On My Eye In August

From midi skirts to denim, these are the transitional weather staples that are on my eye this month

Shitters! It’s August, and normally I would just be overheated and exhausted, but the Olympics are on and they have really changed the vibe around here! Did we watch Mondo and that record-breaking pole vault on his very last try?! Is our money on Gabby Thomas or Julien Alfred in the 200 later today?? If you’re really deep in the weeds, how thrilled are we that the Kenyan runner Serem gets to go to the Steeplechase finals after that other guy pushed him…!!! I thought Steeplechase was just a horse race up until yesterday afternoon, but now I’m ALL THE WAY IN.

As predicted, after saying I wasn’t in need of anything in particular, I did an unhinged amount of shopping in July. I think I was in an actual fugue state when I added a pair of Bottega goggles to a sale order despite the fact that I haven’t actually been skiing in…. thirteen years…? They obviously went back (and I got one step closer to being carted off to online shopping rehab), but they would make a very good holiday gift for anyone who actually does ski.

In the aftermath of my eight million returns, I’ve been thinking a lot about a realization I’ve had over the past year—I tend to make my worst shopping decisions when I’m doing too much of it at once. Letting that “no” muscle get lazy in the purchasing process (“just to try!”) makes it harder—at least for me—to make the right calls later on. It’s a lesson that keeps getting learned over here, but such is life. Attempting a little reset this month in hopes of building the muscle back up.

They weren’t all crazy purchases though! At the beginning of last month I picked up this simple maxi dress that I’ve been wearing on repeat ever since—I love that the fabric is thicker and has some structure to it, and it’s so easy to throw on for summer nights (I took the smaller of my two sizes). Around the house, I’ve been living in these supersoft Donni pants (sizing runs pretty true, IMO). To me, they’re loungey enough for the couch, but still make me feel cute while working from home or stepping out for coffee or errands. I think I’ll be reaching for them even more come fall/winter.

As I said, I’m working on recalibrating my brain at the moment, but what follows are a few more staple-y pieces I’m eyeing ahead of fall, plus my ongoing hunt for the perfect cotton midi skirt.