The SF -> PA Challenge: Harlequin

The day’s forecast: High in the low 60s. High in the mid 80s.

The weatherman didn’t get confused. This is a typical day for me. You see, I live in San Francisco where there is a year-round spring, and I work in Palo Alto, where normal seasons occur. Thus, getting dressed for work in the morning poses a special challenge in the summer: How do I dress so that I’m not cold in San Francisco, while also dressing so that I can spend time outside in Palo Alto and not overheat? Let it be noted, I do *not* like being overdressed in warm weather.

My inspiration for this particular day was the circus and harlequin clowns – brightly colored and highly textured, with a cropped pant of distinctive volume:

I toned it down a few notches (a lot of notches), but kept the billowy cropped pants and layered top half. Instead of distributing color throughout I concentrated it in pops of color here and there (earrings, tank top, sweater, shoes). Once back in SF, I went even more neutral (but still played with volume) to meet a friend at a bar. The linen pants were a key element to staying warm in cool weather and keeping cool in warm weather, while switching out the knit sweater for a more densely knit jacket kept me warm for the chilly night.

Linen pants – J. Crew / pink tank top – Woo / black tank top – BCBG / tan+orange sandals – Kenneth Cole / blue sweater – Anthropologie / black jacket – Banana Republic / black open-toe booties – Ambiance / leopard scarf – A|X Armani Exchange