This week I wore trousers for the first time since June. (Sigh for the lost summer.)
No, I did not prance through the warmer months with my nether limbs unclad - they were at all times decently attired in shorts, skirts, or cropped pants. The fact is I refuse to wear trousers in summer, as they seem somehow contrary to the spirit of the season.
Time was, the donning of longer clothes marked the transition from youth to budding maturity (think of the mid-19th through mid-20th centuries, when - at the culturally appropriate age - boys were promoted to trousers and girls to ankle-length skirts, and felt very grown-up indeed when they wore them).
Even today, with any and every style and length of clothing available from infancy up, full-length clothes still lend a hint of gravitas. A long skirt, regardless of fabric type, always feels more formal and dressy, while a short skirt seems flirty and fun. Trousers and long pants, even casual pants like jeans, give a more businesslike impression than cropped pants or shorts.
If longer clothing represents greater age and responsibility, then shorter clothing, by default, must stand for youth and freedom. In that case, the shorts we wear in summer do more than keep us cool: in some small way, they bring back the spirit of childhood summers - when days were long and warm, autumn seemed an eternity away, and responsibility lay lightly on our shoulders.
So why did I sigh when I donned trousers this week? I sighed for what they symbolise - not so much the aging of the wearer (which is inevitable), but the aging of the year; for the approach of colder weather, and with it, the gradual exchange of outdoor freedom for the increasingly onerous work of keeping warm and fed and properly clothed. (All very grown-up duties, to be sure, but the thrill of grown-up-ness sometimes wears thin.)
Dear me, what a bleak-sounding post this is! Just put it down to seasonal introspection. I always moan about the end of summer, and I always go on to enjoy Autumn no end. It's the thought of approaching change I don't like.
Do you look forward to Autumn and Winter, or does the passing of summer make you a little sad? Do tell.
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P.S. Though I may have put on trousers, I'm still wearing sandals while I can. (Click here to read my thoughts on donning socks in the fall.) :)
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As hot as it gets here in southwest Louisiana, i really think I am too old for wearing shorts and "pedal pushers." I have reached the time to pack up all short pants and drop them off at Goodwill. Then I step out onto the front porch and Gosh it is still shorts weather. I look forward to long pants weather. Then maybe I can get up the courage to ship out those "revealing" garments. Linda
ReplyDeleteI do know what you mean, Linda - all my shorts are knee-length. But still they are shorts!
DeleteWhat I HAVE outgrown are sleeveless tops (except for home wear). My upper arms are no longer fit for public display. :)
I really hate summer. In Florida the hot weather just goes on for FAR too long. I don't mind shorts. I love my flip flops. BUT, I will gladly don trousers, socks and cute shoes once cooler weather arrives.
ReplyDeleteI adore fall. Pumpkins, apples, big orange full moons ----- my favorite season of ALL.
When I was writing this post, I thought of Floridians and other south-dwellers who might really enjoy the approach of cooler weather. You get more than enough heat and sunshine, and long for cooler weather, where we get more than enough cold and would love to have a bit more warmth than we do!
DeleteIt is fun to put on cute shoes in fall - I always forget that part. :)
I love the time when the year ages! Summer is wonderful in it 's way but always leves me tired and overwhelmed. Autumn and winter are my time! I love summer most when it's cold and dark around!
ReplyDeleteYikes! Perhaps I don't do enough ... summer is always busy for me but I am still sorry to see it end.
DeleteEnjoy the new season! :)
I love the summer. I like spring because it means summer is on its way. I'm iffy about autumn because it can be nice but it heralds the winter which I really hate...short days, cold, wet, windy....nothing to like.
ReplyDeleteYes - the short days are probably the worst bit of all. Here we have snow, which can be beautiful and fun - it's the continued scarcity of sunshine (and warmth) that makes winter so hard to bear.
DeleteI hope your Autumn will be a pleasant one. :)
I am fond of every season except summer - can't wait for it to turn cool. I love to be outdoors but not in the sun and humidity. I also hate bugs flying into my ears and eyes or biting me like I'm a smorgasbord while outside in the summer! Good-bye bugs and hot weather!! Hello socks with Birkenstocks, open windows and cool sleeping nights, crunchy leaves and big round pumpkins, snowy days to bake cookies then spring time clean-up! It is so hard to wait!
ReplyDeleteYou are making me feel much better about fall! I think the humidity is probably much worse where you live - we do get it here, but it tends to come and go in spurts, with plenty of relief in between.
DeleteI am a bug smorgasbord too. This summer we had very few mosquitoes (thank God) but the ones we did have all found me. :)
I pulled on slacks too recently, but my toenails are still polished and in sandals. No sense rushing the arrival of autumn but I know I'll enjoy it when the weather changes and I get to walk through crunchy leaves or race them as they swirl down the street. Summer is the best but I like having four seasons.
