August

August is still afternoons of blazing heat and the song of cicadas as I bring in sun dried sheets off the line. Autumn's change is around the corner, but it will be hot here until late October. The fiery heart of summer is now. 

Don't you love the effortlessness of  summer: air-dried hair pulled into a topknot, minimal make-up, sandals, and little jersey or linen dresses that feels cool and comfortable? It reminds me of summers spent in the Southern California of my youth, an natural and easy style that allowed any minute we might bike to the beach.   

I tap the Beach Boys on iTunes and pack a lunch, a colorful towel, and book in my bike basket and head to the lake-like pool at San Pedro Springs Park (the second oldest park in the U.S.) to get wet and read in the shade of ancient live oaks.  Even if you don't get wet, public pools are fun.

Dress Muse favorites for August?

Read books that feature cold climes:  In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the U.S.S. Jeannette by Hampton Sides is better than air conditioning!

Muscle shirts can be worn dressed with  black cropped cotton pants,  pretty sandals and delicate gold sculptural earrings to feel dressy and edgy at the same time. I've ordered several of them from Everlane.






Wear something distinctive like a necklace of Ghana beads.  A friend brought me back a string from her travels recently, but they can be found in fair trade shops and online. (I am scrupulous in buying products that are from other cultures from craftspeople who benefit
from it directly. Check out websites like  Global Mamas for fair trade beads).

Chop and steam fresh beets, dress them with  champagne vinegar, olive oil, and fresh dill and stick them in the fridge for a cool salad for dinner.

Love the new colored athletic or canvas shoes. I have a pair of aqua Supergas that I wear with rolled skinny jeans and one of the muscle tanks, or I wear them with skirts or tea dresses.

As summer wears on, I am moving away from summer raspberry and coral lip balms to more neutral (for me) shades of terra cotta and caramel.




Leo is my favorite astrological sign: Aren't we just the best?