GARBLOG VOL. 1 - Heatwave Fits??!
GARBLOG VOL. 1 - Heatwave Fits??!
Graphic by Maia Lee
The last week has been, quite frankly, a burning hell for me. I had thought I had escaped the summer heat when my plane took off from Seoul in August, but I guess I was mistaken. What was supposed to be a few days of extreme heat dragged on for a week, and I just couldn’t believe it. Walking to and from class in the scorching sun was the biggest pain, but I still had to show up fitted and cute. Hence, here is an overview of some of my outfits throughout the week:
My first outfit was a black off-shoulder baggy long sleeve top with shorts. I will admit, I underestimated the weather that day. The top I wore is my go-to, and I thought it’d be fine because of its thin material. That’s what I thought, but I was gravely mistaken. The sweat made the material stick to my skin, and the black absorbed all the heat. Not to mention my Dr. Marten boots (that are practically stuck to my feet) felt especially heavy that day. But the outfit was cute, so I give this one a seven.
My second outfit was a short-sleeve baggy Adidas T-shirt with jorts. I’d say Adidas is one of the brands that are really popular in Korean vintage stores, and so I own a lot of vintage Adidas. This shirt is one of my favorite basic items I own, and paired with the jeans, it gave a sporty, casual vibe. This outfit was more practical in the heat wave, I would say, but it wasn’t really one of those outfits that put me in my element. I felt a bit basic this day, and the short sleeves weren’t enough to protect me from the heat. I give this one a six.
The last outfit I will be writing about is a hot pink rhinestone tank top with bedazzled shorts. I would say this was the outfit that was most practical for the weather (although sweat still lingered on my face as droplets) while also making me feel confident in myself. Paired with my Docs as always, I felt great walking out of my building. I honestly value the look of my outfits more than their practicality, although I try to balance the two as much as I can. My favorite heat wave outfit—this one takes the crown with a solid ten out of ten.
By Sophie Choi
Trilogy of 3 Sundresses
Dress 1 was green, thin straps, silk like a dove’s breath. Ornamental gold and red patterns. The dress bunched at the middle like lasagna sheets, an accordion of emerald. The skirt fell just above my knees, billowing out at my waist, feeling like Marilyn Monroe in the wind. It had been a surprise from my boyfriend, a gift he’d impressively nailed while recently in Italy. The dress is not only the perfect slip-over, light like a breeze, perfect for the warmest most relaxing days, but it also is a testament to friendship and love, a sweet reminder of the feeling that someone really knows you, and your tastes, perfectly. Italian sundress. I paired it with gold jewelry and felt like Demeter. Heatwave day 1, check.
Dress 2 was blue, periwinkle, another sundress, but cut slightly differently. It was peppered with tiny cream flowers, and a small tight ruffle ran up the middle, along the neckline and acted as the straps, in a sort of prairie-meets-pacsun kinda way. This dress had found its way to me through a clothing swap over the summer with some close friends. But before it was my friends’ it had been our other dear friends’, and I had only thought it right to continue the lineage of this little sundress, being passed between good hands and happy memories, each of us making it our own in some small way, adding to the collective whole. Clothes carry memories, this one no different. Heatwave day 2, check.
Dress 3 was the conclusion of the trilogy, mostly in part because I was running out of sundresses. I’d been thrifting with one of my best friends when she’d said, “this looks like you”, which is always magic to the ears. Up she’d held the most precious dress I’d ever seen, something a mermaid doll would wear. Sheer layered purples, green flowers crawling up the skirt that morphed into violets and muted magentas, a collage of delicate colors. The dress perfectly captured moments of summer, beachside bliss, searching for sea glass in the sand, feeling the rays of the sun recharging your soul. I slipped on abalone earrings and a few silver necklaces. Heatwave day 3, check.
The same pair of warm brown sandal birkenstocks accompanied each of the dresses. It was almost like the weather had known I needed to break them in. The very randomly unusually hot temperatures provided an opportunity to all of us to try something new, to pull pieces out of our closets that we’d thought had been retired for the season. A surprise week of summer forced us to get creative and for that I am thankful. We’re pretty lucky here in Berkeley during the beginning of the fall semester weather-wise, and anomalies only make us recognize and appreciate that even more.
By Clare Duganne
