The Friday Five
Bold pants, a heatwave-ready dress, and seeing if I can get my jawline back.
Happy Fourth of July Weekend!
I hope you’re doing something fun and festive that keeps you cool because these temps are no joke!
We’re headed to our best friends’ house for a seafood boil and fireworks tonight, then plan to spend Saturday at the pool for as long as we can handle the heat.
I’m looking forward to staying local and keeping things easy. I feel like we’ve been go, go, go since the start of spring, so a few quiet mornings at home with a cup of coffee and nowhere to rush to sounds like a dream.
So before we all log off for the holiday weekend, here are this week’s five.
Every summer I end up in the same uniform: white jeans, blue shirts, linen pants, white tanks. As much as I love the classics, after a while they can start to feel a little flat.
So when I ordered these bright red utility pants from EVEREVE, I honestly wasn’t sure how much I’d wear them. They felt a little outside my comfort zone.
Turns out, they’ve been surprisingly easy to style. I wore them this week with my favorite J.Crew white tee and these Rothy’s sandals (featured below) to watch the U.S. World Cup game, and apparently it was a lucky outfit. I was told I needed to go home, hang it up, and wear the exact same thing again for the next game to keep the good juju going.
They’re made from 100% cotton twill with a high-rise drawstring waist and a relaxed straight leg. The fit is easy and comfortable, but they still look polished. The color is definitely bolder than what I usually reach for, and I think that’s exactly why I’ve been enjoying them so much.
Pistola Sabrina Straight Utility Pant | $178
2. A New Favorite Shirt Brand
Obviously, a button-down shirt is one of my wardrobe staples, and this year I became a big fan of The Shirt by Rochelle Behrens. I picked up a few of their long-sleeve styles and recently ordered The Short Sleeve Shirt.
The brand specializes in one thing: beautifully made button-down shirts (and a few dresses) designed to fit women. Their patented No Gape® technology eliminates that annoying pull across the bust and the quality is exceptional.
I also love supporting the company because it’s woman-owned and led. And their cotton and silk fabrics are sourced from a family-run mill in Spain, and the shirts are produced in a female-led factory in Portugal.
This style has a slimmer, more tailored fit, so keep that in mind when ordering. I sized up to a large, and I’m glad I did. It’s still fitted, and I think my normal size medium would have been too snug. The size range goes up to XXL.
At $137, it’s also one of the more approachable styles in their collection, making it a great introduction to the brand if you’ve been curious.
I chose the blue and white stripe because it’s timeless, but there are plenty of solid colors and stripe options to choose from. It’s exactly the kind of shirt I’ll wear on repeat all summer with tailored shorts or jeans.
The Shirt Short Sleeve Shirt | $137
3. The Dress I Reached for All Week
With temperatures hitting 101 degrees, there was no better time to pull out this dress.
It’s made from 100% organic cotton gauze, and perfect for when you don’t want anything touching your body. It would also be great for travel since you can pretty much roll it in a ball in your suitcase.
I ordered the indigo blue, but it’s also available in several other colors. At $60, it’s easy addition to a summer wardrobe that would fill a gap if you need some throw-on-and-forget-it dresses.
Quince Organic Cotton Gauze Tiered Maxi Dress | $59.90
4. A Really Comfortable Sandal
The Weekend Sandals by Rothy’s are incredibly comfortable right out of the box. No break-in period, no rubbing, no blisters. I slipped them on and wore them all day.
I ordered the Coconut color, I it’s warmer white that goes with just about everything in my summer wardrobe. I also love the contrasting tortoise shell sole. It gives the lighter color a little depth and makes them feel a bit more interesting than your average neutral sandal.
These look particularly nice with wider leg bottoms or a fuller skirt. I wore these with the red Evereve pants and the Quince dress both featured above.
Rothy’s The Weekend Sandal | $139
5. Trying Something New
I’ve had a NuFACE for years and have always liked it, but I haven’t been very consistent with it lately. So I thought I’d change things up and try something new.
I was curious about the ZIIP after learning more about its app and the variety of treatments it offers. It seemed like a good opportunity to see how the two compare, so I finally decided to order one.
Now, full disclosure: I’m only a few treatments in, so this isn’t a review. But I know so many of you have asked about at-home microcurrent devices over the years, so I wanted to let you know I’m testing it. I’ll keep using it consistently for the rest of the summer and let you know whether I think it’s actually worth the investment, especially compared to my NuFACE.
My biggest goal is skin tightening. Can I get my once-sharp jawline back? We’ll see.
If you’ve been thinking about trying one yourself, you can use code KRISTEL to save 10%.