Transition Style

What do you wear at the end of summer and the beginning of fall? White pants and shoes are a definite no-no, of course, but there are so many other “too summery” looking items that just seem out of place once the months have changed. Who hasn’t been caught with the fall-ish outfit that turns out to be way too warm for those hot September days? I have been caught in that situation too many times and decided this year to make an effort to look seasonal and to also be comfortable. Here are some of my solutions to the summer-fall transition dilemma:

I have gone with combinations mostly, mixing and matching summer and fall clothes. I always love boot season and break those out as soon as I can, pairing them with shorts or short skirts. It has been a little too hot here in Maine (mid to high 70s) to wear all Fall attire so I take a few fall pieces, booties or scarves and match them with something from my summer wardrobe. I also wear scarves with short sleeve shirts and high heel sandals . Pretty soon it will be too cold to wear my strappy heels here so I try and wear them as much as possible during the fading summer days. The strappy heels shown here are from a Buckle store in Texas.. Here is a link to their website: Buckle




The boots I am wearing in this photo are vintage, belonging to my Mother. They may no longer be available, but a company that has been around forever carrying cute boots is Frye. You can always find a Frye boot to fit any occasion. Here is a link to their website: FRYE . If you are from Maine, like I am, Bliss in the Portland Old Port carries this brand: Bliss

Chykberry Syrup

As summer draws to a close and my blueberry and blackberry bushes continue to produce, I have had to find creative ways to use them. I haven’t had the time to do traditional canning but I did come up with an idea that has become popular with friends and family. Maine is the only place I know of in the USA where ice cream is only eaten during summer months. When I lived in Texas, we ate ice cream year round but here on the east coast, each season has its own personality complete with specific foods. My Chykberry syrup, as I call it, is made primarily from blueberries, with blackberries and raspberries thrown in, as they are available. It is the perfect complement to vanilla ice cream and is great on pancakes, too!

The recipe:

Turn stove to medium and in a sauce pan add:
2 T. water
3 cups of berries
1 T. cornstarch
3 T. sugar (more if you like sweeter taste)
Stir all ingredients over medium heat until liquid is bubbly and continue to stir for a minute or two. Remove pan from heat (syrup will continue to thicken as it cools). Store in refrigerator or freeze for later use.

This syrup makes a great gift and will last for a week or more in the refrigerator. It will freeze nicely in a plastic container for use weeks or months later.

Rockabilly Style

Without realizing it, I have been a fan of Rockabilly style for quite some time. I love the retro, fun accessorizing with bandannas and hair bands and actually wear them for functional purposes as well as for fashion flair.

Before harvesting my blueberries, kiwi, cucumbers and tomatoes this summer, I have often grabbed a bandanna or big hair scarf to keep my hair tied back and out of my way. I was not aware that I was rocking the Rockabilly Style that is becoming so popular.

Wikipedia defines Rockabilly as:

"...one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s. The word comes from the words "rock" (from "rock 'n' roll") and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music (often called "hillbilly music" in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style's development..its origins lie primarily in the Southern United States."


I have decided to create some headbands for sale in my etsy shop. Check them out here.

For the Girlie Chyk

Handmade pink bow headband can be worn with a casual outfit or a nice black dress for a fancier look. The headband is made from left over fabric used for a ChykShop hot pink mini skirt.

The bow can be paired with a set of heel hats, also made by ChykShop. Both of these pink items are fun to wear when you are feeling like a girly girl and want to add a touch of pink to your outfit.

Bring on the Heel Hats

One of the fashion trends I am looking forward to for Fall would have to be the resurgence of shoe embellishments. At ChykShop, we call ours “Heel Hats” because of the way they change the look of and personalize shoes. Ours will largely be created as one-of-a-kind or few-of-a-kind, just like our clothing, to retain that individualized feel. After all, we all like to have something that is kind of unique to us…something that feels like it is really made just for us and captures our personality and fashion flair.

I have already confiscated a few of these Heel Hats, before they could be listed for sale on the site. The more complex Heel Hats actually cover the heel and often tie up around the ankle. They make a bolder statement than the simple shoe clips shown below, but I really like the way they dress up a basic shoe.

The simpler Heel Hats are my favorite because they clip on and can be worn anywhere on the shoe…at the toe or near the heel. These heel hats change the feel of the simple red pump I am wearing.These would be great on black shoes, as well.