I was doing a closet purge last weekend and I pulled out every dress I own. That’s when I realized I basically rotate the same handful of outfits all summer, and I’m fine with that. If you carry most of your weight below the waist, you know the struggle of a closet full of clothes you never actually reach for. This is the week’s real rotation: the dress I wear everywhere, the t-shirt-and-flowy-pants default, cutoffs that finally fit, and the two books I’m reading in my downtime.
The dress I wear everywhere
There’s one dress in this rotation that does the heavy lifting. I wear it to brunch, I wear it to meet friends and end up staying out all day, and I even take myself on dates with it. I’ll sit in a restaurant, read for an hour, and the dress has huge pockets for my keys, my phone, and my reader. No bag needed.
It’s the kind of piece you want to point to when a friend asks what to get for summer. I shared this exact recommendation last year and it sold out, which still feels a little wild to me. If you find something like it, buy it before it’s gone.
The t-shirt-and-flowy-pants default
Half the week I’m in t-shirts with flowy pants. The other half, I’m in dresses. That’s the whole system. Before I started working for myself, I’d show up to the office in a cardigan, wide-leg pants, and clogs. Now that I run my own schedule, the uniform got a lot easier. And never will you find me working from home in stiff dress pants. Comfort is the whole point.
Cutoffs that actually fit
Here’s the one I want you to hear out. I wear a dress top layered over cutoffs, and being curvy, if I were to wear cutoffs without some layering, I would probably stop traffic. The layering does the work; everything else is comfort.
The cutoffs started as a pair of jeans from a brand that’s great for curvy denim. Almost everything is under $140, and many of their silhouettes go up to size 24. Plus, they have just enough stretch. That’s the bar I hold denim to now: fits my actual body, doesn’t cost a fortune, and moves when I do.
Making the pieces I can’t find
Once I started making a few pieces myself, I realized the best way to get the clothes I want is to make them. My mom taught my two older sisters to knit, and my sister taught me in elementary school. I stopped picking up the needles for a long time, then I moved to the city after college without any friends and dove right back in. Knitting is my way of feeling close to her.
The going-out top I keep reaching for is the first garment I ever made, from a pattern I found on a social feed. It’s the reason I trust myself to keep making.
The two books on my nightstand
I’m a big reader. As a kid the librarians would let me check out 10 books instead of three, and I’d fall asleep mid-chapter. These days I’m keeping my book club picks tight. If you want two that spark real conversation, my heavy hitters are My Sister, the Serial Killer and Homegoing. The stuff in them is as wild as anything on a reality show, and that’s exactly why people lean in.
FAQ
Do I need a big budget for a rotation like this? No. The denim I’m talking about sits under $140, and a lot of the pieces are secondhand or made at home. A rotation is about fewer, better pieces, not a bigger closet.
What if my body doesn’t fit the clothes I see online? Start with the denim. Size-inclusive cuts with a little stretch change the math on everything else you can pair it with.
Is this really a summer-only setup? Most of it works shoulder season too. Swap the cutoffs for long flowy pants and keep the dresses layered with a light jacket.
If you buy something through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only point to things I’d buy again.
A note from Ava
The real win this week wasn’t a new purchase. It was realizing I already own the rotation. Fewer pieces, more wearing, zero decision fatigue by Thursday.
More from the blog: my capsule wardrobe starter guide and the latest sales and steals roundup.
