6 Essential Summer Accessories

I can hardly believe it is July. Time has flown. I meant to get to this post awhile back but I have been super busy. These are just a few of the basic summer accessories, but these are ones that I consider kind of the basic essentials.

A hat: Aside from shielding one’s face from the sun it helps protect your hair. Sunlight can be kind of harsh on hair. I also like to use a leave in conditioner to protect the hair sticking out of the hat. At my age I get brown spots from the sun, so I try to carry my hat with me whenever I can to help prevent getting more!
Scarves: They brighten solid color outfits or blouses when wrapped around the shoulders or neck. There are days when I need to get dressed quickly and don’t have the time for an outfit that takes more time and effort to prepare. On those days (often after spending a lot of time on a post) I will wear a solid skirt or slacks, a solid blouse and a nice scarf. The floral scarf in this post was a gift from my daughter years ago. The blue with sunflowers scarf; I bought at David Owen’s Vintage shop.
A shawl or large wrap scarf: Whether made of cotton, rayon or some other soft fabric. The train and buses are chilly; therefore I have seen countless ladies in NY armed with a wrap scarf. Anything from a rayon pashmina scarf that is so available from street vendors in NY to a nice Bavarian folk scarf, or in this post I wrapped myself with a sarong skirt fabric.
Bracelets: All kinds of bracelets are fun. In the summer I particularly like charm bracelets since one doesn’t have to worry about them catching on thick winter sweaters. I made that charm bracelet of various silver charms. I also made the button bracelet and the tutti fruity one is one I made in the 1980’s. It has cute little lemon drop earrings to match!
Obi belt: Mine was made by Wada Africa. At the moment that designer has moved to Japan and she doesn’t have obi belts in her shop. I inserted a post picture of one from the Etsy shop ThriftyUpenyu. I like obi belts for their array of color, and how one can immediately perk up a solid dress, or outfit by wearing it. So many women have a simple solid color t-shirt dress, or a lovely black solid outfit. I like to wear my obi belt year round as well.
Earrings: Most of the time I still wear little post earrings, since those are my favorite. Summer is a time to break out the dangly and more bold, colorful earrings as well though. The bright lemons for instance, or air planes, are quirky and fun. The fabric covered cloth earrings here are from Awoke Vintage in Willamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.

If you see a caption on the bottom of the photo, of a single item, that means it is from an Etsy shop. If you click on them it should take you to the designer’s shop.

I put some emphasis on African print accessories here because I like them a lot. I think the various colors in the accessories are incredibly cheerful and that fun, playful aspect of summer is captured in the fabrics.

Hats

Scarves

Shawl

Obi belt

ThrfityUpenyu

Earrings

ThrftyUpenyu

Thriftyupenyu

Bracelets

Lovely extras:

Sweater Clips

These are particularly fun if you like vintage, or vintage inspired clothing. I bought mine from FoxgloveFawnlily on Etsy. Next time I’d prefer to buy one that is smaller, however I like that this accessory brightens up my darker clothing, while giving it a more vintage look.

I hope that you are enjoying summer and getting outside for some fun activities!