Sweatshirt Weather: Beating “Sumfall”

Now I know the lyrics to a famous (and annoying) song by The Neighbourhood is running through your head and you’re starting to question whether or not this title has a typo. Let’s be real; half the time, us college students are stumbling out of bed 10 minutes before class looking for an unstained sweatshirt from our high school days, not a fashion-forward sweater we got from H&M. Fall has finally knocked on our doors and forced us to pull out our lint-filled cardigans and our favorite boots (that we’ve worn for the past 3 years).

But not far behind her is her clingy sister Summer, who isn’t quite ready to let us go. She lets Fall have her moments, but on random afternoons she gets jealous and warns us to keep our sandals and t-shirts close by. After 3 years of living in Georgia I have evolved into a self-proclaimed expert on ‘sumfall’ (yes I just made up that word) and plan to share three of my tricks I like to put to use each year.

Rule #1: Layers

Nobody can be trusted, but especially not Georgia weather. We’ve all had those days where we decided to be cute and wear our favorite sweater because we heard it was going to be 60 degrees outside only to be hit by a heat wave and a class with no AC by 12 o’clock. The way to beat those unfortunate days is to layer, layer, layer!

For this first look I went for a denim on denim look with a cute baby yellow cross top (that is only $3!), all white Sk8-Hi Vans, a funky cross body bag and white shades. This is a very easy look to recreate and virtually impossible to mess up (I’d like to think we can all match denim with denim.) When it’s hot you, take off the jacket, When it’s cold you put on the jacket. Let’s move on to rule #2.

Rule #2: Pick a struggle

Let's say you’ve got these really cute jeans you want to wear, but it’s going to be hot later on in the day, plus you’ve got a really cute top you could pair it with, but it’s long sleeved and you don’t want to die of heat stroke. What do you do? Pick a struggle! This is just one of those times where you truly can’t have it all, unless of course you want to die a fashionable death. Now I’m not saying you can’t wear those cute jeans or that cute top. I’m just saying you can’t wear them together.

In this second look the cute top you love happens to be a monochrome striped bodysuit that’s strategically complimented by a lime green skort so you only risk sweating up top. I paired the ensemble with a practical rucksack (where you can store your fan), black Chelsea boots (for $30, that’s a steal, you’re welcome), your everyday solid scarf and a pair of plain white frilly socks that scream “innocent church girl.” If you’re not really into the pop of color you can swap the lime green out for your good-ole black or even a nice shade of plum.

The same rule of picking a struggle is applied to this third look. Your cute pair of jeans happen to not only be cropped but flared too. Everyone from Heidi Klum to Solange have been seen sporting the flare jean trend, so you’re feeling pretty good about yourself. Paired with the jeans are strap up sandals (that can and should be swapped out for flats if it’s still a little chilly) that complement the moss green on the cross body bag and the rosy print on the off-the-shoulder top. Once again, you only have to worry about sweating down low, but because your pants are flared you get that extra bit of breathing room too.

Rule #3: Stop Neglecting *insert item here*!

If you read that in your mom’s voice, you’re on the right track. We’ve all got that one dress, skirt, cardigan, top, or even hat we neglect season after season. Each year (hopefully) you do some spring cleaning and begin to throw away old camp shirts, school shirts, torn up socks and so on while that one dress you tell yourself time and time again you’ll get rid of lingers in the corner of your closet begging to be worn.

For me, that applies to just about every dress in my closet. You’ll catch me in a dress probably two times out of the year, the first time against my will and the second time self-inflicted. Sumfall comes around and I force myself to wear one dress I’ve shoved to the back of my closet, covered with other clothing and forgotten about all year long. For the most part I end up rather impressed with the looks I come up with and upset by the fact I didn’t think to do it sooner. So this your call to action. Grab that dress (or top/cardigan/hat/skirt) and put together a look you can sport before it’s too late and the vicious cycle begins again.

For this final look I tried to find an olive button up dress very similar to the one crying in my closet. After putting this look together I was very excited to sport this schoolgirl-esque outfit down the streets of Columbus. I paired the olive dress with all black oxford shoes and knee highs that keep you oh-so warm when it gets chilly. The red and gold toned earrings accent both the patches on the dress and the bangles while adding something fun to the overall look.

I’ve handed you my three major rules for mastering the art of ‘sumfall’, handle them with care and put them to use! If I catch any of you sweating bullets or catching a cold from not being weather ready… well I told you so.