Are you looking to put together a cute summer wardrobe for the upcoming season? Well look no further! LOL, actually this is a lie. I'm not really a good person to follow when it comes to fashion because my 'style' is honestly all over the place. And when it comes to dressing for the seasons, I honestly am stuck in spring and summer all year long. If you've noticed, I live my life in dresses and skirts. I rarely wear pants. Which is funny because back in college, that's all I wore. I owned like 30 pairs of jeans and they took up several drawers in my dorm room. I don't really know why either. But like I said, my style is all over the place and constantly changing but still the same somehow. I either dress like a hoe or I dress like a child. There's really no in between.
I go through a lot of weird phases too. In high school, I wanted to be that bitch so I wore heels a lot to school. In college, with campus being the size that it was, that wasn't as practical so I switched over to living in a rainbow of Converses. But bootleg from Wet Seal and other cheap stores because college student budget. I actually did own one pair of real Converse and they had cupcakes and glitter on them. Now in the real world, I wear boots and flats a lot to work. But recently I've been trying to shift over to pretty sparkly sneakers, platforms, heeled boots. I started wearing heeled boots to work for two reasons. They actually feel pretty good after leg day for some reason - they help to relieve the soreness and pressure. And secondly, I really wanted to start feeling comfortable again in them. I used to wear them so well in high school and be able to trudge around all day in them. But college made me a bitchass. I want to go back to being a boss bitch in heels on my regular days, not just for shoots.
Okay, enough digression.
What do you need for some good cute summer looks?
It depends on your body type, your own style and taste and what you're comfortable in.
I'm a summer child so I absolutely love the season while my friends hate it. I swear it's in my blood being a child from the tropics. It could be 100 degrees and I could be sweating like a pig and I still would enjoy the day. The heat doesn't bother me, the cold does. I'm no Elsa.
I'm[Photos by Some Kid]
My favorites for summer include a cute sundress, light fabric crop tops, super cute shorts, fun printed skirts and either a cute pair of flats or sandals. But as long as you make sure you have some of the above in your wardrobe, you can't go wrong. For dresses, go for some fun prints or a simple bright color. For crop tops, I like light blues or whites. Anything basic because it'll make what you pair with it stand out. For example, if you have a really fun printed cherry or mermaid or gingham skirt, a white off the shoulder crop top will complement it nicely and make the skirt pop out as the centerpiece of your look. I try not to have two different prints going on because then it looks too busy. Or at least if it's two different prints, make sure one is not louder than the other and that it's the same color scheme. And vice versa. If your shorts/skirt is a plain solid color, make the top stand out in a fun print or picture or design. Or if both pieces are solid plain colors, this is where some accessories can come in to accent the look. Sometimes I like to accessorize with a sunhat or hair bows depending on how I wear my hair. Most of the time it's in pigtails or all down in loose curls and waves.
If a look is too simple or basic, I just throw on some light accessories or I dress it up with how I do my makeup. Good hair and makeup can pull together almost any look. For summer, I prefer bright pink lipsticks.
In terms of color palette, I love bright colored clothing. Black and white is an easy go to, but I prefer to live my life in color. I love sunshine yellow but it's such a hard color to find in clothes since everything is always in mustard. A little white dress is also one of my favorite go-tos for summer, or even an all white look. All white keeps it simple and clean. It can also make for a cute Hamptons look depending on how you style it.
I also get this common question of how I afford everything I wear. Truth be told, my shoes are expensive. My clothes are not. And despite my excessive shopping habits, a lot of my pieces are not always new. (I did shop a lot this spring season because I love a lot of the stuff in stores right now and the styles, but last few years I actually did not buy as much. ) BUT, the secret is, when I look for something, I try to buy only stuff I REALLY like and know I'll definitely wear and wear more than once for a look. I try to ask myself, will this mix and match with other things in my closet? Will I want to wear this more than once or is this just for a look? If it's a one trick pony, then I'd better really love it or back on the rack it goes. I'm also a fan of in store shopping over online because I like to see how it looks on my own body before commiting. Some things look terrible on an online model and amazing on your body type. And vice versa. Sometimes it looks great on the mannequin and then you put it on and it's a tent and has no shape because it was pinned on the mannequin strategically. I also try to look for pieces that are versatile as well as classic. When you're trying to be bougie on a budget, you'd got to make that fashion go a long way. I have this one eyelet crop top that's lasted me since 2006 simply because it's a classic clean look that goes with everything and over everything. It can be dressed down for a beachy look or thrown over a cute dress for a more fancy party look. I did the same thing when I bought cute overalls and overall dresses this past year. I made sure they would look cute when paired with different cute tops underneath. This way you can make numerous combos of different looks with one staple piece.
If you follow these simple rules, you can put together a great look for summer and your own signature style. When shopping for summer, I look for floral, stripes, polka dots and ruffles. Sounds simple and basic but you can pull off a cute look with any of these classics without looking like a basic bitch. It's all about how you pull it together with your own creativity and confidence when wearing your threads. Make sure you work it!
For this summer season though, I'm looking to shoot some more cute fashion that shows off what I've been working on for the past 6 months since I started dieting and exercising more seriously. So this summer, I'm really hoping to work on more swimsuit shoots and crop tops and shorts. I haven't worn a bikini in SO LONG because I felt so fat and shitty in my body but it felt so good on my family cruise I took in February to finally get back in one and look great in one again. And all the shorts I used to fit in! I'm so glad I never threw them out. They all fit great again and look better than ever. I'm really glad I didn't give up and pushed myself through all the hard work so that my summer body would shine through and be ready in time to knock em dead. I can't wait to get out there this season.
Here are some looks I have on my phone when I'm being vain to help you pull together your own style. There's another style tip, lol. I know, I have a lot of clothes, but I'm forever stuck in that "I have nothing to wear" syndrome so I really always am stumped when I have to put together an outfit. But then there are times where I put together some slamming looks. It helps to photograph them and keep them catalogued in your phone. Kind of like your own personal lookbook. It's helped me many a times when I have no idea what to wear for work, a day out with friends or even what to wear for a wedding. Also helps to see different combos of things and how it looks with your hair at a glance. (Just click on the pic to see the full length of any particular photo. )
That's all for now. You guys have any questions, comments, suggestions, anything, drop me a line below. Hope you guys enjoyed this even though it's literally all over the place in a disorganized mess.
- RxBarbie