First off, a big shoutout and thank you to Tobi for sending me this dress (and a few other goodies I’ll be featuring in the coming weeks!) and sponsoring this post. Before we actually get started, I want it to be known that this dress is currently UNDER $30. Yup. Get stoked, y’all.
Second: it’s hot, y’all. Dallas finally had our first 100°F day of the summer this past weekend. Which is pretty hard to believe, seeing as most of us have been sweating bullets for months already. Thankfully, here in Dallas, we haven’t hit our weeks of being consistently over 100°F (yet)… BUT when you have temperatures above 90°F and “real feels” of over 100°F, it gets pretty hard to tell the difference.
So here’s the question: how do you look good while staying cool in summer?
What I’m Wearing:
Dress: Tobi, c/o / Purse: Ann Taylor, sold out (similar/more colors here) / Shoes: BP.
Earrings: Etsy (similar) / Ring: Ann Taylor
My mom likes to joke that the summer months are the coldest months of the year in Texas. She doesn’t say this because she has entirely lost it (debatable), she says it because restaurants in Texas seem to freeze you out in the summer. From June till September, everywhere you go feels like an icebox the moment you step inside. So while you might want to wear nothing but a bikini (or, more realistically, a sports bra/tank top and nike shorts) 24/7 during the heat of the summer, you strangely can’t do that for fear of freezing your butt off.
Growing up in Austin (which I believe is even hotter than Dallas – an ongoing debate in my family), I figured out how to look good while staying cool in summer at an early age. My trick? Layering.
I am known amongst my friends for always having a cardigan with me. Yes, even at clubs. Yes, I’m that girl at the club with a cardigan. And, yes, my friends do mock me endlessly for that… and for having coined the term “emergency cardigan”.
But you know who’s never uncomfortable at freezing dinners or outside in the hot summer sun? This girl. Yep, the one with the emergency cardigan on standby.
Wear the Bare Minimum
Let’s not make this more complicated than it needs to be: in order to stay cool in the summer heat, I highly recommend wearing the bare minimum. A mini dress like I’m wearing above… An airy maxi dress with spaghetti straps like this one… Or even the summer look that will never get old: cutoff shorts and a summery top.
You want to accessorize wisely: ditch the boots for sandals (even summer boots are a no-can-do when its 90°F+ outside); swap out the scarves for hair ties or a hat; nix the heavy jewelry for light earrings.
During summer, I really love to stock up on pieces that can carry me through early fall (when the temperatures return to something that isn’t ungodly hot). While I’m wearing my Tobi shirt dress this summer with sandals (with an emergency cardigan in my car – duh), I know that it will also be so cute to wear come fall with a chunky sweater, fall booties, and a scarf. It’s modestly breezy during the summer (ideal so you’re not sweating buckets within 10 seconds of stepping outside), but it’s also really easy to layer come fall.
And now for that giveaway!
I have so many great giveaways for y’all this week… all in preparation for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale! (AKA the perfect time to score all of your fall pieces for less, before the season even starts!)
Today, I’ve teamed up with another group amazing group of bloggers to give YOU a chance to win a $1,000 Nordstrom Gift Card! Simply enter below by completing the rafflecopter. You’ll receive one entry per completion. This giveaway is open internationally and runs until 7/24. Winner will be announced here. Good Luck!
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