I’m bringing back the monthly recaps! I’ve missed doing these posts. 🙂
At the end of each month, I gather up my outfit snapshots and I look for common themes. This simple practice gives me a chance to notice what’s working and what’s not in my wardrobe (and often by extension, my mindset).
Try your own style journal practice: Snap photos of your outfits as often as you can in August, then take a few moments at the end of the month to review them. Jot down some common threads you see, like what’s working, what’s not, and how you’re feeling.
Keep scrolling to see 14 of my favorite looks from this month, and to hear 5 of my key style observations. Since it’s been a while, this one gets pretty long and personal.
1 | My clothes are helping me find acceptance and joy in my current “in-between” stage of life.
I’m in what I’d call an in-between stage of life. (I mean, really, aren’t we always?)
I haven’t shared this yet, but about two years ago, my 10-year marriage unexpectedly and abruptly ended. Over these past couple of years, I’ve been holding myself gently, giving myself time and space to grieve.
Little by little, I’m releasing my white-knuckle grip on my past life, but I haven’t quite found my footing in my new life yet. That’s okay. The task right now is simply finding acceptance and joy in the present.
And this may seem trite, but one thing that’s really helped is the simple act of connecting what I wear to my actual life. Letting go of any kind of fantasy dressing, and instead matching my clothes to my day-to-day life activities, my city, and the people in my life. That way, when I see myself, when I move throughout my day, it makes sense to me.
It’s a small practice that helps me feel grounded and present in my life — I don’t want to miss it.
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2 | I’m continuing with my theme of 2024: Not editing myself.
It’s been so fun to observe what happens naturally when I don’t try to edit myself or my style.
This is a theme of mine in 2024 — not editing myself. I’m releasing “how things should be” or “how past-me would do it” or “how [insert style icon here] would do things.”
Instead, I’m meandering over to whatever strikes my curiosity, whatever feels good in the moment.
I want to get to know me again, and that means having the freedom to explore — whether that means exploring facets of something familiar in a deeper way *or* exploring something entirely new.
In the spring that was a lot of bright color, pattern mixing, and cheeky little touches. (For the record, this is WAY outside of my usual style.)
And now, in summer it’s a lot of neutral palettes, clean lines, and little-to-no embellishments. (Which is perfectly in line with my usual style.)
I’m looking forward to fall with a whole lot of curiosity. 🙂
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3 | I’m feeling so at home with my summer style that I almost don’t even notice what’s happening in the larger fashion world.
Summer is my favorite season to get dressed. It’s a time when I’m so clear on what I want to wear that I almost don’t even notice what’s happening in the larger fashion world.
This will inevitably change in the fall, but for now, I’m just happily staying in my lane. Honestly, it feels SO GOOD.
Currently on repeat? My typical anklet, Nike Tempo running shorts, Birkenstock Arizonas, flip flops, and this gorgeous strappy back top from Reformation.
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4 | The color of summer: black.
I wore a ton of black this month, which was welcome because I pretty much shunned wearing black all winter and spring. In fact, I was a little nervous this was going to become a permanent change, but I’m happy to see black is back.
Wearing black in the summer is so practical where I live in Texas because the SWEAT factor is REAL. And since black doesn’t show sweat, it’s a win.
This month, I gravitated towards linen trousers, maxi dresses, tees, and mini dresses — all in black.
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5 | I’m still pinching myself over the launch of my styling services!
For a very long time, I’ve wanted to move my career in a direction that felt more service based. After working with referral clients quietly, I finally felt ready to open up my styling services to everyone this summer, and it’s been a complete JOY.
To everyone who has booked a styling session with me this month, I just want to hug you and say thank you. I’ve loved these face-to-face interactions and getting to know your stories.
One client, Kysa, recently shared:
“It was such a light, fun, uplifting hour. I felt like Caroline totally understood what I needed from my clothes and what I was trying to achieve with my style moving forward. She had ideas I’d not considered before, but as soon as she gave me a suggestion, I could envision it right away and it felt like something I could actually see myself wearing and loving. I got so much out of this call. Not only did I leave armed with a bunch of ideas to get more utilization out of the clothes I’ve already invested in — which will translate to saving time, energy, and money in the future — I also left feeling encouraged and excited.”Â
And there’s so much more to come! I’m working on adding two more styling services: the closet clean out service, and the capsule service. Can’t wait to share them with you in the future! And in the meantime, book my regular styling session here.
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And in case you missed them, here are 4 of my favorite posts I wrote in July:
Backpack Room Only: A 10 item packing list for summer
I got influenced to try Merit — here are my thoughts
Hear me out — I think I just had a major breakthrough with my style
13 Athleisure picks from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (and they’re still on sale!)
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Thank you for reading Unfancy today. It means so much to me. Feel free to subscribe at the bottom of the page to keep up with my posts. You can also find me on Instagram too.
