Each time June arrives, it seems to surprise us. Although we can feel it coming through spring, the moment the calendar turns seemingly comes out of nowhere, whether we're ready for it or not. Once summer hits, we hope to spend more time outside. We convince ourselves we'll take morning walks. We'll make it a point to sit with our coffee on the porch. But inevitably, the routine we imagined doesn't quite happen, because there wasn't really a routine to begin with, just a vague intention.
What we've found, both in our own lives and in the stories our customers share with us, is that getting outside consistently has less to do with motivation and more to do with making it easy to leave the house. An outdoor self-care practice doesn't need to be ambitious, but rather, repeatable. And it starts with the first hour of your morning.
Photo by Maria Del Rio
Start With Your Feet on the Ground
A morning walk doesn't need to be long to be worth it. Fifteen minutes around the block, early enough that the neighborhood is still waking up, infuses the rest of your day with energy you just can’t get from another scroll on your phone. The light feels different in the morning. The air feels different. Your thoughts arrive differently in your mind when your body is moving.
We hear from a lot of women who say they want to walk more but keep skipping it because they simply can’t find the time for themselves. Our suggestion: lower the bar to even just a five minute walk and get outside first thing in the morning. A lightweight kimono robe layered over shorts and a tank, slipped on with sandals, is a perfectly functional morning outfit. The Charmeuse Kimono Robe is 22mm charmeuse with fluid drape, machine washable, and easy to reach for before your brain has fully come online. Kimono outfits are perfect for morning walks because they make it easy to get outside first thing.
Photo by Ashley Streff
What an Open Window Can Do
Not every morning has time for a walk. Some mornings, you have ten minutes between your alarm and your first obligation, and the most outdoor time you'll get is a window pushed open. But with intention, that can be enough. Sitting near an open window with your tea or coffee, without a screen in front of you, is a form of intention. It's allows you to take a pause before the day really gets started.
The 22mm Washable Silk Kimono Robe, made from 100% Grade 6A Raw Mulberry Silk, is what you want against your skin at that hour. How you start your day, and how you feel in those settled moments before things get busy, can set the tone for the rest of your day. This is a robe you can machine wash on a cold, delicate cycle, hang dry, and have ready again by the next morning. It's made to be worn.
Photo by Nick Onken
The Ritual of Tending to Something
Tending to a garden, even a small indoor one, is the kind of self care that productivity culture tends to overlook because it doesn't produce market value. Self care has value in and of itself though. Watering your herbs or deadheading your patio plants makes you slow down and notice the world around you. It's repetitive in a way that can help reset your nervous system rather than overstimulate it.
Women's dusters and wrap-style robes have long been the unofficial uniform of self care rituals for god reason. The Charmeuse Kimono Wrap has a double lining, velvet trim, and in-seam pockets, so you can actually carry your phone or a pair of gloves for pruning. It's more structured than the robe, and it moves elegantly with you. Whether you're stepping out to a balcony garden or walking through your backyard, the wrap elevates the ordinary moments. For those looking for plus size kimono robe options, our charmeuse and silk styles are both designed with relaxed fits and removable waist ties, so the silhouette works for a range of bodies and preferences.
Photo by @thebrihivellc
Lighting a Candle Is Also a Practice
You can also make your outdoor ritual a practice by marking the moment you come inside. Coming back inside from a walk, light your favorite candle. Sitting down with a candle lit before the work day begins is a transition that can be a beautiful part of the practice. A lit candle is a small acknowledgement of the morning ritual and can hep extend it through the rest of the day.
Our co-founders, sisters Renee and Tiffany have both reflected on the way the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day, and you don’t need a two-hour routine to feel that sort of intention. A candle, a good cup of coffee made by hand rather than grabbed on the way out, kimono clothes that feel good against your skin, these small things compound. They make a difference in how you experience your life.
Building In Before Summer Gets Busy
The irony of summer is that it's the season we most want to slow down, and often the one that fills up the fastest. Weddings, travel, social obligations, all of it arrives in June and doesn't let up until September. If the goal is to actually spend more time outside this summer, the time to build the habit is now, before the calendar fills in.
Start with one thing. A walk, a window, a garden, a candle, a cup of coffee you actually taste. Wear something that makes the morning something you look forward to. Our Printed Silk Kimono Robe in 16mm, 100% silk, is the kind of morning outfit that makes the whole effort feel worth it.
We made these robes to be worn, not saved. The artisan team in China's Silk Village spends weeks on a single design, hand-sourcing the fabric, weaving, tailoring, inspecting. The intention behind each piece was never that it would hang in a closet waiting for a special occasion. Wear it on a Tuesday in June. Take it outside. It’s meant to be a little luxury you can add to your everyday.
