From My Desk: September

We’re getting a late start on September around here. My kids don’t go back until after Labor Day, so while everyone else has been posting first-day pictures for two weeks, we’ve only just gotten going. Vivi started second grade today, Ava is a junior, and on Friday, Maddie moves into her college apartment, which means there are bags and boxes everywhere.

This was a great summer, maybe my favorite ever. There were big family celebrations, friends in and out of the house, lazy afternoons on the beach, and so much laughter. I know these days are special because they’re fleeting, and I’m heading into fall feeling like a very grateful girl.

Luckily, I have plenty to keep me busy. We’re starting a full site redesign, and it’s overdue. We’re refreshing the brand, the colors, the layout, all of it, and if everything goes according to plan, it will be live before the end of the year. It’s a good thing to have on my desk this week. Focusing on fonts and colors is much easier than thinking about the fact that my babies did not, in fact, stay little.

In the meantime, there’s the small matter of getting dressed. My rule has always been that the second I’m home from the shore, it’s fall. The other night, Bri and I went to dinner, and as we got out of the car, another couple was getting out of theirs. She was wearing a turquoise Lilly Pulitzer dress and looked lovely. I was in trouser jeans and a black cashmere sweater. I’m never happy about the end of summer, but I’m done with it just the same. And honestly, the restaurant was freezing.

Back in July, I told you I wanted each month on the site to feel like an issue of a magazine, with its own point of view and everything connected. September’s point of view is simple: the stores run on one calendar and the weather runs on another, and sometimes you have to shop according to the first to be dressed for the second.

I know it’s 82 degrees and no one wants to think about a coat. But fall inventory is here, and the best pieces won’t necessarily still be there when the weather finally catches up. That doesn’t mean you need to buy an entire fall wardrobe in September. It simply means that if you know you need something specific, now is the time to start looking.

So that’s how we’ll spend the month. We’ll start with trends because that’s where all the noise is. By the time you’re 40, you’ve figured out that they come in two kinds: the ones you want nothing to do with and the ones you’ve already worn once, just styled in a different way. It helps to know what’s out there before deciding what, if anything, you want to do with it.

Then we’ll get into the pieces that will carry you through the cold weather, what’s actually worth buying, and plenty of ideas for putting it all together.

And if you follow me on Substack, today I launched The September Edit, a curated shopping list of pieces worth buying now, chosen based on what you’ve told me you need and designed to build on what you already own. Later this month, I’ll turn those same pieces into at least 40 outfits so you can see exactly how they all work together.

There’s a lot of fall ahead of us, with sports weekends, school events, the first crisp day when you need a jacket, and a trip or two before the holidays. It all goes fast, and I want you to enjoy it in clothes you love.

I’m so glad you’re here. Here’s to a wonderful September!

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