In this issue of Tables Ready, you’ll read how shopping for sheer tops got me thinking about the cultural pressures that rush us to what’s next. And the freedom to choose what’s next without leaving the now. Plus, the sheer-inspired pieces to shop.
I ran to target for a razor because it was an 90 degree day in August and we were pool bound.
And like clockwork, it happened.. the unexpected sighting of a holiday showing itself way too soon: halloween decor. Pumpkins, skeletons, orange everything, in the middle of a heat wave.
We know why stores do this — there’s profit in it. But what we don’t always realize is it automatically shifts something in our brains without us choosing for it to.
Look how easy it happened: I was grabbing a razor for a hot pool day. Zero part of me was thinking about fall or the next season. And bam: halloween, fall, my kids birthdays approaching. All because culture told me it was time to.
Let me set the table:
Choosing between seasons has always been a cultural thing, not just a weather thing. At least here in the U.S.
New year, new chapter, new job, new routine. We love a good before and after. We love knowing what’s coming next.. so much so that we’ll aceept it from a store display subconsciously before our own minds have decided they even care about it.
And that got me thinking about how obsessed we’ve become socially with transition. Not just in seasons, but in life too. We’re constantly being encouraged to move from one thing to another, to finish the chapter and start the next one. To figure out what’s coming.
It’s there, but not really there
Yesterday I was online shopping for sheer pieces and my mind did something it always does, because it’s had years of training and practice: justifies the purchase.
It sounded like: “oooo, this will work great for right now and for fall.” Same piece, different season. Purchase justified = add to cart.
Then it hit me: sheer is perfect representation of this season.
It’s there but not really there. Just like the same stretch of calendar we’re in. Summer, but not quite.. fall, but not yet.
Which is how I ended up convincing myself it’s one of the best transitional pieces we could invest in right now. A sheer skirt with sandals is still summer. Add a sweater and loafers and it’s fall. It asks very little of the weather and a lot of the outfit. And maybe that’s why I like it, because it’s not forcing us to choose.
We do this with more than clothes
We’re always tyring to ‘name’ the season we’re in. Career season.. mother season.. marriage season.. starting over season. We even call it a “transitional season” when we’re in a season that we don’t have a name for.
We need the label. We want the five year plan that explains the next five years before we’ve lived it. And if you don’t innately want it or need it, the people you’re explaining your life choices to still ask for it.
Maybe we all need to get way more comfortable with the sheerness of life. The overlap. Where it’s not this or that.
It’s not summer or fall. It’s not ambition or slowing down. It’s not motherhood season or go for your goals season. It can be both at once. Blurring and blending together to make a beautiful sheer piece.
And lastly.. it might be worth noticing who or what in your life is telling you it’s time for the next season or that you need to give it a ‘this or that’ title: a store, a person, a calendar, cultural nudge, or for me.. it’s me.
Sheer pieces I’m currently making the case for
The top: easiest entry point IMO. Pair with a bralette and any bottom, shoe, and bag and you’re out the door. Throw on a jacket when the weather turns and wa-la!
Top | Top | Top | Top | Top | Top | Top | Top | Top
Dresses & skirts: for the sheer-embraced. Couple it now with a sandal and something simple underneath then swap with a chunky sweater and a loafer in fall for a completely different outfit.
Dress | Dress | Skirt | Skirt | Skirt | Skirt | Skirt | Skirt
Blouses: for the person who likes the idea of sheer without the look of very sheer. Add a tank underneath now & throw a blazer over it later.
Blouse | Blouse | Blouse | Blouse | Blouse
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