Trail Mix: Summer Style Inspired By The Great Outdoors

Weekend Edition #66

Jul 06, 2025

Hi!

I hope you had a happy 4th of July! We escaped the NYC humidity for Jackson Hole, Wyoming last week, one of our favorite places on earth. There are many many reasons I love Jackson (catching up with friends and family, trail runs through the national forest out the back door, walks along the Snake River, hikes in Grand Teton National Park, dips in the hot springs, browsing the farmer’s market along the town square, going to concerts on top of mountains, and so much more), but this is a fashion newsletter, and one of the other reasons I love Jackson is the hearty stew of style that bubbles up across the valley.

A few snapshots from the local July 4th parade and surrounding hills.

It’s a blend of myriad influences. A ranching heritage. Two neighbouring national parks that draw adventurers, hikers, backpackers. The river that attracts fishing enthusiasts and athletes who tackle its rapids. Ultramarathon runners and mountain bikers who traverse the miles of trails. The rodeo circuit. Wealth and art and a western design language all its own. Overnight outdoor survival trips led by 20-somethings for teenagers and dude ranches and #vanlife and a fierce independence and a collective soul.

Or for my fellow millennials out there, it’s kind of like The Parent Trap meets Hey Dude meets Salute Your Shorts. Plus, a heavy pour of Yellowstone.

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(And that’s just during the summer. There’s a whole other recipe in the winter.)

I’ve always loved American fashion because of its connection to sport and function and the Great Outdoors. There is a practicality to it, an industriousness, and an optimism. Claire McCardell, one of America’s most famous mid-century fashion designers, was inspired by her active pursuits:

“As a young girl growing up in Maryland, she hated wearing a dress when climbing trees, and didn't understand why she couldn't wear pants with pockets like her brothers-she had nowhere to put the apples she picked. At summer camp, she loathed swimming in the cumbersome full-length stockings women were expected to wear, so she ditched hers and went bare-legged in the lake, even though she knew she'd get in trouble. When she was just starting out as a fashion designer, in the 1930s, she went on a ski trip to New Hampshire and one evening saw a woman shivering in a thin satin dress.”1

She designed clothing for women for living.

Leisurewear by Claire McCardell. Photo source: Met Museum

I like this tension between purpose and passion. This becomes especially evident out west, in the mountains, on the river, across the wide open plains, eventually stretching to the cities and the suburbs.

Rachel S. Gross, a historian of the outdoor apparel industry, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, and an outdoor enthusiast recently wrote a book called Shopping All the Way to the Woods about the history and evolution of the outdoor clothing industry:

In the 1970s, outdoor clothing and equipment catalogs were full of products that might have seemed completely unrelated to the outdoors a decade earlier. One old-school REI (Recreational Equipment, Incorporated) fan was annoyed that people were wearing chic outdoor clothing beyond the trail. “A full page of walking shoes. For walking on trails?” he asked in 1979. “No, to walk to Pioneer Square or Fisherman’s Wharf or Greenwich Village, attired in the REI Fashion Line, for quiche and a glass of white wine.”2

Sorry old-school REI fan, this is exactly why I want to wear my walking shoes. (Or, alternatively, take the Ashley Olsen approach to hiking below. The glass of wine - whiskey? The half-on sweatshirt. The all-white look. The machete?!)

Emilee Russell

recently wrote about fashion in New York versus the rest of the country3 and interviewed some of our favorite writers who live all over the U.S., including

Kelly Williams

who shared:

“It’s been interesting in recent years to see Miu Miu’s rope sandals go viral or to read about how technical jackets are trending; those types of garments are a mainstay in the wardrobe of people in Colorado. High fashion declared them “cool” and styled them with irony, but they have always been part of the style of my state.”

In Jackson, on the same square block in town, you can buy Jamie Haller loafers, a Jackson hole tourist tee, a cowboy hat that looks like an interior designer took it on as a Reno project, Patagonia baggies, and a quick drive down the road, a fisherman vest from Orvis.

I’m really feeling this mash-up right now. It’s not the gorpcore of five years ago. It’s not the cowboy-cousin trend that

Allison Bornstein

highlighted last year (which I loved). It’s a remix of both, plus 80s aerobics, muscle tanks, baggy pants, bright colors, 90s Nickelodeon, khaki shorts and cargos, plaid, preppy polos, and Eddie Bauer Ford Explorers. It’s 00s high performance and the golden age of denim. All thrown in the pot and stirred into something new.

This is probably the closest to my true personal style (if I never had to step foot in an office!), and it is definitely how I want to dress for the rest of the summer.

I am always inspired when I’m out west, finding markers on the style trail for a summer of fun and adventure ahead.

LOOK BOOK

For strolls along the river or walks through the West Village, these looks pair best with a ranch water cocktail (which you’ll find my “recipe” for in

Sogole Kane

’s most recent newsletter…the secret is way more limes than you could possibly think, like a Dakota Johnson-level of limes!)

I love these Patagonia long Baggies™️ in this grey purple, and I’m newly obsessed with this button-through sweater vest I just got and wore throughout my trip. This bandana is block-printed in India, and one silver lining to the end of vacation is that these Jamie Haller double buckle sandals that I scored via their sample sale (one perk to being short/having small feet) are on their way to me!

It was surprisingly hard to source an oversized cropped sleeveless sweatshirt with dropped armholes, lol. This one is pricey but close to perfect, and I’m seriously contemplating it (here’s another option at a fraction of the price that also looks great). These Leset carpenter pants are a nod to

Kelly Williams

’ favorites from last week’s newsletter, and I love the green of this mesh bra. These rope sandals are such a good price, as is this beaded bandana necklace. This hat caps it all off.

Guys, I’ve discovered a new favorite tee…and it’s from the boys section at Gap. (They’re also currently on super sale, I paid double and it was still a steal.) It’s a heavyweight cotton, oversized, in the best Miu Miu-esque stripes. (I also stocked up on the garment-dyed solids.) These Aritzia Lodge wide leg drawstring shorts are made from a lightweight Japanese crepe. I love a practical (and well-priced!) fisherman jelly sandal. And a dash of Western spirit with this Levi’s denim jacket and a beaded bracelet. Howdy!

This look is directly inspired by

Jordyn Sharfe

with a delicate lace top and ripstop barrel pants from L.L. Bean, the outdoor OG. The mesh knitted Toteme ballet flats just went on sale, and this bracelet is Miu Miu, who kicked off the whole paracord moment of Summer 25. If you’re in the market for a cowboy hat, I highly suggest Sing Hat Company, which is a woman-owned, women-run hat company nestled under the mountains in downtown Jackson, Wyoming.

I’m picturing this look with the chambray shirt tied at the waist, and the gingham bandana tied at the neck of your sleeveless polo shirt, a la Hallie/Annie in The Parent Trap. Stio is a Jackson-based technical outdoor apparel brand, and it’s what the locals ski and hike in. These Drifter shorts in sage flats remind me of the color of the hills here. All of

Jessie Randall

’s designs for Loeffler Randall are great, but Mary jane sneakers are having a moment, and these mesh ones are so good.

Last but not least, a plaid shirt is the sartorial trailhead where the backpackers and the cowboys meet. These blue striped shorts are my new faves (I’m wearing them in the photo way back at the beginning), and I know lots of fans of these leather flip flops. (Anyone else fondly remember Reefs??) J.Crew’s beaded bracelets remind me so much of the plastic ones I used to weave nonstop at summer camp. I might need all three.