Reasons why summer is good for you
Things summer forces you to do:
1. Wear shorts
2. Wear shirts or dresses with spaghetti straps
3. Sweat
4. Think about your body differently
Things that are great about summer:
1. Summer dresses
2. Warm nights
3. People giving free ballroom dancing performances out on the pier, on the Hudson (I forgot how much I love watching people dance! It’s so sexy!)
4. Shakespeare in the Park, if anyone could ever get a ticket
5. The way the city smells (when I’m not walking by a pile of trash)
6. Sandals
Every summer, I remember my first summer here. It’s the smell. It smells like possibility and potential. It’s strangely open. It’s thrilling. Bear, who claims to hate the way the city smells all the time, admits that it smells better in some places, especially by the water, before the pollution cakes the surface and it stinks (which happens late in the summer).
I am a hypocrite. I love summer dresses so much that I can’t bring myself to buy any other kind of clothing as soon as it’s warm. And yet I am nervous about my arms and don’t want to wear the dresses for that reason. OK, maybe hypocrite isn’t exactly the right word, but it captures the tension.
I am angry at my arms, for interfering. For getting in the way of my sexy dresses. For ruining the moment. I think, often, that my arms look stupidly heavy, for my body size. I think that they don’t make sense. As though they owe me something, and they’re doing it wrong.
And then, staring at myself wearing a little dress, I think that my legs aren’t long enough. I remember the woman on the subway yesterday, whose legs were impossibly long, as well as her neck, and who was wearing shorts and a tank top that slipped off one shoulder, it was so casual and loose. I see those women everywhere. Women who look as though they were made for summer. And, of course, women who look as though they are starving, and peeling off the shell of winter clothing has exposed the dangerous thing that was there all along.
In the summer, the women I see everywhere look even thinner. And I look exactly the same. Possibly headed in the other direction. We’re all exposed for what we are, or what we are desperately trying to be.
I want to wear shorts and tanktops and little dresses, and I pause a moment, before putting them on. I consider adding a scarf to the look. I consider draping sleeves and high heels.
I cannot walk around the city in 88 degree heat wearing draping sleeves and high heels. I am bad at wearing high heels. My feet hate them. They rebel by getting hurt. And, as Cee-Lo’s radio edit would say, “Forget sleeves!”
Did you guys get that joke? I cracked myself up a little. But it was also pretty convoluted.
I like the summer. She rolls her eyes at me. She says, “Just put on something comfortable. It’s gonna be a long, hot day…”
I put it on. A few minutes later, I’ve forgotten that my legs are too short and my arms too fat. I’m just glad I’m not wearing something I’d sweat through immediately.
Sometimes, I catch myself suddenly thinking, “I look great in this!” And sometimes that leads to this other, fabulous thought: “I look great!”
* * *
Unroast: Today I love wearing belts with everything. I love belts. I can’t stop.
Kate on June 13th 2011 in Uncategorized
Diana responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:26 am #
You rocked the dress I saw you in Wednesday night! Your arms are stunning.
Kate responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:35 am #
Everyone– meet famous author Diana Spechler, who I will be interviewing on this blog soon (yay!!!). Also, check out her site!
Diana, that is really sweet. Two things (I’m in a numbering mood today, weirdly)
1. I was wearing a drape sleeve dress, since I wanted to look extra hot at your party
2. It’s probably true that my arms are not as awful as I think they are. I made a comment about them around an older woman the other day and she said, “Oh, is that your thing? We all have our thing.” Yup. And it’s almost always pretty stupid. Sigh.
April responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 12:34 pm #
I love summer! All I have worn is shorts and dresses. Summertime, for me, means shorts, Barton Springs and snow cones!
San D responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 12:50 pm #
I have an internal combustion engine running all of the time. So, that means I am hot, hot, hot, and can’t take the heat heat heat. That said, I wear whatever I want in the summer that makes me sing when I look in the mirror. Long sleeves, short sleeves, sleeveless, whatever, if I hear the tune, it’s all good! (my my my said the spider to the fly is what I sing when everything looks the way I think it should. LOL). Perhaps you need to find a new *tune*.
Ashling responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 1:00 pm #
What a great post celebrating the joys of Summer while capturing that self-demonizing angst! I’m a jeans & T-shirt person, not into frills, and definitely not into dresses. Except in the Summer. One of the most liberating moments of my life was the first time I wore a tank top (I was 40). I felt light, free, even–dare I say it–sexy, even though I’m short & overweight. And when I lost 20 lbs last year, I went out & bought several long, flowy, sleeveless dresses. Here’s to your post, your dresses, forgetting the sleeves and freedom!
Jennifer Jo responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 1:01 pm #
Do you OWN all those dresses? They are so cute! And now I want to buy me a dress…but I don’t think I look so good in dresses—like I might be pregnant or something.
Jeremiah responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 1:36 pm #
I love the line(s) “As though they owe me something, and they’re doing it wrong.” It’s not as though I don’t love a lot of your lines, crafted or throwawy, but there’s something so rich in those words I like ’em a lot and I intend to steal them without giving you credit.
Alas, perhaps in punishment for my attitude above, I didn’t get the joke. I assume it was the bold “As Cee-Lo’s radio edit would say, “Forget sleeves!”
