This month I’m bring out all of the deliciously delicate silk and linen and cotton that’s been hidden away at the back of my closet since last September. Hallelujah. Come the first of June I always begin to itch for more sunshine (Vitamin D deficiency or no?) and always start to pencil in long summer nights out, wearing the sexier pieces in my closet.
Striking a balance between looking good and feeling comfortable is easy enough, so long as I rely on a summer skin secret my mom shared long ago: When you’re getting dressed and it’s dripping-humid-mid-summer-in-Georgia-hot out: Show off one feature, play down the rest.
- Long sleeve, leg-baring silk dress and killer heels.
- Simple silk tank and jet black, short, short leather shorts.
- Lightweight sweater and flirty eyelash shorts.
- Off the shoulder dress and minimal sandals (Exhibit A, below).
- Long sleeve top and short silk shorts (Exhibit B, also below).
The same works for my makeup routine: I’ll throw on a strong red lip or go for smoky eyes or fill in thick, Hepburnesque brows, but never all together. Choose only the best. Save the rest.
This season I’m loving a cold shoulder, as well as open back pieces. Born and bred in LA, vintage-inspired and babelicious Stone Cold Fox is just the ticket to throw on through summer nights. Two ways I’m wearing it:
Stone Cold Fox Marrakech Dress
Come September, I’ll be throwing my Marrakech dress (and the black version of this Iowa dress) over coated black denim with a pair of heels. I take a Size 1/XS/S in both dresses. SCF’s off the shoulder dresses have a stretchy boned bodice, so they stay put even if you’re petite up top. If you’re on the leggy side, grab a nude slip or layer a pair of silk shorts underneath — more on that after the jump.
Stone Cold Fox Seth Blouse
This open-back number paired with olive green Grana silk shorts (similar pairs on sale at The Real Real) fit the bill and are coincidentally also a literal outfit translation of the signature haircut of the object of my childhood affection, Billy Ray Cyrus, who, much like my mom, recognized the importance of playing up one feature at a time. His mullet was everything. Business in the front, party in the back. Party on, dudes.
My mom also taught me how to sew, which has saved me from many a wardrobe malfunction, including the moments that fell between falling love with this top and realizing that the only size left would be too big for me. Problem solved with creamy grosgrain ribbon and ten minutes watching ‘Game of Thrones’ with a needle and thread in hand.
TLDR: Stone Cold Fox and Grana both run true to size. Learn to sew. Never trust your heart with a man with a mullet. And, in showing skin (and most things in life) moderation’s the word, bird.
Stone Cold Fox + olive silk shorts
