Grey Area

My favorite thing about writing under the Midimalist banner, is that Midimalism can mean so many different things. I’m MID in my budget (mixing high and low and leaning heavily on the brands that fall in-between). My approach to color and pattern lands somewhere between “none” and “all out.”1 Recently Winston Jones wrote about his take of Midimalism as a way to balance the amount of sartorial effort we are giving. Please read this whole thing for major outfit inspo but I especially loved this part; ““Mid” for me equates to balanced. Cohesive. Understated. Ease. “Mid” outfits let you know “hey, I’m into fashion but I’m not pretentious about it either”.”

Anyways, I’m always recalibrating how the Midimal moniker is manifesting in different seasons and, lately, I’m feeling myself drawn to a certain warmth that feels like it will be my Midimalism for fall.

Listen, I know that it’s not fall; not astronomically (that would be September 22) and definitely not in weather. The fashion world loves to shove us along into the next season (read my friend, Sogole Kane’s, brilliant thoughts on this here). BUT the pieces I’m gravitating towards do feel apropos of fall so be patient with me as we talk about it.

Summer has seen me swinging between all-white outfits, all-black outfits and a whole lot of color-blocking. But as I think about fall I find myself drawn to warm, low-contrast neutrals and interest through strategic pattern and color. Without fully talking about fall, here’s where my head is at for NOW and LATER (later being when the weather cools). By the way, always listen to what your gut is drawn to because, seriously, who cares whether or not it’s trending.

The four things I’m leaning on and seeking out to get there AND how I’m actually wearing them.

In mid-summer one of my favorite brands, Vir Vita, ran a sale where I spotted this striped long-sleeve. With no need for a long-sleeve shirt when temps are 90F+, I couldn’t explain why I was so compelled to purchase but it has certainly paid off. The striped shirt has been a surprising hit with BORE (not Boring).

TIP: Boatneck tops automatically allow for the collar of your undershirt to show.

Don’t just take my word for it; Net styled this boatneck with a tank underneath. (PS- ages ago I wrote about taking styling notes from Net and the tip still stands)

I think stripes read clean and are less intimidating than other patterns, but still considered and visually interesting.

NOW: I’m enjoying wearing it with the sleeves pushed up or as a third piece tied around my waist. LATER: I can’t wait to layer it under a knit with the cuffs showing or tie under a blazer like so.

While we are at it, look how great a third piece under a blazer is!

Other great boatneck stripes that have crossed my path (low/high options) in my paywalled footnotes.

Summer has been the perfect time to play with color and it was one of my summer pillars this year but I’ve been feeling pulled back to the foundations of neutrals with a simple pop of color2. Some days that color is coming from the striped tee above but I love a good colorful accessory.

At the start of the year I was really drawn to a bright cobalt blue and I still carry my blue clutch weekly (you can read more about that here). But I’m also in the mood to expand to other small bags or clutches that can act as my colorful addition.

Reva has me lusting after cyan;

fana has me searching the internet for greyish-blue bags,

I’m not ruling out the hot girl on the block right now (purple) and Liffner could convince me with every color of this clutch.

Specific colors tend to get really popular (like those above) but it can be very intimidating (for me) to figure out how to wear a new color, so I always go for an accessory in that color as a jumping off point. (My tip for finding second-hand bags behind the paywalled footnotes).

A good colorful accessory does all the work which means you can ask whatever you want from your outfit now and later. If color isn’t your thing may I suggest this great makeup bag that I bought because boy, oh boy, does it have great clutch potential (under $40).

These next two items go hand-in-hand and, together, say a lot about where I’m landing visually. I’ve written before about my penchant for low-contrast outfits (seriously read this, it’s still something I think about daily) and I’m seeking out grey tops and greige denim as my low-contrast heros.

If that sounds familiar it’s because, I realized, I wrote about my fixation on swapping white shirts for grey shirts (HERE) and this not quite beige, not quite grey color of denim (HERE). In both cases, I’m drawn to a warm neutral that is just slightly less expected. And choosing brown denim vs. blue and grey shirts instead of white, creates lovely, low-contrast looks.

As I was working on this post, I got the following email from Kick Pleat (a great boutique based out of Texas) and the phrase GREY AREA: SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SEASONS felt especially relevant.

So perhaps we’re on to something here.

And given what I mentioned above about the collective love of a variety of colors, both grey and brown play really nicely with colors. Again, I find that when I’m feeling intimidated by a new color; mentally pairing it with grey or brown instantly reduces that feeling.3 4

Grey shirts…wear them now with the colors of summer.

Layer later with the textures of fall;

This shirt is making its rounds on Substack because I think a lot of people find it comfortable with thoughtful details (FWIW it’s not gifted and I don’t know that the brand does much gifting, just genuinely a well liked top). If I didn’t already own it in white, this is the shirt I’d buy in grey. The dolphin hem is really flattering and I love that the sleeves are 3/4 length. (I sized up to a medium to make sure it covered enough of my stomach).

And a moment for greige/brown denim. Recently, I was determined to find a local store where I could try out designer denim (more on that in the future) and happened upon this pair of greige denim which became my holy grail. And look how great they paired with a vibrant yellow sweater that I tried on for research purposes only. The pants also looked great with the rich purple tube top I was wearing that day. While neither of these came home with me, the jeans have haunted me ever since because I think the color is perfect.

I’m pretty convinced that greige denim will be the answer to my denim hang up because they don’t style like jeans; the color alone makes them more interesting. For my paid subs, below the paywall, a pair that has a similar color to the Khaite but at half the price. Alternatively, I have worn this style for years and am thrilled to see it offered in a slightly darker brown. Or this new-to-me brand that has a great looking brown denim but an equally tempting brown denim jacket.

So that’s where my head is at… just leaning into whatever my gut is pulling me toward in this sartorial grey area.

I can’t recall when or how I first saw my latest fixation but allow me to introduce you to my latest content creator crush. Daniel Schmidt is a Copenhagen based creator who has been inspiring me all summer long with his outfits.

I kicked off the summer with my Shorts Formula newsletter which suggests pairing shorts with long sleeves and flip flops. Daniel does a lot of repeating button downs, trouser shorts and Havianas flip flops. Sometimes he layers under the button down or throws a sweater over his shoulders. He plays with color and throws on great beaded necklaces.

I’m not just channeling Daniel’s outfits, but also how clear his uniform feels without ever feeling boring.

And, just in case we want cooler weather inspiration, a few photos of Daniel’s fall outfits I dug up;

PS- I love that this newsletter recommended two men who give me serious outfit inspiration!

Behind the paywall are FOOTNOTES, tips and links from the post! I really wanted to be able to offer something to my paid readers every week without taking the bulk of the content away from free subscribers. A huge thank you to my paid subs for supporting my work in this way!