HOW TO DRESS FOR NEITHER SUMMER NOR FALL

The long and layered formula: a first look at what made the cut after Charon's summer shopping trip.

Top image:  HERMAN Wool kaftan in mocha (on sale, fits large so size down), COS Fluid wool-voile straight leg trousers and THE ROW Alma raffia bag

Charon: I think I did a pretty good job packing for two adults and two kids, with the assumption we won’t touch base in retail-land for about a year: 4 suitcases (definitely had to pay for overweight) and 3 carry-ons stuffed past the point of standing upright. Still, not bad. Our Dutch summer came to an end last week, and I now finally have a wardrobe and some sort of overview again. I haven’t spent real time in front of my closet yet, but it’s this weather between 19 and 25 degrees that has me excited about getting dressed again. The quickest and strongest formula that seems to be coming out of my closet these days is the long and layered kind.

TOTEME striped tunic, TOTEME cotton silk PJ bottoms, KALLMEYER Cottage leather-trimmed canvas tote bag and CHRISTEN big bootie mule

Kaftans, tunics, whatever you want to call them. They earn their place on a scorching day, but they’re even better once the heat stops trying to kill you. The real case for them isn’t comfort. It’s that they work over trousers, which turns a beach piece into something you can actually get dressed in. That, and Rachel Zoe’s relentless (vintage) kaftan collection on RHOBH Season 15. Some influences you just have to accept.

HERMAN sand-washed double-dyed indigo linen kaftan, only available in black (on sale, size down) or in top version (on sale), or try LORO PIANA Lora linen shirt dress, KALLMEYER Cottage leather-trimmed canvas tote in red, REYÈM wide-fit pants (I wear a tall) and DEAR FRANCES Balla sock flat. Silver cuff bracelet is ELÍNA LANS, sunglasses are THISTLES ‘The Al’ black & black.

I've been wearing these two kaftans that I co-designed for Herman on repeat. Especially the wool mocha version is doing it for me. It's different but rich, and the fabric just falls right. When it's colder, I let a white long-sleeve peek out. It can literally be combined with a bunch of trousers in my wardrobe (gun to the head, I would go for the wide-leg Reyèm pants), but these COS half-sheer wool-voile trousers are giving it depth. To alter the length, I took out the hem (as mentioned before, COS or high street in general is 99% of the time too short on me), which is unfinished now, but that's exactly why it works.

Also 'voile,' and the reason why all my other footwear is currently on the substitutes' bench are these Dear Frances Balla sock flats. This new Balla model is more like an ankle sock, unlike the original ballerina. I never expected to be this comfortable in a shoe this flat, but it's honestly hard to take them off once you have them on.

DEAR FRANCES Balla sock flat, ELÍNA LANS silver cuff and THE ROW Alma raffia bag (in beige here)

Switching between bags on a day-to-day basis is a hassle, so I try to keep it to two in rotation: one for the office, one for everything else. When I was putting together my shop wishlist at the end of June in Everything I'm Buying This Summer, Pt.1, I was 1. looking for an office-to-beach tote and 2. still not sure about spending real money on raffia. It felt like a stretch for something so seasonal, or so I thought. Turns out its season runs longer than that. Who decided raffia was for summer only? So I pulled the trigger on The Row Alma raffia bag and never looked back. My wardrobe, clean, maybe borderline printless, is definitely benefiting from some structure. The Kallmeyer Cottage tote does just that, but with color. I bought it on the spot when it went up at Net-a-Porter. It's enormous, big enough to fit even my baby if it came to that, and the red canvas is nothing like what I'd normally reach for. But it gives the pop I'd been missing. I'm still leaving room for a slightly smaller leather version down the line.

Enormous KALLMEYER Cottage leather-trimmed canvas tote in red, also available in beige and black

The two-in-rotation rule also goes for my sunglasses. It eases my morning process and somehow makes me more creative with what I have. As said before, I love everything Thistles. It’s all I have in my accessories drawer right now. I’ve been wearing The Jack non-stop for about a year, but The Al, worn in all these images, is giving some wanted friction to a put-together look.

TOTEME cathered parachute jacket rock (also in black), HERMAN kaftan black linen (on sale, size down) also, have a look at the Kallmeyer Calla dress, RÓHE optic white signature Bruun baggy jeans and CHRISTEN hand crochet ballerina

I have been wearing this Toteme merino knit dress, which I got on sale, all Dutch summer. The success is definitely in the length of the sleeves (just like the Herman kaftans) and its length (it comes to my ankles). Now that I'm back in South Africa, it's been slightly too chilly to wear it as a solo dress, so I decided to pull it up a bit and layer it with voile trousers and sock flats. I wear it with a thin tracksuit jacket (this Toteme gathered parachute jacket is a very good buy) in the morning. The raffia bag is proving its structure argument here.

TOTEME merino knit dress (on sale), THE ROW Alma raffia bag, COS fluid wool-voile straight leg trousers, and DEAR FRANCES Balla sock flat. Silver cuff bracelet is ELÍNA LANS, sunglasses are THISTLES ‘The Al’ black & black.

This is one formula out of a closet still very much being sorted through. The rest has yet to make its case.

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