But I don’t know what Cee-L0 is, nor am I confident of my understanding of a radio edit.
Is there a place for an old guy to go to get instruction on getting the joke?
Thanks, love, for the entertainment and emotional tug.
Jeremiah
Lauren responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 1:46 pm #
I love belts, too! I’m wanting to wear them with everything now.
San D responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 1:54 pm #
Cee-Lo is a singer whose album and hit song had the *f* word in it, and would substitute “forget you” for it when he sang it on tv to promote the song and album. Much like Book of Mormon the multiple Tony winner from last night, I think the word (and believe me from what I hear Book of Mormon has far worse words) is used for shock and titillation value and to allow certain members of our society when accepting those words, as feeling “hip”.
Jeremiah responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 2:06 pm #
Thanks, San D. Cool joke, Kate.
jj
Lynn responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 2:34 pm #
LOVE!
Adrienne responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 7:15 pm #
I love a maxi dress in the summer, or a nice, loose pair of linen pants. Breezy!
Sooz responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 7:22 pm #
I have always had huge trepidation about summertime. I am fat. So I do not look good in shorts. I do not look good in tanks or strapless anything. I do not look good in a bathing suit. And when I wear a dress….my fat thighs rub together and I get a sort of rash. There are always a ton of girls and women who wear very little clothing and look awesome and I am a short fat round brown 38 year old mom of four who looks terrible. I am amazed at how you always get to the positive outlook on things that initially give you some anxiety. I don’t know how you do it. I wish I could. Keep up with the awesome writing. I thoroughly enjoy reading whatever you write about. 🙂
Emma responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:03 pm #
The summers in the city are the best. There is a carefreeness to it all where you feel like anything and everything could happen. It’s a wonderful sense of freedom.
Mandy responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:36 pm #
I, on the other hand, really like my arms and shoulders. I would love to wear sleeveless tops in the summer.
However, it seems that every place I go in the summer isn’t satisfied with just air conditioning–they freaking refridgerate the place! I am not kidding! It will be in the mid-nineties outside, and the movie theater, or the shopping mall, or the grocery store will have the thermostat set at–or below–sixty-five degrees! Which is only nice for about two minutes after I enter the building.
So, I’ll be out baking in humid sunshine hot enough to melt tar, carrying an extra layer because if I go inside, I get icicles on my nose even wearing a short-sleeved shirt and jeans.
It makes me feel ridiculous, but I’d rather feel silly than freeze.
So, I can just forget sleeveless tops, much less any sort of clothing that bares my legs. And I find that pretty seriously annoying.
Un-roast: As mentioned above, I love the line of my shoulders and arms. I think they make me look strong.
zoe (and the beatles) responded on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:49 pm #
i love summer. usually. now i am loathing it precisely because of the outfits. last summer i fit perfectly into those breezy ensembles and never thought twice about shorts and dresses and tank tops. this summer i weigh more. the shirts and shorts and dresses cling where they did not a year ago, warping the image in the mirror. and i wish i could forget eventually like you seemingly can do but i just cannot. it’s frustrating and makes me want to wear sweaters instead. what a joke. summer isn’t going to be breezy.
Serena responded on 14 Jun 2011 at 12:01 am #
I love summer. Especially the warm nights (and the long, sunny nights), the cool breeze, swimming in beaches, basking in the sun, smelling fresh flowers, and staying up lattttte. :B Eating crumbles and pies with ice cream, too. Love summer!
Kate responded on 14 Jun 2011 at 9:12 am #
@Jennifer Jo
Yes, they’re mine! I’m pretty proud of them too. Also kind of proud of the fact that all of them are either thrift store finds, Target, or hand-me-downs. Hooray for other people liking them first!
Kate responded on 14 Jun 2011 at 9:13 am #
@Adrienne
I really, really want a nice maxi dress. I’ve been looking!
Kate responded on 14 Jun 2011 at 9:15 am #
@Sooz
I bet you don’t look even close to terrible. Often, I think round brown women who are older than me are the best looking women around. It’s a great look.
Kate responded on 14 Jun 2011 at 9:16 am #
@Jeremiah
Steal away! Love the comment. You are always so good with words! And sorry about the joke 🙂
Sooz responded on 14 Jun 2011 at 12:27 pm #
Thanks for your nice comments Kate. 🙂
Anna Thaler responded on 14 Jun 2011 at 3:02 pm #
Great sentence of the day: “Women who look as though they were made for summer.” Wonderful. Oof. Gets me in the gut.
Emily responded on 14 Jun 2011 at 4:50 pm #
What’s interesting is that we are so much harder on ourselves than we are on others. I love the show “How to Look Good Naked” for this very reason. It does a good job of demonstrating how far off we are about how we actually look to other people. There are sooo many ways to be beautiful! If you aren’t seeing beautiful people everywhere you go, then maybe it is time to look again.. 🙂
Tracy responded on 19 Jun 2011 at 8:18 pm #
All those dresses you featured are fantastic! And I totally feel you on that inner monologue – I’m sure you look great :]
Eat the Damn Cake » Little Victories: perfect dress responded on 07 Mar 2012 at 1:08 pm #
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