How to Style Black in the Summer

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I am a person who loves color. Lots and lots of color and texture, shiny things, fringey things, all kinds of things. If I need a neutral, I usually go for navy or army green. But in the summer, weirdly, wearing black feels right.

In the fall and winter it feels too severe, that’s when I lean hardest into color. But in the summer, with a tan, with burning hot sun on your skin—I don’t know, it feels so good and fun and correct! Maybe part of it is having a little bit of a tan (the forbidden joy!) and that black looks best against warmth—maybe it’s too severe because I’m too pale—but black in the summer is unexpected, and I think I’m over-intellectualizing something that’s actually pretty shallow: black is sexy, and in the summer I feel sexy (in my way), and so I feel hot and gorgeous wearing black.

Here’s how I do it so that it doesn’t feel too heavy. I also put together a little edit of pieces that fit this vibe on EarlURL.com. I didn’t give too many shoping picks here, so you can find them there!

Ok now here we go.

Ignore the awful bra I’m wearing on the left, but the sexiest thing ever is something sheer and black. And in the summer it doesn’t feel try-hard or like a stretch, it feels appropriate. The gauzy weight matches the heat of the day, but the black contrasts, and together it makes the most perfect mix.

On the left, I’mw wearing the most beautiful tunic from Chan Luu with these gorgeous round silver sequins. The pants are Donni, and are also sheer. I like how the two of them hint at what’s underneath without actually revealing much. And when they overlap become completely opaque. And I’m wearing these insane Christen heels the whole time because I love them SO MUCH.

On the right, the top is just a wide swath of sheer navy fabric (I mean, it’s a silk organza stole, but it’s so much more!) that I’ve pinned up to be a top. I did a video showing how on Instagram. And yes, it’s navy, but the pants are black (mine are very old but I love these). The sheerness of the top looks very formal, but with black cropped trousers and these weird little shoes it tones it all down and stays interesting. The contrast of sheer and opaque is really nice.

Normally I don’t like wearing color with black, I don’t like the idea of a “pop of color”, but in the summer, when everything is so bright and vivid, anchoring color with black makes it feel brighter but also anchored in something more graphic. I don’t want to feel too floaty or breezy and black keeps that from happening. Maybe it’s a “pop of black” rather than a pop of color.

On the left, these are the same Donni pants as before (you can see the sheerness a little better here) and I love how they look with this yellow-y tan shirt, and my insane Puppets & Puppets sparkly banana bag.

Meanwhile this Pucci shirt is one I can’t stop wearing - I love the colors, love the pattern, and I love how it looks with these black bike shorts. These are the longer version of these shorts. It’s very 80s, very LA Story, and I like it very much.

If I’m going head to toe in black, I also like to mix the textures with something that’s summery (crochet or poplin) and something a little more solid (the light wool of the Rohe skirt and the nylon of the Sacai one).

This Maria McManus crochet tank is one I loved but initially wasn’t sure how much I’d actually wear. I’m wearing it here with a nude bra, which doesn’t look as good as a black bralette (but I couldn’t find mine), but I love the texture of this, and how it’s obviously open but doesn’t seem too revealing. I also like the contrast of how beachy it is with the formality of the pleated school-girl style skirt (try this one or this from Uniqlo in chiffon).

On the right, I love the big oversized black button down in a classic, crisp poplin, and how it highlights the sheen and sportyness of the skirt. The shirt makes it feel light and relaxed (especially with tan forearms…eek!), and even though the silhouette is kind of traditional and staid (button down shirt and midi skirt) it feels cool and interesting because it’s all black, because of the texture mix, and because of the open toe shoes.

That’s it!