“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" - A Fashion x Weather Thread

[bingus_baby]

Today as I was walking home, I got rained on. A sad wet beast, if you will. And for the past two days I got so sweaty I looked as if I'd been rained on. I have never been a fashionable person, but this semester I thought I'd change that! Unfortunately, fashion is not practical where I live (a very hot place) and you'd be better off in a wife-beater tank top, basketball shorts, and sandals. I've been trying to walk to school since parking is horrible and it's better for my health, but I'm ready to go back on that since the weather is SO horrible, and I don't like being wet or stinky. Who likes the sweaty kid in class, after all? And neither do my new clothes that sport the "no wash, no handwashing, no dry, etc." laundry codes.

I know Melonland has a lot of alternative fashionistas, as well as people who walk places a lot! Y'all seemed like the perfect group to ask! (And much nicer than, say, Reddit.) How do you stay fashionable, despite the elements? And how do you stay dry? Every time I bring an umbrella to campus it's dry, but the second I forget it's wet. I literally checked the weather, and it changed right as class let out. What's the cheat code? Even when I do drive and have an umbrella, my cute shoes still get wet and my hair frizzes up. I can wear more practical shoes, but where's the fun in that? Practical clothes aren't as fun, and practical fixes on my cute outfits aren't enough.

It's just so frustrating that I finally got the courage to dress cute, and I'm beaten into submission by the elements. Maybe it wasn't meant to be! Back to flip flops and graphic tees? I'm just so tired of being scared and boring.

If you read all this, thank you. I'm very hungry and upset. I'll go get lunch. (In my car this time.)

[xixxii]

as a very very sweaty person who tends to run hot and hates summer time but loves putting on outfits, i can relate! (i love getting rained on, though, so only partially, haha!)

for me, something that's really helped with increasing the joy and whimsy in my life (and helped with summer outfits, which are harder than any other season for me!) is replacing everything boring with something cute or fun or interesting. (my cheese grater is a bright yellow plastic mouse and my measuring spoons are stored in a ceramic chicken and my kettle is bright pink!)
so, if all you can stand to wear is shorts and a tanktop, get fun shorts and fun tanktops! rather than trying to make cute clothes more practical, make your practical clothes cuter - paint, embroider, or otherwise modify what you can't replace!
i know changing styles can be really expensive and time-consuming; replacing everything takes a while! you have to find things you like that are in your size and are comfortable and don't fall apart immediately and etc etc etc... but doing small things that make clothes you find boring or plain bring you more joy is a great middle ground i think! if you're near anywhere that might sell a pack of 5 tanktops in the men's underwear section, you can try and experiment with dyes and other types of decoration.

umbrellawise, i have an umbrella that lives in the car and one that lives next to the front door; if you only have one umbrella, consider getting one (a cute one!) that is small and whose role is to Always be in your bag. never take it out of your bag. it's the bag umbrella. don't settle for a boring black one or whatever, also! get one that makes you smile. it'll do wonders for the mood and make a bit of a rain into a treat - you get to use your cute bag umbrella!
+ depending on your style and area and tolerance for potentially getting funny looks, a parasol can be a fun hot-weather accessory. (i know in some places it's not that unusual for people to carry umbrellas or parasols to keep the sun off them.)

accessorieswise, i recommend a big sunhat. they're practical for keeping the sun off you a little AND for hiding nasty hair situations while on the go, and since they're big you can do some customizing and decorating of the sunhat! what you might want to do of course depends on your style preferences, but you can do stuff like dangle earrings from them, add ribbons, put a flower crown on it, paint it, etc. a big black sunhat can be very chic or goth, a regular straw one is a bit more cute. i think they're better than baseball caps both for shelter from the sun and for fashion.

i think people who bike to/from work often bring workclothes with them and change when they arrive so they don't get their work clothes all sweaty; walking's a bit different, since you have to carry all the stuff yourself and probably don't have room for a whole outfit change, but packing a shirt to change into when you get to your class might be an option if being sweaty makes you feel anxious/uncomfortable! get to class a little early so you can duck into the bathroom to change into Fresh Non-Sweaty (& possibly cuter) Shirt.

i have a pretty unusual sense of personal style so i don't know how helpful this is... and i totally understand some styles unfortunately just don't lend themselves super well to summer (tanktops and t-shirts just don't really come off as goth, for example, even if they are black; a lolita coord can't be stuffed into a backpack for a quick change; etc) and that's unfortunate. maybe it can be an opportunity to experiment with styles you think are cute or interesting but wouldn't normally wear?