So I love summer, I’d pick being warm over being cold any day. I love having my kids home. I love that we have time to explore questions they have in depth, and visit cool places. I love growing things in my garden. I love the long, sunny days. I love letting my kids stay up later and catch fireflies.

But there is one thing I don’t love about summer. Summer clothes. They are problematic. I am shorter, so wearing shorts makes me look even shorter. I have a long torso so often summer shirts are too short (not an issue with other season clothing, why is that) and if I go a size up they fall off my shoulders or have a neckline that is too low or too big. I choose to wear clothing that is more modest. I’ve never been comfortable with low cut shirts, or hemlines above my knees. Layering is just not an option, it’s hot people! And because of the flexibility of summer we are often going from playing at a park to going to a museum so it’s hard to find things that are good for that range of activity.

So my mission this summer was to find at least a few staple items for my summer wardrobe, and gather ideas for things to watch for in the future. As with lots of things, when you are working with a budget, it’s easier to get what you want if you have time to look for a good deal. But if you don’t even know what you are looking for, you are out of luck.

I pretty much had no summer wardrobe. I bought a few basic Tees last year (black, white, gray and red) but other than that my summer clothes consisted of a couple shirts I’ve had for 6+ years and a few items my sisters have given me.

Swimsuit

First up, my swimsuit. I had a swimsuit I actually love, but I’ve had it for 4 years. Stitching is starting to come out in some places where it can’t really be re-stitched and portions of it are faded.

I spent a ton of time looking at ideas on pinterest, and Amazon. I finally decided on this swimsuit:

LalaVava Ruched Skirted Swimsuit

Some of the reasons I picked it

*The skirt is a little longer and it has fitted shorts underneath it. I knew I could run around with my kids in it and not feel self conscious.

*Reviewers stated that the top portion was on the small side but that the mid section was longer. Perfect, that’s just what I need. I’ve actually returned swimsuits before because the torso section was so short that I couldn’t get the straps over my shoulder.

*The straps cross each other in the back. I tend to have problems keeping straps on my shoulders, but I knew that because it was crossed in the back that they would be less likely to fall down.

*The straps are wide. I hate when skinny swimsuit straps dig into your shoulder. No thanks.

*Stomach area is ruched. As much as I would love to say I am confident in how my stomach looks, I’ve had two kids, I’m not 16 anymore, and I’m just not, I feel much better with giving myself some coverage there.

*Good price! I can handle a $25 swimsuit. I was worried about quality, but it seems to be well made. It has a full lining and it is thicker fabric. Plus Amazon makes it super easy to return items.

Shirts

I wanted to get at least two nicer shirts. I found this one at an online boutique and it looks like they are sold out bummer, but I found similar shirts on Amazon by looking for Bohemian style peasant tops. I like this one because it has a lining so I don’t have to wear a second shirt…thank goodness!

Still on the hunt for a second nice summer shirt.

I also wanted shirts that were essentially t shirts, but looked a bit more exciting and fit a little better.

I found one like this with short sleeves.

This one from a place called Francesca’s at the mall on the clearance rack.

A colorblock T similar to this from Target.

Finally one almost exactly like this at the Thrift store.

I’m still on the lookout for shirts like these:

If anyone finds any at a great price point me to them!