Summer 2021 Wardrobe Additions

Another quarter, another budget post! I had an off quarter and didn’t do a great job tracking my spending, so it took me a while to piece this post together…and it’s likely I still forgot to include a return (in the spring budget post, I forgot to include a couple of returns I made!). Whew! I’m off my game, which may or may not have resulted in some overspending (again). I also have a problem: I love buying loungewear, which isn’t helpful when I’m not WFH. And I have too many joggers now LOL.

Much like spring, I ended up close to $300 over budget (my lack of Poshmark sales recently have been hurting me). Obviously I just sort of brushed off the fact that I went over budget in the spring and didn’t reduce this quarter’s budget because of that, and now I’m about a full quarter over budget between spring and summer. Eeep. Perhaps it’s really time for me to reevaluate things, whether that be my budget or my spending habits.

Here’s everything I added to my wardrobe this past summer!

READ NEXT: Spring 2021 Wardrobe Additions

Summer 2021 wardrobe additions | how to keep a clothing budget | style on a budget | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Summer 2021 Clothing Budget & Wardrobe Additions

$500 (quarterly budget) => $1,154 ($619 June + $362 July + $173 August) - $198.50 Nisolo credit - $50 Everlane credit - $128 earned from Poshmark sales = $777.50 => $277.50 overspent

Items I added to my wardrobe:

I was immediately drawn to this blouse! I love the striped print with the embroidery. I took a size small for my broad shoulders and it’s still just a hair tight.

I didn’t have a light tan and white striped tee in my closet already and figured it’d be a perfect neutral! The stripes are a little bit darker in person, and the whole tee is slub (makes sense since that’s what it’s called) and looks different overall in person. It also runs big; I took a size XS and it’s still big—and also long.

  • Amour Vert Esme organic cotton cardigan (sold out | review here | paid $109 | originally $228)

I love, love the color of this cardigan! The organic cotton is a great mid weight for transitional seasons but isn’t soft at all in my opinion. I took size small and it’s slightly big (the sleeves are long, which is fine for my long arms!) but I think it was the right choice.

I ordered this cardigan in the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale in a different color in a prior year and decided to go for it when it was included this year (and not sold out!). I definitely didn’t need another but it’s just the perfect cozy cardigan, especially for WFH! (Miss those days.)

I ordered a couple of pairs of jeans in Everlane’s $50 denim sale and ended up keeping one—a new white pair! I took size 27 ankle. Their authentic stretch denim is fab, and I’m all about the curvy styles when I can find them.

For something a little different than my usual, I ordered this linen blazer! It’s a longer silhouette than I’m used to, but I actually really like it, and the color is great, too. It’s not that oversized and size small is fine on my broad shoulders.

These are the perfect neutral and understated summer sandal! They’d make great wedding guest shoes; I ordered the earthen sand color, which isn’t too yellow for my skin tone. They’re super comfy, even with the small heel, and fit TTS.

Lawd, these are comfy shorts! I ordered them on final sale so I was stuck with the size I picked. I ended up going with small but they’re quite loose and an XS likely would’ve been fine.

This wash is really similar to the curvy skinny jeans I bought last year, but I ordered these in the next size up for pandemic reasons. (Also bought my regular pre-pandemic size to try both since some folks say they run large.) I ended up keeping the size up (26) but they did stretch out more than I was expecting, so maybe my pre-pandemic size would’ve worked? Who knows! They are supremely comfortable because they are looser than my other pairs of skinnies.

I had some Nisolo credit burning a hole in my pocket and bought two sandal styles. I ordered the flatform sandals in bone, size 7.5. They are borderline too small; my heel is right on the edge. But they sure are cute! It’s a different style for me and I’m into it.

Ah yes, yet another pair of sandals! I opened an email with these open toe clogs in desert rose front and center and had immediate heart eyes. I ordered these in my true size 7 and they fit TTS! I finally wore them all day at work and had some rubbing on the outside of my pinky toe but fortunately the straps stayed intact.

Oops, I ordered two more pairs of Vuori joggers when they went on sale: cloud heather (blue) and cerise heather. (I also got a second pair for Korri.) I opted for a size small again, which is slightly loose on me but in the most comfortable way. I’m wearing cloud heather as I type!

These were at the top of my NAS list, so I’m very happy they didn’t sell out before I could shop! I saw a couple of other bloggers mention these joggers, but the hype is real. If you want a great pair of super soft joggers, look no further! I clearly have a jogger problem LOL. I bought size XS and they aren’t tight around the waist.

Items not included in clothing budget:

I ordered both the black and olive pairs in size small when they went on sale. The smalls feel noticeably bigger but I expect them to shrink a bit in the wash like the XS pairs did. The bigger size provides a looser fit around the hips and legs and an overall more comfortable fit.

I love these shorts so much that when I saw the same style available at Nordstrom, I went for it! Size 26 doesn’t feel that much different than size 25, but now the 27 is out of stock so I will made due with what I have.

  • Madewell sleeveless chambray shirt via Poshmark (no longer available | replacement)

I first purchased this shirt in XXS, and while it fit, it wasn’t perfect…and with the extra pandemic pounds, I found a replacement size XS on Poshmark and it’s now perfect!

I had the crop tee and decided to add the coordinating sweatshirt, which I then wore when we visited Olympic National Park! It’s so comfy. I ordered size small because it seemed to run slightly big and I wanted it oversized. Big sweatshirts are my thing now. This sweatshirt is now on sale for way less than what I paid so go buy it if you’re a size XS or small!

I reviewed all of my Zella products, including the bike shorts, and whew—wearing the size XS I purchased last year felt not so comfortable this year. When they were included in the NAS, I ordered them in a size small, and they fit and feel much better!

Items I tried and returned:

  • Vetta Capsule slim work pant (sold out)

I wanted so badly for these pants to work out! They seemed like the perfect ponte work pant (I still have my J.Crew Pixie pants, but the rise is lower than I prefer these days). I ordered the washed black in size 2 and don’t know if I was just extra bloated or if I really needed a size 4, but they were too tight on my waist, and the inner elastic waistband was not comfy against my skin.

Gahhh, I really do like this dress a lot. I wanted it for an upcoming trip. I ended up returning it because the pockets are visible through the dress (love pockets but hate when you can see them through a light-colored dress). Size XS regular fit me perfectly. I’m very tempted to reorder it since it’s on deeper sale at Madewell and I have rewards to use…

What’s on deck for fall:

I originally ordered these along with the white jeans above in the $50 denim sale but the size 26 that was available was too small! LUCKILY, someone returned a size 27 and I snagged them!!! Hooray! I’m a big fan of the vintage blue wash.

I finally ordered this dress that I’ve had my eyes on over Labor Day weekend, and omg. If you follow me on Instagram, you already know how much I love it because I’ve worn it three times since I got it (four counting today—it’s great for work and so comfy!). It was worth the money for sure. I was worried about ordering a size small because I read the measurements and thought it’d be too big (and XS was out of stock in black), but it’s perfect. You’ll see it on the blog soon!

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