American Girl

As you read this, I’m on my way back to New York City with a fresh perspective, light sunburn, lingering headache and immediate need to juice cleanse – or, at least, to consume far fewer hamburgers and wheat-based beers than I did over the last few days.

Caftans are a carbaholic’s BFF, ya’ll.

I spent the holiday weekend offline in Chicago (it’s amazing what not checking e-mail will do for one’s soul), soaking up the sun, catching up with friends and — frankly, eating and drinking way too much. Although, what’s an American holiday without a little overindulgence, right?

Ah, summer. Given the lack of, well, LAND, in Manhattan, I haven’t spent much time (if at all) sun-bathing in the city. And as you can imagine — or even relate — it’s inevitable to enter full-on bikini-body crisis mode during the first of the season.

I had a brief scare, indeed, but I’ve been able to dodge this by investing in a few cute cover-ups each year. The gauzier the fabric, the breezier the silhouette, the better.

End goal: To transform into a glamorously ethereal, caftan-wearing creature without sacrificing an ounce of comfort. And doing so with a beer in-hand sans the worry of sucking in the gut in, ideally.

This navy number from DVF has been on rotation for two summers (it’s one of my favorite thrift store finds), but this year I’m all about this colorful chiffon-draped Mara Hoffman dress. (I love these options from Tory Burch, too.)

During my short-lived time on land over the weekend, I popped over to 52eighty, a super-chic rooftop bar in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. We’re collaborating on a fun cocktail project together in August, of which I’ll share the details of you with closer to then.

Click below to shop my caftan look:

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Once your holiday hangovers have subsided and the caffeine has set in, tell me — how was the holiday weekend?