no. 27: summer style sessions

taking your styling requests for a colorful trip to europe, a wedding on cape cod, and a postpartum summer

1. Challengers: Mentioned in this week's Sunday edition that I finally got the chance to see Challengers, and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. Told in sets that jump back and forth across timelines, the film covers the complex relationship between Tashi, a breakout young tennis star, and junior doubles partners and best friends Patrick and Art. The result is a messy three body problem with yearning, scheming, and sabotage. I’ve delighted in the cast interviews on their promo circuit, especially their responses to who the villain is. available now on streaming!

2. Kismet, Sara Kramer & Sarah Hymanson. Kismet was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived in LA, and I was so delighted to pick up their new cookbook. The restaurant serves casual, veggie forward, Mediterranean and Californian inspired food. I’m already mapping out all the recipes I’ll be using for my next summer dinner party (and whenever I’m particularly missing LA). 

3. Love & Death, MAX. I recently saw a social post begging Hollywood to “bring back the miniseries”, sharing the promo images for shows like Sharp Objects, The Mare of Easttown, Chernobyl, and others. And I have to tell you: I agree! I’ve been on the hunt for *something* in the realm of prestige TV that doesn’t also require slogging through 5+ seasons. I was excited when I realized I missed Love and Death when it premiered last spring - there are only seven episodes, and so far it’s absolutely filling the void. Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemmons (two of my faves) tell the true story of Candy Montgomery, a housewife accused of murder. 

After my first year in college, I secured a summer internship working on autism research. The work was interesting, but unpaid - a common and unfortunate reality of many psych and education internship programs at the time. Determined to make it work without asking my parents for money I plotted and schemed, eventually securing a second job to fund my summer and lodging in MIT fraternity house (a story for another time, I promise you). The job was as a summer sales associate at the J.Crew in downtown Boston around my time in the lab. It was 2011, and it was *peak* J.Crew. While I was primarily excited about the employee discount, after a few weeks I realized I was actually quite good at the job. A few weeks after that, the store managers approached me about taking on a role at the store in the personal stylist program. 

proof from the archives: a classic 2012 outfit

Over the next three years, I kept the job while finishing my degree, fitting in shifts and styling sessions around classes, my on-campus work study job, social society events, and crew practice. I loved a lot of things about the job (a 35 - 75% discount being one of them), but the thing I loved the most was working together with clients to reflect not only their vision but also their unique needs and preferences. From wanting to be taken seriously at a new job (without sacrificing personal style or love of fashion) to dressing for a family trip with a new significant other’s family and wanting to feel comfortable without overthinking, these kinds of specific styling challenges are some of my FAVORITE to think about. 

It’s a series I’ve been doing for a few years over on Instagram stories: I’ll open up a few requests, do research, and pull together a vision board, some thinking on how to solve a problem or challenge someone has, and what items might work well and why. 

I’ve been extremely excited about bringing this series to the newsletter, especially after I’ve gotten a few specific requests for styling via the earlybird message box. 

We’re starting casually, with four “style me for… “ requests: 

• Packing & dressing for a summer trip to Europe (with bonus points for COLOR and toddler-mom-friendly options!) 

• Summer personal style postpartum (avoiding big sweatshirts and yoga pants) 

• Styling for a summer wedding on Cape Cod (so dreamy!) 

• Dressing for a summer baby shower (7.5 months pregnant!) 

For each request, I’ve put together a vision board, styling recommendations, and when relevant, links to specific items I think would work well when relevant. For visibility, links in this post do include affiliate links, which means if you buy something through one of them I may earn commission at no cost to you. HOWEVER, I will say that the point of this post isn’t actually to convince you to buy a whole new wardrobe before you have an event. It’s to showcase a specific story we *could* tell with clothes, and tease out the “ingredients” and elements that make up that story for you to take and play with and make your own. 

I think that’s it, so let’s jump in! 

Xo, 

As with most of my newsletters recently, this one is a bit long! You might need to expand if you’re reading it in-email, otherwise highly recommend reading in the browser to make seeing the images a bit easier! 

summer trip to europe 

The ask: Looking for stylish but comfortable / cool clothes for a 2-3 week trip to Europe in late July, early August. Hoping for a “vacation capsule” to make packing easier. I actually got multiple requests to dress for a summer in Europe (jealous!), so the looks I’ve pulled accomplish two additional specifics: 1) to incorporate color and 2) outfits that are “toddler mom friendly” (which I have interpreted to mean comfortable, not overly fussy, and generally machine washable). 

The vision: Unfussy, colorful and decidedly playful outfits that mix and match, can dress up or down, and can survive 14 days in a suitcase. You’ll be comfortable (and cool) enough to spend all day exploring a city (or you know, chasing after a toddler), but look chic enough to post up at a trendy bar or restaurant as well. 

