Last Chance Summer Outfits: Linen Striped Skirt Print Mix

Earlier in the summer, I wrote about creating striped skirt outfits using a print mix that matches the neutrals in the print, focusing on this vertically striped linen skirt.

In that post, I found four navy and white horizontally striped tops from my closet that I could combine with my skirt to create a cute print mix. Leslie had commented that she would like to see me model the skirt with one of these tops, which I thought was a great suggestion.

Then somehow months passed in the blink of an eye and we find ourselves in September. September is a strange month! School is back in session, marking the unofficial end of summer for many people. The fashion world has turned hard core to fall clothing and outfits, urging us to shop for the cooler season. The pumpkin spice latte has returned to coffee shops, and the American football season begins. Meteorological fall starts on September 1 so that the year can be divided into 4 equally long 3 month seasons for the purpose of record keeping/statistics. Astronomical fall starts around September 22 with the autumnal equinox. September is when many of us start thinking about and even yearning for the fall. (This is particularly true for those who live in summer-dominant climates with high temperatures routinely above 100 F during the summer. This was definitely me when I lived in Austin, TX.)

And yet...it's not really fall weather-wise in September, not even in relatively cool spots like Minnesota! Even if temperatures have gone down relative to the summer peak, it's still fundamentally summery warm weather, and I don't think many of us are truly ready to pull out the cozy sweaters, boots, scarves, etc., of fall. Accordingly, I consider the month of September - and even into the first couple months of October, depending on what the weather does in a given year - my sartorial Summer/Fall transition season.

One thing I like to do in September is wear my "last chance" summer items/outfits before it cools down too much for them or the vibe just feels wrong. These are garments or combinations that are comfortable and on-point for warm weather but cannot easily be transitioned into fall. My striped linen skirt falls into this category. While it is possible to weather linen in the fall, this skirt doesn't really transition that well. It's a lightweight linen in light colors and it looks/feels weird to me with tights. Other people might relish the challenge of making it work in cooler weather, but I prefer to limit its wear to the warm seasons. So I decided that since I was quickly approaching the Now or Next Summer point with this skirt, it was time to put together a striped top print mix with it!

Even though I had shared four navy-and-white striped tops from my closet as options, I ended up wearing a fifth such top in my outfit. (It turns out I actually have six of them in total: 2 short-sleeved, 2 3/4 sleeved, and 2 long-sleeved!) Today's shirt is a short-sleeved knit top that I bought in 2022 from Lands End during a massive sale for a mere $5.18. Don't tell anyone, but this was marketed as a sleep shirt; however, in reality, it's just a nice, soft striped t-shirt, so I bought it with regular outfits in mind. Actually, tell everyone because as Jodie likes to say, we all get to be the boss of our clothes. Because we're having a couple of cool days (i.e., high of around 60 F) before the warm weather returns, I took the opportunity to layer a navy-and-greyish-black marl knit cardigan over it, which adds more texture to the look.

OOTD 9/4/25

In my earlier post, I had identified this sheer butterfly-floral print scarf with 3 of the neutrals from the skirt (navy, white, and tan) as a must-try combination, so I tied it on at a jaunty angle to create a 3 print mix. (Here's a glimpse of what the top looks like without the cardigan, by the way, in all its print mix glory.) I also added a new 120" seed bead wrap necklace that I made this summer specifically to match the skirt. Here is have wrapped it 3 times at 40" each so it hangs down below the scarf. It's hard to see at this angle, but I put a beautiful clear crystal butterfly charm as a little pendant for the necklace. (It will show up better in outfits with a dark colored top but I couldn't resist adding it for my own enjoyment. I've been looking at it and playing with it all day.)

I made a couple changes to the design of this specific wrap necklace to create additional visual interest because my color palette was so limited and neutral-dominant:

-In addition to seed beads, I included 4mm clay heishi beads, 4mm wood beads, and a few 4mm glass beads in the necklace.

-Every 1" or so, I added a little bit larger bead (in diameter, length, or both) to punctuate the strand.

For my daily bracelet stack, I loaded up beaded bracelets in white, navy, and gold (all DIY except the bottom pearl bracelet). My necklace has mixed metals, but I chose gold for the bracelets and earrings because I thought it would look good with the warmer tan tones in the outfit.

I wore an older pair (Winter 21-22) of DIY world-easiest-hoop-earrings with lapis lazuli triangle beads and gold spacers on premade Amazon hoops.

For extra inspiration: recently Di has posted some of her last chance summer outfits as well as some that are starting the transition from high summer toward cooler weather in coastal Maryland.

Do you agree that September is a strange month? How do your outfits change in September? Do you have any summer items/combinations/outfits that you'd like to give a last chance for the season?

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