What's A Witch To Wear In The Summer?!

Summer can be a glorious time of year for those who love bright colors, endless tans, and as little amount of clothing as possible. It can be a literal Hell for those who live in black and feel naked without the regulated J.Crew third layer, be it cardigan or statement scarf. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that we here at The Attic fall into the latter category. For the first in a monthly fashion feature, I'm reminded of a question posed to Olivia a couple of years ago, how to get through “the warm weather struggle of the girl who prefers emerald and oxblood...” In order to provide some guidance for all of us currently dealing with warmer weather, I've posed my fellow ladies the question, “What does summer dressing mean to you?” You'll find that a love for the all-black wardrobe dies hard around here, but a witch is nothing if not changeable.

Amy

In my teenage years you would be hard pressed to find a colour other than black in my wardrobe. There would have been varying shades of grey jeans and perhaps some dark purple stripes on black clothing, but anything a little lighter would absolutely be in the form of a band t-shirt. All of this has changed. Ever since my mother bought me a bright pink skirt when I was 19 because ‘all of [my] clothing was too dark’, I have been transforming my look after a long, hard evaluation of whether my clothes matched my personality and who I intrinsically am.

So now I wear a lot of white, cream, and pale pink mixed with darker colours, normally in the form of a light top and a dark skirt. I have floral dresses, though these are often darker. Admittedly my go-to summer dress is of royal purple jersey, but I purchased an adorable white linen dress this year with the intention of no longer melting in hot weather. I’m not saying you should change your aesthetic to match the season, but perhaps being open to the possibility that it can change is Not A Bad Thing.

Olivia

Once upon a time, I used to love wearing black in summer. Black was my aesthetic, and I didn’t see why I should change it just because the sun came out. In fact, this month’s “struggle of the girl who prefers emerald and oxblood” came from a message I received in my more active tumblr days, when I never put my witchiness aside. These days though, I’ve mellowed out and I get a bit more Glinda in the summertime. Pale pinks have started making their way into my wardrobe, and I love my fair share of white lace and eyelet.

In fact, you won’t find much black in my summer wardrobe – save for one ruffled, Swiss dot skirt. Navy is my summer basic, but there’s also no hiding from the fact that I still find comfort in shades of emerald in the summer months. I have a tassled, emerald jumpsuit, a sleeveless, eyelet shirtdress, and a custom-made, Grecian-inspired maxi dress, and all three are frequent summer go-to’s.

Lee

I used to be someone who would only wear black. Year round. So much so that a friend of a friend saw a photo of me and said friend, and asked if we were goth in high school. We weren’t (we were theatre nerds though but that’s another story). As I’m writing this, it’s raining heavily outside my window so I’m appropriately dressed in black.

However, in summertime these days, when it isn’t raining, I’ve found myself wearing much more color. Blues have started creeping in, and I love an all-white summer look. I’m also in love with anything striped, gingham, or Swiss dot. Seriously, my Swiss dot love is out of control. It’s oh so hot here on the East Coast so my summer look has evolved. Like Olivia, I’m more Glinda these days with my dressing, and I save my all-black Elphaba looks for autumn and winter. My deadly eyebrows, however, are year round.

Rory

I am still the person who doesn’t care much, and keeps wearing black. I tend not to go for total black of course, because that would be suicide – so light jeans take the place of dark ones. However, that does not mean that I only wear black; it remains a staple for me because I like it and, honestly, if you sweat a bit, it is much less noticeable on black. I do introduce some bright reds and greens, and I sometimes accessorize with turquoise earrings to additionally enliven an outfit.

The important thing for me is that every colour has to be bright, no pastels – otherwise I’ll look like a corpse. Makeup is also very important to me (obviously!), so when I wear black, I also wear either a lighter shade of lipstick (a rose that has a bit of maroon in it is my current to go) or, if the mood strikes me, a red that is brighter and has blue undertones. In short, yes to black for me but mixed with bright colours and lighter fabrics – and I am ready to go!

Raquel

In case I haven't mentioned it a million times, I'm from Southern California, so, “moody girl struggles with the heat” is a look I've got down. I gravitate towards as little makeup as possible, either focusing on a statement lip or glowing blush look, and try to embrace my hair’s natural texture with smoothing oils and loads of dry shampoo. When it comes to clothing I find that the color doesn't matter as much as the fabric. Do me a favor, and if you take nothing else from this know that in the summer, more than any other time of year, natural textiles are your best friend.

Around the house, I live in slip dresses and my current go-to is a black midi-length brushed silk number that I'll also sometimes wear out, with and without additional layers. I've got a few floral slip-type dresses (lined for modesty’s sake) that are natural textile based, whose color scheme is muted, but bright enough that I can hide behind the dress should I feel like wearing my hair in a top knot and forgetting to do my face. Finally, white cotton and linen. I have, over the years, amassed a small collection of little white dresses, which only appear in the summertime, and with the right hair and heeled sandal, I don't feel any less powerful than in winter, wearing all black and my favorite ankle boots.

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