Summer Edition: The Power of Neutrals

School is coming to a close and Summer is coming, so what are we expecting to see on the streets from Rome to Melbourne? Read to get a glimpse.

Think hues of white pastels, creme, beige, tan, and brown with dashes of gold...

Sara Fox & Co.

It's all about (looking) natural. As winter ends, spring comes, and summer finally approaches, there has been a rising trend that even Urban Outfitters was eyeing, as their recent collection reveals (the store seems to have tried to copy everything they saw on Instagram and replace good quality fabrics with polyester/synthetics, but that's for another time).

Photo by Faris Jewelry

Gold Accessories

Along with this neutral trend came the comeback of the classic gold hoop earrings. Though the clothes may be neutrals, they are completed by vintage, versatile gold accessories, such as a gold Virgin Mary necklace, a gold coin pendant, or gold earrings, such as hoops.

Thick, thin, small, big, different metals and even different shapes, they are the ultimate match with neutrals and warm tones.

Beige, Brown, and Gold: a Godly combination, as Nanin shows here. The warm tones and hint of gold combine perfectly so as to appear humble yet sexy, simple yet stylish. Also her caption describes how she got that pendant in Mexico, meaning she probably didn’t spend a 100 dollars, as you would on a boutique like Bagatiba, but closer to a 100 pesos (20 pesos = 1 dollar)…

The Rattan Purse

Photo from CollageVintage

You’ve started to see it in boutiques, and it continues to be very cute. Rattan purses are originally from very tropical areas (think Bali) so naturally this purse provides a very summer feel to a future outfit. These bags pair perfectly with cotton/linen outfits, as seen in he photo with the yellow linen pants. As they always have been, Cottons and Linens are the staple fabrics of summer. And as we saw before, warm neutrals like brown pair well with gold, as well as white and yellow.

• Also, scarf trend: If you have long hair, you can make a ponytail and then tie a scarf around the base (to get a look shown in the photo). In a practical sense and for a western look, you could tie the scarf around your neck to help prevent sunburn and absorb what sweat may be occurring under summer heat.

(Cute Aussie store: Call Me By the Breeze)

+ The Button-Up Blouse; a must-have classic piece that is effortlessly classy and sexy while playing on the sensation of masculinity with femininity: I

+ The Bamboo purse; can be bought from the source of this photo or Cult Gaia, but you could also just get it from amazon.

+ Love & Lemons has multiple pieces in that lemon print; Links to the pieces:

Skort, Crop top/front-tied bra,

Mini dress, and Off-the-shoulder mini dress.

So how did this style inspire me?

Basically,

I fell in love with the simplicity. The white, creme, yellow, orange, tan, beige, brown tones are versatile and the warm tones remind me of summer. Browsing so much online, I saw lots of things that I wanted to recreate, and so it got me to start sewing. This way, I am saving money and using better quality fabrics like cotton, linen, and silk (no polyester - not good in hot areas because it traps heat).

Love the style like I do? A couple of decently priced, super cute boutiques that carry this type of style are Mura Boutique and Runway Scout (both Australian).

Thanks for reading!

Best Wishes,

Solange

Other stores for Inspiration / to follow the trend (WARNING: As you go on browsing these stores, you will find that a bunch of these brands are overpriced/expensive.)

- Elia Vintage

- Faithful The Brand: also a good representation of this summer’s look and of what inspired Urban Outfitters to sort of copy from.

- Jeanne Damas