (thin dresses, jeans, silk pants that puddle at the feet…).
1940s collared shirt
Also bought this shirt. It’s really simple but surprisingly, I don’t have anything like this in my closet. The plaid collar and sleeve folds make it feel preppy and boyish. This will be easy to style with dark wash denim, or pleated uniform skirts with knee sock/loafer styling.
red cotton skirt (worn 4 ways)
This was my favorite purchase this month. I had been eyeing this for a while and it finally went on sale. I wanted a red cotton skirt with some element of volume/ruching, sort of in the style of Allina Liu/Sandy Liang meets Brooke Callahan/MNZ. Does that make sense?? It’s got an adjustable criss-cross style tie on the side (no zipper) that can make the fit looser/tighter, and a vertical ribbon tie so you can play with volume/ruching. It’s pretty amazing.
Could be work-appropriate worn long with sleeveless knit or dressed up for a nice dinner with a slinky tank top. It’s from the designer