Summer Fashion

Every year, magazines like Vogue, Elle and Cosmopolitan come out with an issue devoted entirely to ideal summer clothing. The selections usually look good. They just don't work out so well in real-time as they do in theory.

At least, that's how it goes when you live in the Southwest. It's hot here. And dry. And in July and August, it's hot, dry and muggy all at once. Temperatures range from 80 to 120 degrees, and yet we're supposed to run around in espadrilles and long, flowing dresses looking cool and crisp.

Yes, flowing dresses in light materials ARE ideal for being outside in the hot Southwest. But what about when you go inside, and the temperature is 12 degrees Fahrenheit?

Unfortunately, Arizona is a place where it must be 75 degrees cooler inside than it is outside at all times from March through October. This does not compute well when added into the equation of summer fashions produced by women's magazines.After all, the long, flowing dress and matching espadrilles are going to look dowdy once you go inside and put on a hoodie and wrap a blanket around yourself so you don't freeze to death (yes, people in my office DO take jackets and blankets with them to work).

Perhaps fashion trends would be better set if magazines were produced in the hottest climates, rather than in cooler places like the Pacific Northwest or Northeastern U.S. True, it's humid there, but they don't use air conditioning like we do. Oh, no siree.