It's the best time of year to get dressed

Glad that rain is out of the way: the perks of liminal weather dressing

Once the residual dew of August has evaporated, September makes for ideal dressing weather because it’s warm out there, but it’s also crisp. The sun still hangs high overhead as summer dissipates into the horizon, leaving remnants of its balm mixed into the blueprint of what will be the forthcoming chill and this dichotomous combination — the liminality of the moment — makes for ideal dressing-for-fashion conditions.

A look from Bode’s Fall 2023 collection (available now) that perfectly encapsulates liminal weather dressing with a pair of sheer cotton beach shorts (see also: these) and a thick wooly knit (potentially seems worth it; got this one from Soeur), plus socks and closed-toe flats. (Among the most subtle truths to be emerging from the current runway season is the addition of socks all year round for styling.)

Because it’s impossible that you will need a wool coat and flip flops in the same outfit, that tiny tap shorts will accommodate you if a chunky knit is necessary too. That crochet shorts and a structured tweed jacket could manage on the same tableau with shin-length socks and complete leg exposure but see the best thing about the 5th and 6th seasons (which I define as the two seasons that bookend summer) is that your clothes don’t have to make practical sense. They don’t have to incorporate too many constraints or technical details because we’re living a real-life in-between of hot and cold, wet and dry.

I’m seated outside a coffee shop, in fact, dressed in a cardigan, running shorts, and orange suede loafers.

Never not thinking about you, Venstore (for a snugger fit alternative to this no-longer-available cardigan, I recommend this from Vince; this one from J. Crew nails fit, too but the color is not heather). The shorts are Nike and loafers, a recent Real Real find, are from The Row (here’s a navy pair in a 37 and a black pair in a 40.5. If you’re a 41, these look unworn and if you’re a 36, might I suggest...).

So get ambitious with your clothes. It’s fashion weather! Even if you’re not getting wacky, consider all the pairings you might wish to wear but can’t when it’s too hot or cold.

Fran Lebowitz was like, “Pretend it’s a city.” I say, Pretend it’s an editorial. Some thought starters divided by category:

Odd fabric pairings

The most effective way to capture the spirit of liminal weather dressing is to pair fabrics from different ends of the season’s spectrum. Think raffia and wool

Mango hat (this one from Cos is possibly more versatile), By Malene Birger sweater and bag (used the latter to catch the color of the hat), Khaite t-shirt (breaks up the fall colors in an approachable way; not a bad alt), Doen skirt (may have sold out; here is one with a fly and one that is seamless), K. Jacques sandals

Like demonstrated here with a bucket hat made from straw crochet and a sweater that is some kind of mohair blend. The way you want to think about balancing it out is by giving one more garment to each end of the spectrum, so to mesh with the hat are the fisherman shoes (and in particular this pair with the summer wood sole) and for the sweater, a wool mini skirt.

Another example:

Vintage coat (if you have budget, I recommend this one from Toteme; if you want to keep it under $1,000, this one makes a good case), St. Agni knit, Doen crochet shorts (Etsy’s got you), Chanel mary janes, Savette bag, Delarge sunglasses

Crochet as in the shorts and leather as on the coat. With this one, I added a sheer ribbed white mock neck knit, more shirt than sweater and probably best for warm weather. It is as starkly white (and rigid in texture) as the shorts, so they do something good together. The shoes catch the jacket and the bag is a neutral, employed for the purpose of color pairing more than anything else and the sunglasses are, mostly, for fun. I actually wore a variation of this last week, which looked like:

Vintage jacket, Khaite t-shirt (also good), Doen shorts, Falke socks, Camilla Elphick ‘lovers’ flats

I’m actually really on one with crochet/wool pairings, here’s a recent rendering (with suiting) from an idea that came to me at like midnight last week while I was tossing and turning in bed:

Maybe I’d do it with brown trousers and these sneakers if I were to do it again, but a good for when you want to feel professional — Bouguessa grey jacket (this one or this one, both from Toteme, are the best alts I’ve seen), crochet mini skirt styled as peplum from ByLiv Handmade, Giuliva Heritage pants (I do love a cuffed hem), The Row sandals

One more from the category of odd fabric pairings before we move on.

Wolford socks, By Malene Birger shoes

Shearling and bare skin! (Sheer socks optional.)

Ines button-down shirt (you know I love LMND’s too — and re: sizing, I almost always go for a small in them), Marchen shorts (good alt), Gucci bag, Emma Milne Watson necklace

What I did in terms of pairing here was match a black poplin top to a charcoal grey suit skort and then include the suede shearling shoes to offset the I’m-going-to-work-ness (if you can call it that) of the top and skort. (Suede’s always a good, durable, casual counterbalance.)

Earrings from Jenna Blake

And then to keep the look in the liminal period, I added a raffia bag by Gucci that catches the color of the shoes even if they’re for different seasons, and a playful necklace of the same HUES. (The earrings riff off the green beads in the necklace.) Sometimes I don’t even realize how many factors I’m considering when putting shit together until I try to explain it to you.

The reverse equivalent of this look (winter shoes and naked skin), btw, is summer shoes and fully covered bod:

Polo RL cableknit sweater, Venstore track pants (have not wear-tested, but the shape of Everlane’s looks good though the ribbing might be a little off; these from The Row are on sale for $885…I’ll find you a good comp!), Doen sandals (I love these and these at a higher price point too, and these, a bit more affordable. Meanwhile, I know these aren’t backless, but I love them so much)

There is something satisfying about wearing a knit on tan skin and having your feet exposed. It’s like an oxymoron that is nice on the eyes. I chose metallic sandals to draw more attention to it but let’s move on.

