Reader, I forgot who I was in a tank top.
When your heart says “Wuthering Heights,” but the forecast says “UV Index 10”
Before we begin, a brief note: I know that capitalism is a curse. And yet, here we are—still drawn to beautiful things, still required to pay rent. That’s why the first half of this letter is free: a collection of full-priced objects of desire from places like SSENSE and beyond. The second half—featuring a curated mix of vintage and secondhand finds from Poshmark, Depop, The RealReal, Vestiaire, and eBay—is reserved for paid subscribers. If you’d like full access to these monthly roundups (and help support more deeply researched essays like this and this), you can subscribe for $5/month.
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Every year, as the weather warms and the air begins to hum with life, a quiet dread takes hold within me. The layers I rely on—wool, cashmere, a heavy blazer to anchor me to reality—become suddenly impossible. Don’t get me wrong, I love spring. I love the way the world turns green and unruly, the violent fecundity1 of it all.
What I can’t stand is what follows: the dry, punishing heat of Southern California summer. Sweat, dehydration, the threat of heatstroke, the wildfires, the Santa Ana winds tearing through the city as everything—trees, hillsides, my sense of style—dries out and catches fire. By mid-July, even my imagination feels sunburnt.
I don’t want to be this way. I want to meet each season as it comes, to appreciate what it offers, even if my internal landscape is more aligned with the cooler climes of autumn and winter. Of course, my resistance to summer isn’t just about the heat. It’s about control and comfort, the subtle ways I tether myself to reality through clothing. To me, dressing feels similar to the ritual of lighting a candle or luxuriating in the slowness of a weekend morning: it adds romance to the mundane.
And so when summer takes hold, I unravel a little. I believe in rotating one’s wardrobe seasonally to avoid staring longingly at coats that won’t see daylight for months. It’s a simple strategy: fewer distractions, fewer reminders. And yet, each April, as I pack away my layers, I can’t help but throw a childish fit. Not this year, though. This year, I’ve made peace with it. This year, dear reader, I am prepared.
If I must endure summer, let it be in featherweight layers of silk, gauze, chiffon, and organza. Fabrics that move, breathe, and barely exist. I want texture, asymmetry, and for every so-called “basic” to carry intrigue. Think: Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Lemaire, Jil Sander.
The silhouettes remain rooted in menswear, anchored and deliberate, but reimagined in lighter forms. Still touched by that slight gothic romanticism I can’t seem to shake, only pared back, heat-adapted, softly undone.
The operative word is sheer.
You can wear pants and long sleeves in the summer; they just need to be light or, ideally, sheer. This is where I’ve been lately. All I want to wear are translucent layers over something unexpected: bike shorts and a tube top, a swimsuit, oversized trousers. I love the tension: structure beneath softness, opacity beneath air. Sheer pants with a mini skirt layered over like the beautifully styled Maryam Nassir Zadeh gauze pair via Bona Drag, or the outfit experiment I conducted earlier this week: a thin layer of burgundy chiffon that fell to my ankles over low-slung split-hem trousers. It just worked. I felt strange, intentional, alive. As I walked my dogs through my very WASP-y neighborhood, the chiffon took flight behind me in the breeze. I felt like a crow among doves.
Silhouettes I’m loving:
Paloma Wool Brown Silk Archive Pants / St. Agni Sheer Silk Leather Trim Top / Silk Laundry Organza A-Line Dress / Ali Golden Paneled Mesh Dress / Ann Demeulemeester Semi-Sheer Maxi Dress / Paloma Wool Cream Sato Camisole / Na Nin Brown Silk Elliot Dress / Paloma Wool Zanic Dress / Rachel Comey Daas Dress / Mijeong Park Organza Skirt
Everything but basic.
In summer, basics work overtime. With fewer layers to rely on, every piece has to earn its place. Simplicity is fine as long as it carries a point of view. A simple silk skirt calls for a tank with something extra: an unusual texture, a twisted seam, a silhouette that carries some element of surprise. Brands like Baserange, St. Agni, and Paloma Wool excel at this kind of elevated minimalism, the kind that makes getting dressed feel effortless but never dull.
Silhouettes I’m loving:
Baserange Turn Tank in Black and White / With Jean Kia Top / St. Agni Knit Scarf Top / Baserange Pama LS Tee / Atelier Delphine Boat Neck Top / Twin Boatneck Tank / Brooke Callahan Tie Skirt / Deiji Studios Split Top
The real deals.
I have a longstanding habit of spending hours on Depop, Poshmark, The RealReal, and Vestiaire, hunting for vintage treasures and designer gems until my eyes cross. I seldom buy anything unless it’s an outrageous deal. Sometimes, I save them for some future, more financially sound version of myself, but usually, I send them to friends with bigger budgets so I can live vicariously through them.
Below, you’ll find an edited selection of pieces organized by category: tops & blouses, dresses, sweaters & jackets, bottoms, and shoes. Most fall in the $50–$150 range, with a few exceptional pieces edging past $200 (only where the deal was too good or the piece was too special not to include). Enjoy. x
Tops & Blouses
Ann Demeulemeester Sheer Silk Tunic, (M, $199) / Totême Cream Plisse Tank (34/S, $125) / Dries Van Noten Yellow Muslin Tie Blouse (34/S, $54) / The Row Knit Crop Top with Silk Ribbon Ties (S, $147)
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