Summer Breeze

Aritzia kimono (similar)
Zara tank (similar)
One Teaspoon shorts
Aldo slides
Zara bag (similar)
Cuyana hat
Rayban sunglasses
Wolf Circus necklace
& Other Stories necklace (similar)
Leah Alexandra ring
Madewell rings
Location: 17 Vaughan Street – Winnipeg, Manitoba

When I (somewhat impulsively) ordered this kimono, this is the first outfit I envisioned creating with it. It’s been summer in Winnipeg since May, with temperatures approaching thirty degrees most days. I anticipated needing to find creative new ways to wear shorts through the long season. Pairing them with a kimono seemed positively revolutionary, at least at the time.

I love a good kimono. We’ve talked about that at least once this season already. But somehow, the kimono and shorts combination is one I have worn far less than I expected. Only once, in fact. Maybe the reality is that in summer weather, it just isn’t that practical to wear a long-sleeved garment on days that are hot enough to warrant shorts. Maybe it’s that once I put this outfit on, I realised that much like its winter counterpart – a long coat and miniskirt – this outfit leaves me looking quite naked from a lot of angles. Or maybe it’s just that, like some jokes sound better in my head, some outfits look better in my head than they do in reality.

I’ve enjoyed dressing for summer this year more than I have in the past several years. While I love warm weather, summer styles – and shorts, especially – have never been my thing. And I can admit that that is at least partly because I’ve spent so much of my life hating my legs. But even as I come to love and accept my body, perceived imperfections and all, in a more mature way as an adult, I feel like summer, the season of t-shirts and denim shorts, allows for less sartorial creativity than cooler months. I attempted to reclaim a little bit of the layering that is so easy in fall and winter for this look. And aesthetically, I feel like it really worked. I loved the way my kimono looked blowing in the breeze. But realistically, I’m not sure I would ever rewear this outfit.

Kimonos pair effortlessly with dresses and jeans. I’ve worn this one in countless other ways this season. And when it comes down to it, I think maybe I’m blaming my kimono for a problem that doesn’t really have anything to do with it at all. As much as I am learning to appreciate my body the way it is, rather than blaming it for what it can’t be, and no matter how much I love the summer, I still just don’t like shorts.