My 3 Most Worn Outfits This Summer

Items that go the distance (and a chicken recipe because why not)

Greetings from almost the end of the summer holidays! I had high hopes (I even shared them here) of doing plenty of adventurous things like going to a local Lido (alas, it rained, so we went to Leyton Leisure Centre instead - which, by the way is amazing for small kids, and was coincidentally cheaper than the Lido), finding that Kusama Pumpkin (maybe we’ll go in Autumn!), and Notting Hill Carnival (we talked ourselves out of it with station closures and our kids rarely staying close in busy public spaces - there’s always next year, right?!). It’s easy to think that everyone on social media is doing all the things but most of us are just treading water.

I did manage to get to the Ernest Cole: House of Bondage exhibition at The Photographer’s Gallery in Soho, London (on until 22nd September 2024), documenting South Africa’s Apartheid and how it infiltrated every aspect of living. The photos had to be smuggled out to be published for the world to see and became a true insight into Apartheid politics for many at the time.

It was beautifully and sensitively captured, not an easy viewing but a must if you are in town with spare time. Tickets £8 (£5 concessions and free on Fridays after 5pm).

My 3 most worn outfits in August:

1. Different variations of comfy trousers and a tee.

I have down days, too, and this is what I generally wear to head to the shops, hang with friends on a weekend or just need to do admin at home and don’t want to ‘dirty’ anything fancy that I don’t need to!

The trousers are usually Cos culottes (righthand pic) or Whistles drawstring super lightweight cropped trousers and the tees are a mixture of stripes, logos and oversized loose tops.

Btw, affiliate links will now be marked * so you know what is what!

Clockwise from Top Left:

Sezane tee (old), Whistles trousers (old, these* look very similar), Ace & Prince bag (currently sold out).

Aylin Koenig top (bought secondhand), Cos culottes (finally back in stock in black here*).

Vintage denim jacket from Beyond Retro, stripe Arket top (secondhand via Thrift+).

Uniqlo* (low stock) linen and cotton mix trousers (from last year), stripe Arket top (secondhand via Thrift+). Pirate’s hat courtesy of my son.

2. A sweater vest

A great extra layer over a tee/dress/shirt and a real year-round item. I’ve found the red one great for adding a hint of colour to a plain outfit:

Clockwise from Top Left:

Damson Madder red vest (AD/PR product), Albaray also has a lovely one, I like that this has buttons so doesn’t feel as permanent. Tee: Uniqlo Airism*.
Jeans: Free People*. Bag: Sezane (last year). Sandals: Balenciaga (I was thinking these were 10 years old but I forget I’m now 41 so it’s more likely these are around 16 years old).

Beige vest: Sezane* few sizes left (AD/PR product). Maxi skirt: M&S (similar here*) (from a few months ago, shared on my newsletter first!).

Check dress: M&S (from last year), red vest as above. Bag: Radley (AD/PR product), Shoes: John Lewis (last year) (Similar here*).

Tee: Uniqlo (as before). Skirt: M&S (from last year). Sandals: Arizona Love* via The Outnet (3 years ago). Bag: Manebi via TKMaxx (part of a paid campaign earlier this year).

A bright vest can brighten up a plain outfit and a plainer vest can do the opposite, case in point:

And here is me wearing the red vest at The Clink Museum, London (the museum is as low budget as this photo with fake moans of prisoners and severed heads (thankfully fake) on pikes, but didn’t hate it).

I think this photo sums up the wonderful calibre of our summer holidays, tbh

3. An easy black dress

Between this (old, Zara) one and my Uniqlo* black t-shirt dress, that was August sorted. I don’t envisage anything new entering my repertoire for a while. I haven’t bought any clothes in August, it’s always a weird torn feeling of wanting to bring my winter clothes down and iron all the kids school uniform and never wanting summer to end. I adore wearing just one thing, which is why I opt for a dress at most opportunities over the summer if I can.

Zara dress (last year). Teva sandals.

Same dress worn with Flabelus flats.

And lastly, I leave you with an incredible chicken recipe I picked up at a recent Habitat dinner, courtesy of Andi Oliver.

Andi and daughter, Miquita, have collaborated with Habitat and this recipe was created using the iconic Chicken Brick* (originally designed in the 1960s, but has been reimagined for today). You don’t have to use a chicken brick (but by all means bring it out if you have one!). I’m going to use a pot I already have because the seasoning was amongst the greatest I have tasted!):

Next week for Paid Subscribers, I will be writing all about Personal Style, honing it over time, how I think about trends and the new season (spoiler: I don’t). In the meantime here’s Kurt Cobain serving up some A/W inspo:

Credit: Vogue