How I’d do it: I recently did a test run of the semi-viral 3x3x3 approach for an 8 day work trip to Lisbon - essentially the guidance is that you pack 3 tops, 3 pants, and 3 pairs of shoes that all generally go together to create a little wardrobe that mixes and matches. I found it extremely helpful, and would recommend something similar for this exercise bumped up and customized to make sense with your itinerary and planned activities. Generally, I’d start with a base of the following items: 

• 3-4 Bottoms (Shorts, Pants, Skirts)

• 3-4 Dresses (I personally live for a dress in the summer, especially with sneakers!) 

• 4-5 Tops (Tanks, Tshirts, Blouses) 

• 2-3 Layers (Jacket, Button Down) 

• 2-3 Shoes (sneakers, sandals) 

  

The details: Y’all I STUDIED up on this one, and broke down the vision board into a few elements I think are key to pulling together the look: 

• COLOR:  Aim for bright, vibrant hues (like this gorgeous bright green tank), and putting together either complimentary colors (e.d purple, yellow, and blue) or multiple hues of the same color (pale yellow + a more vibrant yellow) for a cheerful take on monochrome dressing. If you’re up for it, play with patterns like stripes (obsessed the blue & white stripe trend here – these and these are both great on the pants front!!) and detailed embroidery. Not feeling quite as ambitious on the color front? Stick with a more classic color palate and add in 1-2 options for a pop. I usually do white and blue with a pop of green or yellow! 

• EFFORTLESS (& ELEGANT): We’re going for relaxed but sophisticated: easy, pull on shorts, flowing wide leg pants, tshirt midi and flowing maxi dresses, classic button downs, and tops with details like bow front ties or fun sleeve details. 

• LAYERING & VERSATILITY: Since it’s summer, focusing on lightweight blazers, wide-knit sweaters and oversized button downs for style and practicality

• NATURAL FABRICS: The key to staying cool in the summer heat = cotton and linen, y’all. 

• ACCESSORIZE: simple, colorful and comfortable footwear - skip the heels and opt for lightweight sandals or on-trend flats and colorful sneakers that pack well and are easy to walk in.  Colorful, hands free bags make sight seeing hassle free, and sunglasses tie everything together (loving this bright green pair) 

postpartum summer style

The ask: looking for summer styling postpartum that avoids yoga pants and big sweatshirts. For the purposes of this exercise, I’m considering postpartum as literally *anything* from day zero on, but I’ve specifically focused on pulling options that work for nursing and accommodate comfort and changing sizes for the first few months. 

The vision: We are walking the line between comfort and polish. We’re going for definitively comfortable but more polished than leggings and a sweatshirt: we’re talking wide leg pants with layered button downs, flowing sundresses, and elevated athleisure. These looks can work for sitting at home with a newborn (mostly!), getting out and about, going back to work, and just about anything in between. 

The details: I’ll be honest y’all this vision board is basically what I wore all of last summer at ~4-8M postpartum.  If I remember anything about style from the first few months after Little Bear was born, it’s that I kept struggling between the desire to get dressed in “real clothes” and the discomfort of making real clothes work while nursing and navigating continually changing body stuff. Here’s how we pull it together: 

• FLOWY DRESSES A great option for hot summer weather that looks pulled together and accounts for fluctuating sizes. I found that softer fabrics (cotton, etc) with tanks straps and / or smocked bodice (like this one or this one) tended to be the easiest for nursing or pumping – I still have nightmares about the time in my first month back at work a I wore a higher neck, non-stretchy maxi dress to the office and essentially had to strip in the mother’s room in order to pump. Simply did not occur to me before hand, but not a mistake I’ll ever make again. 

• LOOSE TOPS & BOTTOMS: For early days with baby and days at home, I ended up opting for a few matching sets (like this sweater set I still wear on a regular basis, this super soft option, or this more summery shorts and sweatshirt combo). Later on, I found my jam with higher waisted, wider leg pants - opting for flowy-er options like a soft cotton or linen at home and a nicer (but still stretchy) denim for work or casual outings. I like to pair those with simple tank or t-shirt. 

• ELEVATED ATHLEISURE: Listen I know we’re trying to avoid leggings here, but I didn’t say anything else about *other* athleisure. I loved throwing on bike shorts (highly recommend these!) and a tank, or an exercise dress (this one is the softest & pretty great for nursing!) layered with an oversized button down for walks and errands. With the addition of a crossbody bag and cute sandals or sneakers it’s *almost* like a whole outfit. 

• LAYERS, BABY: There is *nothing* worse than needing to nurse or pump and having to manage an overly complex outfit. You’ll see above how often I mention a button down – we’re going for layers that are easy to take on and off (oxfords, jackets,cardigans) can elevate things without making them overly restrictive. 

summer wedding on cape cod: 

The ask: Outfits for best friend’s wedding on Cape Cod in August. I’ve pulled looks that work for a range of dress codes from cocktail to formal, and styles for folks from late 20s to 30s. 

