What I Wore Recently: May 2026
I have always been one to rage against the beige, and I am even more into living in vibrant color when the world around me is also colorful. The grass in our front yard is an electric emerald, the leaves on the tree a bright apple green, the purple orchids and yellow daffodils look lit from within, and while I write this on a rainy day, many days have had skies so blue I want to take a chip to the paint store and recreate it indoors.
For reference, I am a 51-year-old who is 5'3″ and usually wears a size 14 petite, sometimes 16 petite. When things are still in stock I will link to them, but I do wear a lot of old pieces or items I have thrifted or bought secondhand online.
What I Wore Recently: Midsize, Midlife, in May
One of those not quite hot but not quite cold days… wearing my Reiss “Lorna” sweater (XL; I love this thing) with the red Universal Standard palazzo cargos from my Universal Standard stretch linen review (same color as my trusty old tomato-colored Birks!). The leather tote is old from ABLE. The necklace is Heaven Mayhem, the earrings are old from M.M.LaFleur (the smaller size is still in stock).
On Threads, I mentioned how when I was in Ocean City, I saw so many women over 35 in this J. Crew Factory gauze shirt. White, striped, colors… they were everywhere. And I am a fan myself, so that week I wore mine. It's size XL, I have it with Ruti barrel jeans (14P; ALISON15 for 15% off), a COS bag, same old Birkenstocks as the first look, Ana Luisa “Perry” earrings, my Prada glasses, and Le Rouge lipstick from Westman Atelier.
If you get my weekly digest email or follow my Instagram Stories, you saw this outfit. The skirt is Printfresh (L), the shirt is very old from Banana Republic (seen in this post on how to tuck in a shirt), the bag is the same one from COS, the sandals are old and from Rockport, the glasses are CADDIS.
If you saw my most recent Reel, this is what I was wearing. The Gap horseshoe jeans (LP) that were one of the top selling jeans last year, the Universal Standard Ashley cap sleeve tee (XS), and over my shoulder is an old Lands' End drifter sweater (this year's version). The earrings are Lele Sadoughi.
Went to get a hair cut and run some errands, wore the same pink linen pants in my Universal Standard linen review with the same green Universal Standard cap sleeve tee seen above, Quince belt, and under the pants are my Birkenstock Arizona sandals in the same color as the belt. Same COS bag as the first photo.
Same pants, this time with the matching Universal Standard Daisy Tank (XS) and the Dune shirtdress (S) worn as a duster. Old Veja Volley O.T. sneakers, old skinny belt, and old earrings.
Went to visit a friend for lunch in Georgetown. Wore this Lands' End dress in LP with Camper flats and the COS tote. The sweater over my shoulders is one from Madewell I got several years ago.
Another day I wore the same Lands' End dress and Camper flats, this time with my chartreuse J. Crew cashmere sweater (bought last fall) and a Mansur Gavriel bag I borrowed from Rent the Runway (RTRXAGARY for 50% off your first month). Same CADDIS glasses seen above in the pink outfit.
As I mentioned above, I went to Ocean City, MD for a weekend. One day was nice enough for the beach! I'm wearing the Lands' End X-Back tugless tank (12 DDD), Athleta shorts (L), Tommy Bahama linen shirt (XL), an old North Face trucker cap, Archies flip-flops, a Tommy Bahama backpack chair, and the market bag was swag from Violette_FR. Necklace is Ana Luisa, sunglasses are prescription Ray-Ban.
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Great post. I liked the outfit ideas for warm weather. Simple basics always make summer styling easier and more comfortable.
these posts are some of my favorites, so inspiring and fun!
Alison, I always enjoy these posts where we see your real life outfits. The colors you’re wearing are so bright & happy! It’s also good to see you tying some of your sweaters around your shoulders, rather than just having them hanging. For whatever reason, I can’t keep sweaters on myself unless I tie them in place. Circling back to bright colors, I ordered some red linen pants from BR Factory and they should be in today or tomorrow. It’s rare for me to buy any pants in such a bright color but I’m hoping these will work for me. It just seemed like a fun color for summer.