There is something in the air that seems to be making the conversation on what to wear feel like a drag these days.

Last week’s dispatch after all was basically an intellectualized fashion take on how to wear PJs. A few days later, I came across this instagram post from Allison Bornstein. The week earlier, Laura Reilly mentioned that she was already looking to fall for inspiration in her Magasin. On Sunday, Becky Malinsky published her newsletter echoing the same drag spun in her own way, and on the Friday prior, I wrote the below for publication today, with an intro that read something to do the effect of, “Does anyone else feel like they’ve been running at 100 mph with 4664728263727 tabs open on the browser of their mind but getting nowhere?”

All of these sentiments seem to underline a collective, lackadaisical feeling of stillness — a vibe standstill as opposed to shift that I’d like to think is rebranding the more popular turn of phrase, “stuckness.”

Because if nothing else, what this lull has shown me is that a dressing funk (or any suspension of inspiration, really) is not a creative death sentence so much as it is a period of chill calling itself in. A non-celestial retrograde to encourage your return to the tried and trues of your you-ness; to analyze, evaluate and to rediscover.

I have learned that it’s better to surrender to these things so here is one more take on the same blah, underscored by a uniform and cherry-on-topped by how to make it feel a little more special. But first:

The uniform template is: relaxed-fit straight-leg cotton pants or shorts (some with drawstring, others with an elastic waistband) and a button-down shirt that is only buttoned 1-2 buttons down the middle.

It’s not rocket science by any stretch of style but it is very easy. And the reason I think I keep coming back to it is because it’s also very easy to make it look (or at least feel) different every time I wear it depending on how I style around it.

For this one, I focused on the camel leather chord around my neck (which I have been wearing a lot this summer with flimsy outfits — defined as those with no clasps or zippers to anchor them in a city). I chose it here for the classic color pairing it makes against the light blue shirt and the material contrast it makes against the lightweight poplin.

And then because the necklace is kind of playful/not at all shiny or fancy, I went full mature woman with a gold watch (would be a gold chain bracelet if it were not this) and a small structured bag with glossy hardware.

Plus a little solitaire stone for my pinky.

Why it works: The shirt and pant pairing is universal enough to fashion into a look that can be conservative if that is necessary, but on the same note, it reveal sa laidback ease (layers of lightweight cotton together), rendered in classic colors (corporate blue and tan, like khaki!) that might make it work appropriate in an environment that is more formal than an office for creatives but still less formal than like, a bank.

I styled it with flip flops but a pair of soft loafers or fisherman shoes work too.

And then because the items are so straightforward, the jewelry really gets to take peacock and can carry the look into new vibe territory.

The one thing I’ll say is that the black flip flops and bag are a deliberate pairing to catch each other with mutual color but contrasting vibe (formal bag tying back to the watch and ring, laidback shoes tying back to the necklace, but rendered in the same color as each other) to create TOTAL COHESION. So that’s how the science of this one works.

On to what’s next: the same basic template — button down and drawstring straight leg bottom but this time, as shorts.

Another reason it works: if you want to get a little dressed up, you don’t actually have to change the template, you just put on a different pair of shoes. So I applied all the same jewelry principles —

With the chord around my neck (you can literally do this with a black shoelace, leftover wrapping, or get something from Etsy) that I clipped three charms into.

With this look in particular, the black chord was a conscious choice to anchor the look in a dark neutral around the bright blue and yellow. It’s also what ties back to the bag, which is soft and satin, so constitutionally similar to the chord as far as material.

The gold rings are a play on the shoes that add to the dose of femininity. I traded in the pants for the shorts because I love them but find that they’re not as easy to wear with flats (to the extent that they) look more interesting with a pair of heels. Something about them with the button down reads too Italian teenager at a beach resort. If there is such a thing

Why it works: This example is basically the first example recreated, but for a different environment — something you could wear out to dinner, or on a day to work when you…have a meeting? That seems to be what heels give to a laid back outfit. Where the shorts could have laid the look back further, the heels stepped in to break up all that laying around and that gave the rest of the accessories more free reign to control the look by creating this cool contrasting dynamic of the same balance of fabric to metal — chord (and satin) to gold.

Here, for example, is real footage from my walk to the subway station to get to Sky Ting for a yoga class last Thursday. It marked the third time that week I had worn this outfit, but was the first time I’d styled it with the turquoise silk bra (love this one too), which prior to this day, I had been wearing exclusively with its (the bra’s) matching bottom and a nightgown or sheer beach dress (to freak out my neighbors). My comments on how this works and why it works here are threefold and actually tie back to the tips above.

Fold 1 — the shoes. Shoe MVP of my summer wardrobe has been this pair of sandals from Jamie Haller (with a French pedicure to boot) but not actually because of the sandals so much as the reason they have come so in handy — I don’t think I appreciated how much I’ve been wearing in-between clothes (née “non-clothes”) and simultaneously how often I’ve been able to pass them off as real clothes because sandals with hardware (and a backstrap) look like Real Shoes.

They do the same thing the Gabriela Hearst ones do, but are also flimsy so they look chill when styled with something more formal (see: apron dress).

Whatever shoe falls into this category for you does not have to be as specific as Jamie’s — fishermens would do, or a structured ballet flat, even a comfort-first platform like this. Perhaps the exception to ensuring a back strap (which is like a period at the end of a soft outfit’s sentence) is a sandal with hardware like this.

Fold 2 — the jewelry. Another chord incorporated, but this time accompanied by a shell surrounded by tiny Lapis beads strung through a thread. One good thing about wearing an outfit that consists of no color is that it really gives you a chance to play with your jewelry.

Fold 3 — the bra. The most fun and unexpected hero of summer dressing I’ve encountered is styling with this one Dora Larsen set I’ve had for a few years. (Any set that’s not solid and neutral will do.)

This is a niche recommendation because not everyone wants (does anyone want?) to expose their intimates but the conceit behind it is a sense of humor, a secret you’re willing to reveal, but only in part.

It’s less aggressive with a button-down shirt (which you can leave as buttoned or unbuttoned as you want) and even if you opt for the fun bra but decide no one is allowed to see it but you, there’s an energy you carry that still emanates the kind of levity that might succeed in closing one of the 5632852684365127 tabs that were open on your brain’s browser to call it a lovely day.

That’s a wrap — here, here to running in place!

Signing off yours,

Leandra