The vision: No matter what fashion trends are going on in the rest of the country, I’ve found that Cape Cod has a fairly particular flavor to it: coastal, with elements of preppy style and casual elegance, shades of blue, pastels and florals. We’re looking to emulate that energy while also elevating – can’t have the bff of the bride wearing the same thing as everyone else! 

The details: I think there are a few key elements that really make this style sing: 

• CLASSIC ELEGANCE: We’re going for simple but sophisticated when it comes to cut and style - especially in terms of structure and polished fabrics. Generally avoid things that are too tight, short, or low cut, and opt for “nicer” fabrics. 

• COLOR & PATTERN: There are so many ways to go with this one, I really don’t think you can go wrong. Keep it classic with solid colors, especially in shades of blue, or embrace the preppy east coast vibes with a floral patter or pastel. 

• PRACTICAL & FASHIONABLE I love the ways preppy, classic style mixes Fashion with Practicality ( highly highly recommend the Articles of Interest series on American Ivy for more on this one). Whether it’s pairing a ball gown with a classic pair of RayBans, or a well loved rattan clutch, make the items you need part of the ‘fit. 

• STRUCTURE, VOLUME & WHIMSY: The first three on this list are kind of a given, but this category is really where you have the chance to play. Whether it's a large, defined bow or a simple dress elevated with volume and a structured fabric, or the decidedly preppy touches like monograms, embroidered patterns, etc., , play up the capital F Fashion elements with a few intentions choices. 

Summarizing a few specific options here! 

Nod to classic preppy style in a beautiful poppy red (1), or a more formal option in bubble gum pink.  A sheer, sherbert colored midi dress is a lovely compliment to all the blue you’re sure to see (3). Stand out in a stunning butter yellow dress from Simkhai, or a similar, more casual option from J.Crew (4). Had to pull something for the green girls, like this silk dress from Sezane (5) –I own this one, and it’s so lovely! If you’re looking for a designer splurge for a special occasion, this stunning slip dress (6) is currently marked down as much as I’ve ever seen it! The Hydrangeas on the cape are always stunning – love a little nod to the setting with this high neck gown (8) or this floral square neck dress (9). You can never go wrong with classic navy  (especially one with sweet nautical touches)- pair with some pearls and a handbag with a pop of color. (such as this absolutely delightful fish clutch?!??!) 

summer baby shower (as the guest of honor!) 

The ask: Styling for a baby shower in August, guest of honor will be approximately 7.5M pregnant. The baby shower specifically in question is being held in the midwest. For the purposes of this exercise I made a few assumptions: that it would be *warm*, that you may or may not be outside, and that the level of event fanciness could range from being hosted at the home of a loved one, a reserved room at a restaurant, or a country or social club. 

The vision: I personally believe that the baby shower is a celebration for and about the mom – growing a human being is seriously hard work!! You should dress in a way that makes you feel the most you. You’re glowing, and we’re looking for a dress that compliments that – something that lets you move, breathe, sit and eat comfortably, and that doesn’t compete with your glow for the spotlight. We’re going for understated and elegant, but prioritizing comfort.

The details: I’ll be honest with y’all, I struggled with this one the most, largely because I have a personal vendetta against whoever designs like 87% of maternity clothes. There are so many patterns! So many cuts and styles that I would never wear in my regular life, and had no desire to wear during a stage of life where I felt variably comfortable in my own body. I have heard that I’m not alone in that, so here I’ve scoured the internet for the best of the best. I’ve (mostly) opted for solid colors over patterns, and have a personal bias for dresses that could also work postpartum.

Can I get a little commotion for *this* dress (1)??!! I opted for a white dress with puff sleeves and a minimal floral pattern for my own shower ((10) also comes in a classic nap dress style!) This cobalt reversible dress could pull double duty for a wedding guest dress, or for a more dressy shower option. Same with this linen blend maxi dress (2) – it’s not technically maternity, but it is so lovely! This patterned maxi dress (9) is so ethereal, and would be perfect for post-baby too. If you’re looking for something with a little more oomf, love the puff sleeves and cutouts for this bright orange (3). Love this simple but stunning dress (6) in a universally flattering shade of cornflower blue, or this lovely yellow option (4). If you’re looking for something that can flex all the way up to 8M, I wore the 2022 version of this dress (4) my entire pregnancy and beyond (also comes in blue, red and yellow). Craving neutrals? This washable silk option (8) also comes in a lovely green.  Dresses not exactly your thing? I loved this simple but stylish jumpsuit (7) — and it comes in polka dots too!.

that’s all for now! would love to hear your style inspo for the summer — what are we dressing for? what’s the vibe? and most importantly —where are you getting your inspiration?!