Summer is often a dreaded season for the spookily inclined. Bothersome humidity wrecking our hair, hateful sun turning black clothes into heat shrouds, and cities that feel like smog saunas. Ew. You don’t have to relinquish your dark style to survive this season! Here are some tips from previous articles and our own favorite ways to manage the hot weather and stay frilly and dark. 🙂

Opt for 100% cotton or cotton blend fabrics over poly/synthetic types. Cotton and other natural fibers breathe and allow air to reach your skin, even in dark shades these will feel cooler on than synthetics. Our “Sepia Damask” dress is made from a gorgeous patterned 100% cotton fabric for example, and the light shade will help keep you feeling cooler also. On really hot or humid days aim for looser fits, if more air can move around your body it’ll keep your temperature down. Gloomth’s “Trapeze” dress makes an adorable summer look!

We love bloomers worn as shorts on hot days! We have both long and short style bloomers, and even ones with a ruffly bum for fancier days. They look antiquated the doll-like and we love them even for casual outfits. Pair with your favorite loose top and platform sandals for a cute and casual style.

Carry a parasol when you have to be outside for any length of time! I love my waterproof reflective star print one, here’s a whole article we did on various parasols. Carrying one in the summer tucked in your purse means you’re ready if it rains or is too sunny. Keeps your skin from getting fried and it does feel cooler walking in shade than under the glaring sun directly.

Avoid the peal UV Index and heat hours if you can, plan to run errands or travel after the sun has passed the highest point of the day (late afternoon ideally). Most weather websites now have UV, humidex, and smog advisories on them which makes it easy to plan these things (or at least know what you’ll be facing on the way to work).

Sunscreen is great but you don’t need spf95 to avoid burns and sun damage. Sometimes the higher # sunscreens are thicker and absorb poorly so you’ll end up missing spots anyway, also the # on sunscreen doesn’t mean % of sun blocked. Spf45 blocks 98% of UV rays while Spf15 blocks 94% etc. These are obviously negligible differences so choose one that works for you and feels good on. I love spray on sunscreen for efficiency and I keep a little sample bottle of a specifically face type in my purse in the summer, that way I can retouch it throughout the day after sweating or after a few hours when it loses efficacy.

We hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe summer! We’re looking forward to doing some more summer-themed photoshoots while the weather is agreeable. 🙂

-Taeden