It’s that time of the year—the joy and horror of unpacking summer clothes from bins. The joy comes from seeing things that you had forgotten you had; the horror is
realizing that either the clothes shrunk or that you should have started that diet and exercise regimen in February.
Let’s start with the happy news: all shoes fit and there are none in there that I thought I should have thrown out. There are some that I’m still madly in love with. Who could not love red and white striped wedges, and those navy and yellow flats with the brass anchor on the top of each foot. So nautical. Oh, and those fabulous little patent leathers for weddings, graduations and communions that I’ll be attending. And what about those little flats that look like Roman mosaic art in subtle pinks, creams and celeries? I love my summer shoes.
More good news: all clothes are very wearable. There are so many brilliant colors and my favorite of all, white. White goes with everything. The downside of white? You can look a bit puffy.
Summer does have its toys, too. Costume jewelry, which you can overdose on. Whether it’s on your wrist or your neck, it’s time to bring out the big guns in the summer. Lime green and hot pink together, chunky orange and yellow big beads, now there’s a sangria waiting for me somewhere. Turquoise—not too sure about that one, but it does look great against white.
Oh, and the bags stored on hooks. The flaming reds, the navy blues, the sand colored ones, the canvas one with the red lobster on it, the structured ones, the baggy ones, the Caribbean flavored totes, the cross-body ones and the tiny green faux alligator. Bags, the ultimate accessory.
Finally, hats where I can become a football fan, an Ecuadorian from the hills, a woman of mystery (who can’t seeing anything above my nose as the brim is too wide), the partaker in a beer-and-burger bash or the invited guest at an English garden wedding.
Men, I feel sorry for them. Mad Men never really brought back formal hats, but guys do have baseball hats. It’s not much, but you have the tribe affiliations and their colors to work with. On the bright side, their seasonal stuff is two pairs of cargo shorts and a couple of tees. Throw in a pair of flip-flops and they scored for the whole summer. They actually can make it last until December. They don’t need bins for storage; they can use half of a shopping bag. Now that’s unfair.
