From the moment Brooklyn began posting about her last year's summer formula of skirt with (special) tee or other top, I decided this was going to be my summer formula, moving forward, as well. If she could manage it with her active dog-walking lifestyle, so could I. Casual, breezy, comfortable, yet dressier and more grown-up than shorts. It really is the perfect solution! If you get the right style of skirt, it will even work on a bike.
Well, guess what. My Brooklyn-inspired summer is a total bust.
1. There is no summer.
2. I cannot find the right skirts.
Whereas last year we were roasting under a heat dome, this has been the coldest, cloudiest, and wettest spring on record in my part of the world. We haven't even finished setting up our deck furniture and I haven't got all my planters filled. I had to wear a puffer jacket to go on a walk the other night.
As for the skirts, I am out of luck.
Exhibit A is a skirt I tried from Zara. A terrific cotton/ linen blend -- it looks fine (at least I think so) but it was a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen -- there was absolutely not enough fabric to prevent it from blowing open at the first breeze.
As for Exhibit B, the Madewell skirt, it was cut more generously but the fabric felt flimsy and cheap and I did not like it against the skin.
I really prefer a natural fabric, especially a linen cotton blend of some kind, because most polyesters feel sticky and uncomfortable to me in the heat. I'm also trying to avoid ditsy florals (although I would go ditsy-adjacent) and too much black. So that ruled out a lot of potential options. I really, really, really love Brooklyn's asymmetrical skirts the best—they create such a gorgeous line—so that is what I would prefer. But a simple A-line or a gored skirt would be fine if I could get one that works well.
At this point, I have pretty much given up the search. I own a couple of older skirts that will fill the need this summer, given how few days of warm sunshine we are likely to get, so I think I will stick with those, plus shorts.