ReplyDeleteHear hear! I grew up in Southern California, which has about one and a half seasons. I LOVE the four seasons here - just wish winter were a bit shorter and spring/summer a bit longer. But I enjoy them all (even when I gripe about them). :)
DeleteMy favourite season has to be spring when we can put the cold of the winter behind us and look forward to (hopefully) warm summer sunshine. Our summer has been a lovely one for the first time in years and has gone a long way to restore my flagging spirits. I do love the fresh bracing air of Autumn and the golden autumn colours but the dreaded winter lurks just around the corner and that makes me feel sad. :(
ReplyDeleteYes indeedy - I think the British Isles and the American Midwest have a lot in common when it comes to dreading winter - though we do manage to enjoy it when it comes.
DeleteWhat would we do without weather to complain about? :)
This is so funny as just yesterday I wore capri jeans and wished beyond wish I could put on jeans and a sweater. I went to knitting group where everyone was in shorts and I was the only on even in capri's. I want jean weather and I want it now!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
Poor Mere - I know it's the opposite for you there in sunny FL. I would love to share some fall weather with you - today I had to put on socks AND shoes AND slacks AND a cardi AND a cowl(though it was a very lightweight cowl). And this is only the beginning!
DeleteI hope you will get some sweater weather soon - you need a chance to wear one of your beautiful creations! :)
I have been in trousers for most of September Sue, I do love wearing my jeans on the weekends but in an ideal world I would just wear flimsy skirts and sandals. I have worn my willies a few times too with all the rain we have been having! One thing I am enjoying is wearing my scarfs again. I love them xox Penny
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I've been eyeing my scarf basket and kind of looking forward to wearing some of them again.
DeleteFlimsy skirts and sandals are my favourite summer wear - cool and feminine. :)
When I was younger I loved the long, hot days of summer. Now I endure the summer and look forward to the cooler days of autumn. I'm not wearing long pants yet, but I am out shorts and into capris and cropped pants.
ReplyDeleteSummer in the South does sound like something to be endured rather than fully enjoyed.... I hope you have a wonderful autumn there in Georgia - full of crisp clear days and pleasantly cool nights! :)
DeleteI love this simple post. Says it all about the end of summer. Change is difficult no matter how many times the same change happens.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Astri - and you are so very right. Change is always hard.
DeleteI don't like extreme temps in either direction. They both make ant outdoor activity difficult. Over all I really like warm weather and sunshine. I do love the changing leaves and a bit of cooling off. It isn't usually too cold so I am fine. Winter is not my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI do not wear shorts anymore and my arms are not fit to be seen, although a couple of times this summer I had to take off my light cardi.
I love your socks poem. I love sandals so much that I pretty much refuse to put them away until the snow flies or the temps get in the freezing range. And I am not a big fan of socks, so I sometimes get through a whole winter wearing clog type shoes and no socks.
My arms are not fit to be seen either ... :)
DeleteSo nice to know you are another sandal-lover! Putting those away always gets me down, though this year I've been able to keep them on longer (still wearing them on October 1st!).
Thanks Beth!
It is a thoughtful post, Sue. And I do like your parallel of the seasons with what we wear, and that's what makes our diverse!
ReplyDeleteHowever here, in India, in place I live in, the seasons don't change... Right now it is still +30 C... still... I cannot wait when the kind of Autumn comes here and I can finally change my sandals and slip-ons to some nice boots, on heels and without. So in 4 words: I long for Autumn!
I hope you have a very pleasant Autumn, with many opportunities to wear your boots! :)
DeleteI, too, have succumbed to fall trousers, though socks are still hidden in the back of the drawer.
ReplyDeleteMy socks are growing restless ... I can hear them murmuring "When will she let us out?" :)
DeleteI do look forward to autumn, winter not so much. It depends on how much snow and ice there will be on the roads. The color chaniging of the leaves on the trees always fascinates me. A lot of beautiful photo opportunities when I walk wiht the dogs!
ReplyDeletePetra
Autumn is wonderful for photos ... and even winter has its beauties. If only it didn't take about half an hour to get dressed for outdoors I would really love the colder weather!
DeleteThanks for commenting. :)
I can do long floaty skirts but shorts, nope, just not me. And I love autumn and look forward to it even in the midst of summer, which is not to say I wish summer away, just that October is the month that has my heart :)
ReplyDeleteI do love October too ... partly because its my birth month, and partly because the year's beauty seems to peak in that month. (After October, May is probably my second favourite month.)
DeleteP.S. My "shorts" are Bermuda shorts - down to the knee. But wearing them still gives that mysterious air of freedom.... :)
I feel the same as you do about packing away the shorts and bringing out the long pants. A little wistful I guess. All the same, I love autumn! It is probably my favorite time of year--November really, when the trees are bare.
ReplyDeleteWistful is the very word for it!
DeleteWhen November comes I enjoy it very much - I love the bare trees too (until about February, that is, when I become desperate for the sight of leaves). :)
Thanks very much, Chris, and welcome! I will definitely pop by for a visit. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of autumn but not so much of winter. I love my capris and will wear them as long as possible. However, I do get cold feet and will have to wear socks soon and capris and socks are just simple a no-no for me. Winter is probably my least favorite time of year but I will be spending the winter as a new retiree not having to go out in the cold and snow every day. I might like it more for that simple reason. Lots of blankets and sweaters to snuggle under while I cross stitch and read.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Sharon