Ubiquitous too-tight cutoffs and highlighter crop tops trumpet its arrival. The muggy morning air corroborates their message. There’s no denying it: summer, my nemesis, is here again. As far as I’m concerned, getting tan, the sensation of being hot, and summer style can all go to hell. Ever notice how much better everyone looks when temperatures drop and the scarves, boots and coats come out? Summer is the opposite of that.
If you’ve been following my fashion, you know that there is nothing I love more than layers. Tights with long socks with leg warmers on top of that, jumpsuits for days, gloves, scarves, drapey things on top of drapey things. Waxed denim, hoods, cowls, boots and leather – that’s my jam, man. So, while I’ve come to love summer moods, smells and activities, heat does not bode well for my wardrobe.
When I was a teenager, I pretended summer didn’t exist. I rarely sweat, so I wore long sleeves and knee-high boots year-round until suffering a mild heat stroke while backpacking across Europe one summer. Ventilation turned out to be more of a necessity than I’d hoped. I tried dressing in conventional summer clothes but, much like the time I tried to have a natural hair color, the dysphoria wasn’t worth it.
Decisions had to be made. I found a lot of inspiration in the clothes of various desert-dwellers, from the bedouins’s flowing robes to my Uighur relatives’s curious headwear, while staying true to my cosmonomad roots, and ended up with something in between – a delicate balance of air-light materials, exposed skin, layers and sunblock.
This outfit is a more skin-showy incarnation of this concept. In addition to various belted tunics there are flowing sharovary, loose, thin materials, and many more head scarves, which help protect my back tattoo, face and neck from the sun. And! All the airy stuff lets me keep the big shoes and leg warmers if I’m so inclined, at least here in Ireland. Cosmonomads in Hot Weather aren’t a thing on the internet yet, but maybe we should be.
COMPONENTS
- Dress: AllSaints
- Space boots: Jeffrey Campbell
- Leg warmers: Sock Dreams
- Belt: Etsy
- Jewelry: Asos, Nasty Gal and a German silversmith
- Scarf: somewhere in Mardid, I think
FACE / NAILS / HAIR
- Brows: Sugarpill Poison Plum and and Inglot gel liner
- Eyes: Kat Von D tattoo liner, UD Naked palette, L’Oréal Voluminous Mascara
- Face: Mac StudioFix
- Lips: random no-brand gloss
- Nails: Revlon Top Speed in “Modern Grace”
- Hair: custom-mixed Pravana dyes, Persephone 1955 bourbon-based pomade
Until the Future!
This post is commissioned by June Patreon raffle winner, Elora Thurman. Big thanks to the entire Patreon crew for bringing so much within my reach!
Yay, Style Dispatch! I always love your style posts, but this one resonated particularly as I’m about to go for a week in the desert (HOT, no shade) but can’t just prance about in a bikini and sunscreen (rashes due to sun allergies are not the look I’m going for). My inspirations so far are a mix of 30s beach pyjamas, 70s flowing kaftans, and utility jumpsuits, but I definitely need to look more into headscarves too… Leg warmers are out, though! ^^
I just pictured you in a bikini, head scarf and leg warmers, and I have to say it’s a good look for you, at least in my head!
Now, a question for you: are there beach pyjamas that could work with *my*aesthetic? Because I just looked them up and am verrrry intrigued.
Yay! New Style Dispatch! Love your amazing outfit as always. :)
I also dislike summer- I sweat very little on my body but a lot on my face, so I always become a sweaty gross ball when it gets too hot.
Also, what sunscreen do you use? I’m currently looking for a good one.
Thank you, Isobel!
On my face I use La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF 40 suncreen, on my body I have this awesome green kids’ sunscreen we got our first week in Dublin (it stops being green once you rub it in. However, usually I use Neutrogena – SPF 50 and up.
Yay Style Dispatch! Also I agree entirely, summer is always a nemesis. It’s hard to wear layers when it’s so toasty out. Luckily drapey things can still work, depending on the fabric. I need to get more. Haha
RT @zoetica: After a 2-year break, Style Dispatch is here for all the cosmonomads baffled by summer fashion http://t.co/YrNdcsLpN3 http://t…
Together, we can beat this thing!
RT @zoetica: After a 2-year break, Style Dispatch is here for all the cosmonomads baffled by summer fashion http://t.co/YrNdcsLpN3 http://t…
RT @zoetica: After a 2-year break, Style Dispatch is here for all the cosmonomads baffled by summer fashion http://t.co/YrNdcsLpN3 http://t…
I hate summer too. I always think that summer clothes have no class at all. I used to live in a part of Spain that is cold, with a similar weather to London and everything was OK. Now I live in Barcelona and I hate summer. I can’t stand the heat. I never know what to wear and I don’t feel like myself wearing summer clothes. Thanks for this Style Dispatch, I would love to see more with summer options for girls like us.
Summer clothes = NO CLASS. @zoetica has a style solution for Cosmonomads here: http://t.co/Bb0RAKL2vU #style
I just published a blog post about my desert wardrobe options, with lots of beach pyjamas. I picture them more as a “tall girl” thing though… but maybe you could prove me wrong!
Loved the post, Stella!I think you’re probably right in most cases, but because I’m so short-torso-d and long-legged, wide-leg tends to work on me, especially with big shoes. As long as the top is tight and waist is visible, of course. I would love to see some modern options for those of us who are more future-inclined, but would totally wear something like the girl on the right here.
Sabrina, I’ll try to make some time for more clothes posts!
I’m happy this one was useful to you and did enjoy working on it. I think for me the issue is that I love wearing, selecting and looking at clothes so much more than talking about them. It’s just not all that interesting to me! But, every so often I do have something to say, like with this post. If I think of outfit posts in terms of photos rather than writing, I could be inspired to make more :)
Hi – great post! Where did you buy the boots?
I love it!
Lovely ensemble!
I love summer now that I’m in LA instead of DC – no humidity & no mosquitos! You just have to ignore the smog and fires :P I think I need to use your anti-summer stance as the inspiration to *finally* get regular outfit pictures. At my rate that means sometime after the autumnal equinox I’ll get on that…