Hi London summer, this next song goes out to you:
As I’m writing this post, I’m wearing a coat, sweater trousers and socks. Mind you it’s June 18th. I could make a cute-sy comment on how bummed I am that I can’t sport my new summer buys etc but I’m going to take this to the next level. Me against the weather of London. Here we go.
FACTOR 1. CHANGE
See no matter where you live change is a good thing. You need 4 different seasons to make sense of time’s passing. Your body needs to go through the chills in February to appreciate the sun rays on your face in August. Sun in August? Judging from 2015’s August themed “Wet wet wet”( I wonder what ever happened to that band?), sun rays are only guaranteed if you vacation somewhere else than northern Europe of course.
So this year it has been the most boring weather ever in London. It doesn’t really rain, you mostly feel like you’re getting someone’s spit, but every day is grey and cloudy with sun reminders once a month (yay! the sun remember that? or self- realisations like I may be a vampire after all I feel like the sun is burning my skin etc) , and the temperature is stuck to 12-18 celsius since last October. No, it’s never warm, and it’s never cold, it’s just ehh.. mundane.
FACTOR 2. CLOTHES & ME
So, you may be thinking clothes & weather? That’s like the two dumbest topics someone can choose to talk about. But I’m here to differ people.
First, clothes DO matter as part of our identity trait, and on a secondary level as a means of communication and expression.
E.g. Stripe that away from you and you feel like your striped away from parts of your personality. Just ask the guys who took part in the Stanford Prison experiment or any guy out there struggling with transgender issues.
Oh, I’m stretching this but I’m getting somewhere I promise.
What I mean to say is, if you’re forcing your body to accept a piece of clothing that doesn’t feel right after the 10000000th time that year it has to some extent a negative effect on your psychology.
Case in point: my vintage coat. I effing love it. I got it from a vintage market in Brick Lane for £18, and I still think it’s one of my best buys ever. We had some lovely and very comfortable moments in this coat, especially when commuting in the morning where I ofter used it as my improv snuggly blanket.
It was fun in October, in November too, and during Christmas when my best friend came to visit and it was so handy during endless shopping excursions. Oh in January during my birthday, and on my one year anniversary with my boyfriend in February, that was cute, and in March when had those early Saturday mornings and ok when I went to Birmingham in April and the train was delayed for 3 hours? Vintage coat to the rescue! Even in May when I went to see Wicked with my mum as she was visiting. She thought it was pretty sleek, and actually, I think so too. It’s like secretly it wants to chill and Netflix all day but on the outside, it looks very put together and polished.
But JUNE? JUNE? No sweet coat I can’t still keep wearing you.
My psychology in June even earlier needs to switch from winter to summer mode, and you just can’t be part of it.
So after this long intro I started my own revolution.
It’s called ” Summer by any means” and it starts with me sporting summer outfits despite the weather’s tantrums.
So, again weather and location permitting denim overalls are a great way to welcome this summer.
Just play pretend that you’re biking through the French Provence in your overalls, maybe you’re wearing a cute polka dot one piece swimsuit, a straw hat and sunnies. If it gets chillier, (and by that I mean early 20’s in the Celcius scale not 12C) throw on a boyfriend’s shirt that can be plain, patterned or striped like in the picture above. Overalls tend to be quite boxy, so if you want to add a definition to your waist and follow the oh so sexy Brigitte Bardot example, tie the shirt around the highest part of your waist, just below the bust line, to accentuate your curves and show off your silhouette. To finish the look off you can opt for a pair of laced up leather trainers with a straw inspired sole, for long walks and comfy feet. If you want a more polished look try a pair of kitten heels plain or with a cure striped or polka dot pattern and add a pochette or basket style bag to complete the look.
What do you think? What are your summer staples despite the weather?
Leave your comments below!
xx