If you haven’t already been affected by the extremely poor air quality pervading the air streams of NYC, congrats, your health is at least just a little bit better than breathing in the second hand smoke from our neighbors up above. Regardless, the sluggishness has made it hard for me to assemble a summer outfit that make me look effortlessly stylish in under 10 minutes. I aim for below the bare minimum in outfit effort so I can use the rest of my mental strength anxiously planning out my day.
So here are some suggestions on accessorizing on top of a simple base outfit to go from grim to glam. All of these require almost no brain power once you have them in your closet.
1) Sunglasses that pop out while covering your tired eyes
I find the absolute easiest thing to do before heading out ( other than applying SPF ) is to put on some fun sunglasses. I personally like to have pink or printed frames. If it’s your typical pure black framed black lensed pair, the shape should be interesting. Try aviators, oversized lenses or extreme cat eye.
Woodzee has a great selection of well made, well-weighted sunglasses. The sides have a good grip and if you waggle your head back ‘n forth they won’t fall off.
Their Coronado in tortoise has become my “tame pair” of sunglasses this summer season so even on my laziest days I’ve got a bold print going. Throwing them on a black jumpsuit and gold hoops makes me an easy, breezy, beautiful – BN girl.
2) Lightweight Blazers
I recently had a wedding to go to and while my floral dress matched the requested boho themed celebration, I felt it needed just a little something more. I decided at the last second to put on a lightweight beige blazer as my final layer. While wearing a blazer might seem nuts in the summertime, during the evening it was freezing on the Brooklyn venue’s rooftop. While waiting in line for my gin on the rocks, I was grateful to have my blazer to keep me warm.
During the summer you’ll want to opt for lighter colors such as beige, light blue, or pastel colors to not retain too much heat and to keep your look summer-y. You can also go for a patterned blazer as well such as pinstripe or floral.
Amour Vert’s Tobie Femme Fete blazer is a great choice with its lightweight material. The Femme Fete line is made out of a luxe textile blend of Tencel, Organic Cotton, and Linen.
I personally love the blazer’s slightly more pronounced shoulders as I have wide shoulders myself and always enjoy adding a boyfriend fit for my fashion finds. You can easily pair a blazer like this with a lightweight, floral patterned dress for an easy feminine summer look.
The idea here is to have either a patterned base outfit with a solid blazer or a patterned blazer with a solid base outfit. Of course, I have paired clashing patterns for the heck of it but if you are one to second guess your choices in the mirror, go for the solid/pattern mix.
3) Gold Jewelry and Watches
For some reason, gold just screams summer more than any other accessory to me. Perhaps it’s the subtle subliminal messaging from years of advertising on screens showing beautiful California beaches. Or maybe it was the tanned girls from grade school wearing gold ankle bracelets that they got during their family vacation to Bermuda.
But I digress, gold is a gorgeous look for the summer no matter the slightly unreliable memories. There are lots of options with jewelry being a very individualistic and personal choice.
Some effortless choices are minimal gold chain necklaces such as the Herra Chain from Hello Adorn. It’s sleek design is modern and chic, allowing for a sophisticated, edgy day or nighttime look. Minimal gold earrings work with every outfit as well such small earring cuffs from Maison Miru.
I am more of a watch person myself and love to pair outfits with a heavy men’s watch such as Armitron’s Ross in gold, their latest addition for wedding season.
Of course, as a classic Brooklynite, you’ll often see me in gold hoops of varying sizes, which I like to wear for the majority of my outfits regardless of season or activity.
My ideal routine when putting together a summer outfit is to first and foremost use minimal brain power. But that shouldn’t come at the expense of looking good. Here’s to simplifying the process into something a lot less mentally taxing and still effortlessly attractive. So for those, like me, who have little or no energy these days, I hope this helps you slap together a summer outfit this season.