Impossible proportions any other time of year

This part is about combining unlikely silhouettes to create proportions that look good but rarely make it out into daylight because it’s either too hot or too cold to pull off. In the first instance, you’ll see a tank top styled with corduroy pants and knee-high boots. I’m going to stop typing and just let you scroll.

👇🏻

The Row tank top (try this muscle tee from Flore Flore), Nue notes pants (pricing is in Danish krone; you can always go this route from Frame too), Khaite belt, Chanel boots (the search phrase I used to find them was “knee high boots gold” — doing it from Google is sometimes better than specific website search bars)

As promised, a tank top styled with corduroy pants and boots. If you’re going for a similar pairing, I do recommend pants that are mid to high rise as they create the best proportion against knee-high boots. I chose boots that are snug to my leg as opposed to log-like (usually the preference) because the pants are straight (not skinny), which creates a subtle jodhpur effect that is completely thrown off its horse, (pun intended, Amelia, are you reading?), by the inclusion of a rock and roll belt.

If you are looking to start a conversation, I might suggest something more in line with this:

Sleeper jacket, Khaite pants (dif but same), Emme Parsons sandals

The jacket is too lightweight to actually wear as a jacket — it functions better as a durable top, and the pants are leather, nice and snug and warm. Just like a shoe that fully exposes the foot! The weight of the complete look makes sense because the jacket exposes enough of my neck to catch all those toes free balling it, but the pants also cover enough of my foot in the shoe to counter the sleeves and all. Plus, the back strap of the shoe serves as a sort of end mark.

To zoom out more broadly on what you can do in the way of accessories, there is always an invitation to introduce your sandals to your socks.

Flore Flore shirt (I like this boat neck in brown and the same shape as shown in khaki too), Khaite skirt (more sizes for you here), I can’t remember who makes these socks but Comme Si would be a good comp, Doen sandals (these from Satuad in brown satin here and black suede here could be a good alt), Savette bag

Lately, I have been really into casual white socks styled with formal shoes, as demonstrated here with the satin sandals. It’s fun to think that such a small area on the look could be the main event, with the actual clothes serving as an accent but that’s kind of what’s happening — legs out but in c/o the skirt and deliberately paired with a grey cotton long sleeve tee.

Easy, more obvious renderings that deserve air time

No sectioning-off in particular for these, but they fall into the category of liminal weather appropriate, so I’m dropping them in just in case they stretch your creative hamstrings and give you an idea of some way to wear things you have crumpled up in the back of your closet.

This first is a denim jacket as a shirt with wool pants:

Khaite jean jacket (old, but the two designer variations I like now out now are this one from Toteme and this one from Acne), Maria McManus pants, Renate Jacob wedge heels; I really like the Amina Muaddi ones (white here, black patent here) too

I also can’t recommend these Damernes Magasin clip/pin/necklace rosettes enough. They do so much what with their status as pin, clip and necklace.

I have been wearing the hell out of the red one, which adds such a lovely accent to most neutral-colored looks, but these black and ivory ones do a good job too of adding dynamism, or softness to a look that might need it. And grey flannel is basically the winter equivalent of denim — pretty durable, it goes with everything, is a neutral, can be casual or not, and it pairs well (in a contrast-y way) with fancy jewelry, which you’ll see in a scroll.

Damernes Magasin floral pins and earrings (three alts here), Delarge sunglasses, and in case you are wondering, the lipstick is Chanel; I think this is the closest color

See? The earrings are what I’m classifying as fancy. (The sunglasses pick up the jacket and pants to set the full vibe.) Before we move on, let me just add one more thing re: the gray flannel, which really gets to shine as a contrarian accent when paired with open-foot sandals:

That’s it, that’s all I wanted to add. Up next: not as obvious, but inspired by a look I saw from the brand Willy Chavarria via Jalil Johnson.

Damernes Magasin rosette, Wardrobe.nyc blazer, LMND shirt (the color is “toffee”), Dries van Noten shorts (they’re men’s), Tibi flip flops

Next: If you feel like wearing boots already because you can’t contain yourself (I get it), this is also pretty much the only time of year (between the hours of like 12 and 5 p.m., in direct sunlight, that you can swing a tank top with the whole:

Flore Flore tank top, Paco Rabanne track pants, Khaite boots

And finally, for whatever reason, this next and last one is my favorite of the loot:

Oliver Peoples sunglasses, LMND shirt, The Row ‘Bapri’ pants, I still don’t know who makes these socks, Cariuma sneakers and a regular tote, prob from Lands’ End or LL Bean

Black button down featuring white buttons, with cropped pants of a similar fabric (but finer), and socks pulled up to my shins with the same color tennis shoes, plus a giant tote bag to offset the fancy earrings in my lobes and the silver jewelry on my wrist. This one is definitely practical, but the red lipstick and jewelry give it some flair, while the tote bag that offsets the fanciness affords it a rough edge that makes it feel more like a fashion look than just a reg upper east side mom hauling her shit-look.

Elsa Peretti’s Tiffany bone cuff (or is it Tiffany’s Elsa Peretti bone cuff?; either way it looks like the cuff retains pretty solid value, so if you are after it, may be worth getting new) styled with a white gold ring from my family’s co., Mark Henry. And I guess I’m ready for white tennis shoes again (you can get 20% off using that link).

Or at least this is the story I tell myself.

See you at Friday’s Letter of Rec…,

Leandra