summer style – Page 2 – Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle.

May 22, 2019May 22, 2019

SUMMER PLANS + SEERSUCKER STRIPES

My summer bucket list reads as follows:

I’m not going to check in on work emails when it’s a sunny Sunday afternoon and I’m lying out in the park.

I’m not going to let it throw me off course if we stay out for just one more cold drink on a hot night and I end up skipping a workout the next morning.

I’m not going to care if I don’t always have a new outfit to post here because I have plentyyy of cute dresses already in my closet (this one included).

I’m not going to stress about spending weekends finishing up the last of our apartment projects by any set deadline, and run off to the lake house any chance I get instead.

I’m not going to compare myself to what anyone else is doing – whether that be having a baby this summer or island hopping off the coast of Greece, and instead feel content with everything I’ve got going on.

You get the point. Less worry, more in the moment, at ease, enjoyment.

And if you’re thinking – ugh, sounds nice but no one is that relaxed in reality.. what a charmed life. Know that last summer I was in such a rough spot I spent weeks, maybe months, not truly enjoying a single aspect of summer. There have been summers where I was so stressed about work and life that I spent sunny Saturday mornings in an anxiety-ridden frenzy in our old, dark apartment. So this hasn’t come easy.

Adam and I are in a sort of funny position this summer as so many around us are having babies this year (no less than 6 couples we know either had a baby this spring or are due by the fall!) and as I watch their lives dramatically change – I feel myself almost giddy with the incredible freedom of our own lives. This summer we’re going to drink margaritas and dance in the streets and go on midnight swims in the lake and sleep in late and get too much sun and anything else we damn well please. Call it selfish if you will. But I hear a lot of new parents say they wish they had reveled in this stage more. So that’s exactly what I intend to do. No aspirational list of do’s. Just a vague list of dont’s.

And while I’m having all of the aforementioned fun, I’ll likely be in simple outfits like this one. A seersucker dress, comfortable sandals (sold-out now, sorry! But they’ve got lots of other super cute options) and a cheap pair of sunglasses. Ready for you summer!

SHOP THE STORY:

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019

POLKA DOTS AT THE PALAIS-ROYAL

You know how sometimes a place becomes heavily photographed on Instagram and then when you actually go, it’s not quite as nice as everyone’s photos make it out to be? The Palais-Royal isn’t like that. I had actually come to this spot back in 2008 on my first trip to Paris (armed with just a digital camera) and remember loving the grandness of the old French courtyard and gardens set against the graphic pop of these raised columns at varied heights. So I knew I wanted to swing back through on this trip. Although I have to say, I don’t remember what I wore back in 2008 but this may be my favorite outfit I wore on our whole trip.

I actually bought this polka dot midi dress back in March for my girl’s trip to Charleston with my Mom and Sister (it makes me think of a cross between Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby and Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman), but I knew it was destined to make an appearance in Paris too. I stepped it up a bit with these cute little polka dot flats too which I picked up as a replacement to a similar gingham pair that I wore to shreds over the past couple of years.

SHOP THE STORY:

August 23, 2018

SUMMER STAYCATION STYLE

Suddenly, it feels like we’ve hit fast-forward to the end of summer and this is the last time I’ll be wearing this type of outfit for awhile. It’s always bittersweet isn’t it? Perhaps even more so when I feel like I didn’t even get a chance to really take a proper vacation this Summer. But the postcard print on this dress almost made me feel like I did. And this little stretch of New York, all secret alleys and white picket fences certainly feel transportive. Let’s consider it a Summer staycation.

SHOP THE STORY:

At least I’m headed off to the lake this weekend to soak up the last of summer’s boat rides, tan lines and flamingo floats. And then, I’ll do my best to say goodbye to this season and get ready for the next. Is it too soon to say the “F” word? I honestly love Fall just as much as Summer (especially clothing-wise), but the thought of the season after that makes me shiver even on an August day. Is anyone else as strongly tied emotionally to seasons? I think it’s why I didn’t like Los Angeles life as much as so many others do. I like the wave of change every few months – whether or not I’m ready for it. Here it comes.

July 26, 2018

THE CLASSIC WHITE SHIRTDRESS

I talked about it a bit on Instagram, but I really haven’t done much shopping this Summer. Blame it on shifting all of my wardrobe budget to home goods for the new apartment instead. But the few pieces that I have bought I’ve absolutely loved. And isn’t that how it should be?

SHOP THE STORY:

This classic white shirtdress is something I’ve been on the hunt for since two summers ago when I bought a cheap version that was cut above the knee and promptly shrunk it to a length that no longer felt appropriate anywhere besides the beach. Oops. So I’ve been dreaming on a midi length one that has a nice weight and shape to it, fitted but not constricting and in crisp cotton eyelet. Low and behold, here it is. This one (if kept free of any ice cream spills) should last for summers to come and will never feel dated. Oh! And there are pockets! What more could you want?

Mango White Shirtdress – on sale | Talbots Gingham Slides c/o – on sale | Madewell Tote – on sale| Braided Leather Belt

July 12, 2018

FLORAL MIDI DRESS IN CENTRAL PARK

There is something about Central Park in the summer that really is magic. New Yorkers bumping past tourists, picnics on the Great Lawn, entertainers buzzing through Bethesda Fountain… I love it all.

SHOP THE STORY

I love that Central Park has remained virtually unchanged for the past 150 years. Meaning a century’s worth of New Yorker’s have similar summer memories. I’ll always remember Summer in Central Park like it was this past Sunday – a perfect 80 degrees, filled with the sounds of happy voices, wandering about in the most perfect floral midi dress and then pitching a blanket on the hill beside the lake (mainly so that Adam and I could laugh about the people rowing their boats backwards and bumping into one another). Speaking of this dress – I love it too and filmed ‘how to wear it 3 ways’ for IGTV. Thinking this could be a fun way to show things easily that I otherwise don’t have time to photograph quite as grandly as when the Plaza Hotel is looming in the background.