The Staple, May 15th

Summer Time; the summer experiences edit, wardrobe updates, and more

It’s easy to romanticize childhood—everything seems to have a hazy golden glow when looking back. But here’s the thing: my childhood summers were really good. Perhaps it’s because there was such a contrast between my summer life and my regular life, first as a city kid and then always as an Army brat with all the stresses that entails. But in the summer, it was different. Getting to disconnect, live with my favorite cousins two houses down from the beach, run wild around town, ride our bikes down the road to pick up Carvel, spend rainy days at the library, summer weekends at the fair, hot dogs and ices at the stand that’s been there a hundred years. Endless hydrangea blooms, climbing trees to read for hours, picking berries and tomatoes in the garden, every morning walking down to swim on the beach, alone, seven years old and watching the sunrise from the raft we won from a raffle. Visiting the morning glory vine and saying “what’s the story?” Yanking on still-damp bathing suits at the end of the day for yet another swim. Capture the flag in the gloaming, fireflies a betrayal as we snuck behind enemy lines.

And every summer weekday, camp.

My summer camp days were the epitome of bliss. Well, all of it was bliss, but that most of all. Sailing all day until the wind died, capsizing our Optis and Blue Jays to go swimming in the Sound. Singing “American Pie” on our radios. Rainy days huddled in the junior club with Wind playing on the tiny TV. Tissue paper decoupage with empty Orangina bottles (I still have mine thirty years later). Hours in the sun braiding lanyards. Walking down the road to the pool, counting how many backflips we could manage underwater. Jelly sandwiches stacked up in this lunchbox, warmed by the sun. And after, dinner at the club, or pizza picked up and brought to Teddy Roosevelt’s house where we ran wild and barefoot in our pajamas, somewhat clean after a quick outdoor shower, sand still in our hair and between our toes.

Is it any wonder that I want to go back? Life, even for the adults, seemed stripped down to its essentials. Sun, sand, sea, good food, space to roam, the need and desire to be on the water that was implicit and understood in everyone’s lives. I hardly remember any adults working on good-weather summer weekdays—everyone was out sailing. And after camp, there were the evening rounds. Cocktail parties with beautiful dresses and the bar cart wheeled out onto the deck, hiding in a tree or under the hydrangeas to spy, running through the house, playing the opening bars of “Für Elise” on the piano, skidding across the freshly-polished wooden floors, a pack of children, a clan, together.

A snippet from a questionnaire my grandfather filled out for one of his clubs.

It is those memories that draw me back to try my hand at writing fiction. I’ve always loved to write, to capture what I feel and think and do, but there’s something particularly notable about the rhythm of those summer days that compel me to attempt to capture them, again and again.

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Breakfast Time

Camp Time

Cocktail Time

Any Time

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The Summer Essentials Edit

My set of specific, exacting experiences for a perfect summer.

Packing worn-to-death canvas bags (of the tote and duffle varieties) for the weekend. It’s essential that they’re sea-stained with sand at the bottom, filled with just what I need

The crunch of pebbles beneath my feet as I pull into the driveway for camp pickup

Windows down, great playlist, driving along the beach on a wild and curving road, nothing ahead of me except a day on the water with a cocktail to follow

Outdoor showers, a very thick, fluffy towel, and my favorite coverup

Reading a book outdoors by the water. It must be a really good book, but also a book you can pick up and put down multiple times

A summer dinner party under the stars

Hot flagstones beneath my feet as I make a dash for the backyard to read in the shade

Leaving my phone at home and packing my CampSnap instead

Sailing, always

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Summer Wardrobe Updates

It’s that time of year when I need to update some of my most-worn items… here’s what I’m adding to my cart.

My tennis whites have seen many better days, so I’m adding this dress to my cart, plus these shorts, which I’m deeply obsessed with. Seavees kindly sent me a new pair of trainers which I’m excited to break in! I vastly prefer a low profile for all athletic gear.

I picked up a new pair of khakis when we were near a J. Crew Factory a couple weeks ago. I have to say that for any price, these are exceptional. I’ve been wearing them for years and they’ve held up so nicely. The more you know! (Another great J. Crew Factory pick is this gauze shirt, which is a stellar price and not transparent. You can see it in action here, among many other places.)

I’m doing Father’s Day prep early this year so I don’t get stressed… thankfully Southern Tide reached out with their latest and greatest so I chose some new swim trunks for my husband for the summer. Southern Tide’s long-sleeved tees were a crucial part of my group house’s 2010s wardrobe (DC people know), so it’s fun to revisit the brand at a wildly different part of my life (married with a child and not actually going to Town Hall and Smith Point [RIP to both!]).

Minnow screams all-American unproblematic summer vibes¹ to me and I’m obsessed with their summer collection, shot on the Cape (one of my favorite places—you can find my Wellfleet guide here). The children’s tennis whites are so charming, and this might be the first year since my 20s that I get back into a bikini. I also think these shorts would go soooo well with my new Guest in Residence cashmere tee, particularly when paired with my go-to everyday sandals.

I’ve also turned to some new brands to test drive some summer staples, namely tees. I’m a newly evangelical fan of Outerknown and Organic Basics. Outerknown has this great beachy-California feel I really dig and I’m enjoying the simple casualness of Organic Basics’ tees, particularly the boxy tee. It feels like the tees we used to hang out in at boarding school with our pajama shorts for movie night. Ah, the nostalgia!

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Discount Codes!

If you are shopping and need a discount code, mine are below! (And some of these are stackable with sales…!)

NEW:

Saltyface 10% off with SARAHFB10

Nopalera 10% off with SARAHFB10

With Nothing Underneath 10% off with FEWERBETTER10

Match South 20% off with SARAHFB20

Susanne Kaufmann 15% off with FEWERANDBETTER15

Le Prunier 15% off with FEWERANDBETTER15

Abby Alley 15% off your order with SARAH15

Aurate 20% off your order with FEWERANDBETTER20

CampSnap 7% off with FAB7

The Checkroom $100 off your purchase with FEWERBETTER100

Dempsey & Carroll 10% off your purchase with SARAHC

Faherty 20% off with SARAH20

Figlia 20% off with FEWERANDBETTER20

Finding Ferdinand 10% off with FEWERANDBETTER10

Frame 15% off non-sale items with FEWER15

Koba 20% off with FEWERANDBETTER20

Lake & Skye 15% off with FEWERANDBETTER15

La Ligne 10% off your first order with FEWERBETTER10

Laundry Sauce 15% off your order with FEWERANDBETTER15

Lunya 20% off with FEWERANDBETTERBLOG

March Hare 20% off your purchase with FEWERBETTER20

Material 20% off your purchase with FANDBMATERIAL

MM LaFleur 15% off with FEWERANDBETTER

Nelle Atelier 15% off with FEWERANDBETTER15

Nori 15% off with FEWERANDBETTER15

Soludos 20% off your order with FEWERANDBETTER20

1. This year we are JUST GOING WITH THINGS THAT LOOK GOOD. I’m aware (believe me!) of the problems. I’m protesting, voting, donating, phonebanking. But sometimes we just need to go by the words of Jean Brodie— “goodness, truth, and beauty come first.”