June Vibes (continued)

I don’t usually write two posts for my monthly Vibes series but my birthday month has been seriously delivering.

With our trip to NYC (my first time back in almost a decade), my family baby shower, and exciting work projects all quickly approaching, I’ve been spending a lot of time going through my camera roll, current outfits, and Pinterest boards. I’ve also been shopping quite a bit thanks to my ever growing baby bump even though none of it is maternity.

It’s all been so creatively inspiring that I thought I would return for a June Vibes (continued) post. You can read the first June Vibes here.

Current Outfits I Love:

Summer is here and it’s been fun to see how my wardrobe is shaping up. I’m a bit all over the place, jumping daily between minimalism and maximalism, but the vibe is definitely “art mom”. It’s an archetype that I built for myself back in 2017 when first time motherhood crushed any and all sense of my personal style. It captures my pre-kids preference for loose and bohemian but adds a quiet practicality needed for life with littles. It’s taken me years to realize how much I rely on the formula to shape my wardrobe and ever since I started talking about it online, my Instagram has exploded.

The through line in my art mom outfits: everything feels a little funky and is beyond comfortable. Just the way I like it.

Also sharing my birthday outfits as I have a simple strategy for birthday looks as well: I always wear my current favorite pieces of my wardrobe so I feel my absolute best (they are almost always not new so that I feel inherently me). In my day to day life, I don’t typically wear all my favorite pieces at the same time, but on my birthday I do. And it always unlocks a fresh new outfit, like this year’s color pairing of orange and lime.

It’s a strategy that never disappoints. 10/10 recommend.

Birthday Outfits:

Like I mentioned, I’ve been shopping quite a bit. Not keeping a lot, but ordering big hauls and seeing what works/what doesn’t. It’s very tricky to gauge my size when I’m growing a human so there’s a lot of trial and error in shopping during this stage. Honestly it’s all been a bit exhausting (the UPS store in my area knows me well) so I was absolutely thrilled when I found two new dresses on my recent trip to Northern Michigan.

One dress is from a Danish brand I love but rarely can find in person: Skall Studio. This was one of those finds that I absolutely didn’t need, but couldn't pass up because of how much use I will get out of it. It’s a season-less stripe that can be styled countless ways throughout the year. It’s also now very much on sale. Size down 2x. I’m in a my normal size 34 and I’m 5’4 and 7 months pregnant.

The other dress was from a new-to-me brand Two New York. This second dress will be perfect for traipsing through New York City in the summer heat and transition well into my postpartum era in the Fall. It reads sort of navy in the photo but it’s black with grey stripes.

Both dresses were found at a boutique in Harbor Springs, called Huzza (hu-zah). Unfortunately they are completely offline: no website, no social media. I think it’s more indifference than exclusivity but thankfully you can shop both Skall and Two New York quite easily through their websites.

All the shopping in Northern Michigan got my wheels turning on a new mood board. I made this just because and it includes

• Recent purchases

  • This bucket bag

    • I do what Hillary Kerr says

  • My go to fisherman sandals

    • These shoes were the most asked about item by my friends when I saw everyone in Michigan

  • My new perfectly minimal black leather thongs

    • Run true to size and sold out most places for a reason…they are seriously so good

  • A simple pop of red (and bling) for my wrist

    • I fear the necklace version is amazing too

  • The best travel toiletries system I’ve ever had

    • Don’t skimp on the pouch either

• Wishlist items I’m eying

  • Love this dress for fall family photos or events

  • These simple red flip flops

• Items I’m going to buy

  • Plan to invest in some Juju Vera earrings while in New York

  • These tear drop earrings that work so well with my short hair

  • My favorite sun hat now in stripes

I also picked up Maggie O’Farrell’s new book Land and plan to start it in the next few days. I’ve also got Yesteryear and Dolly All the Time in my “to be read” pile. Side note: I just finished Into the Blue and I ultimately did not like it as much as I did 3/4 of the way in. The ending gets dark, manipulative and weird. Left me with an icky feeling.

More June Vibes:

And to round us out with a few inspiration shots that are living rent free in my head (and camera roll). These are mostly for styling and color pairings so I thought you’d find them useful!

Current Color Combo I Love:

Be back soon with the outfit formulas I relied on the most in Northern Michigan!

As always, thank you for clicking, buying, liking and subscribing. Please send to someone who you think would enjoy this content. I could use a little Substack love!

xx Kate