Wonder how to dress dark academia in summer?
In this post, I will give you the best tips for styling dark academia summer outfits. Also, you will see over 50 dark academia summer outfits which you can be inspired by. At the end of the post, I will show you the places where you can easily find and buy some dark academia summer pieces.
Before that, I highly recommend you see the posts below first so that you can create your dark academia summer outfits smoothly.
Alright, let’s check them out!
How To Dress Dark Academia In Summer?
1. Mix Dark Color And Light Color
In general, dark academia fashion focuses on fall and winter. Because dark colors are more suitable for fall/winter than spring/summer. For example, when it comes to brown (which is the iconic color of dark academia aesthetic), we automatically think of fall and fallen leaves…
What about spring and summer? Have you thought about what kind of colors are suitable for spring/summer? It’s easy. The opposite of dark colors is the colors for spring/summer! That’s right. The light colors!
Since we are going to create dark academia summer outfits, it’s better to use both dark and light colors. Using light colors not only can make the outfit feel cool psychologically but also have summer vibes.
2. Use Prints To Have Some Summer Vibes
It’s quite rare to see prints in dark academia fashion except for plaid patterns. But you know what? Spring and summer is the best time to wear printed clothes. So we should take this chance to wear printed shirts, print skirts, or whatever, to make our dark academia summer outfits remarkable!
3. Choose Clothes Made Of Thin Fabrics
Jersey
Sweaters are often used for dark academia outfits. But it will be too hot if we wear sweaters in summer. Instead, we can wear jersey tops which are excellent substitutes for sweaters. It’s like a thinner version of a sweater and therefore you will feel more comfortable in hot weather.
Sheer
Sheer fabrics like chiffon, organza, and mesh are so thin that they are translucent. That is the biggest feature of sheer fabrics. They are not only breathable but also will give your dark academia outfits a fresh look.
Linen
Linen is one of the best natural fabrics. It is a very popular fabric in summer because it is lightweight and thin. Most importantly, it will make you feel cool when you wear it. Even if you wear a long sleeve linen shirt in summer, that will be no problem!
Lace
Lace has the same features that I mentioned above: thin and translucent. However, lace has something that other fabrics don’t have: a gorgeous pattern. I believe if you wear lace clothes as part of your dark academia outfits, you will receive a lot of wows.
4. Choose The Right Design And Feel Cool In Hot Summer
Loose-fit
It’s more comfortable to keep the clothes from sticking to your skin especially when you sweat. That’s why we need to wear loose-fit clothes in summer. Here are some loose-fit clothes that you can wear for dark academia summer outfits:
- Oversized Top or Blazer
- Bishop Sleeve Top
- Wide-leg Pants
- Flared Long Skirt
- Flowy Dress
Cutout
Cutout clothes are breathable and they add stylishness to your outfits. In addition to the cutout shirt in the picture, backless tops and blazers are wonderful summer items too.
Cropped
Crop tops, cropped blazers… These items are shorter than the regular ones. When you wear them, sometimes your waist may be revealed and therefore they can make you feel cool and show a little bit of your sexiness.
Patchwork
You can also wear clothes that consist of two or multiple fabrics (a regular fabric + a thin fabric). For example, if you wear a short sleeve top with mesh sleeves like the one in the picture, your look is already unique and you will feel almost as cool as wearing a sleeveless top!
5. Items You Can Use For Dark Academia Summer Outfits
Short Sleeve Top
I cannot imagine anybody can spend summer without a short sleeve top. If there is a wardrobe essentials list for dark academia summer outfits, I will definitely put short sleeve tops on the list first.
Solid short sleeve shirts are basic items that are good to pair with various clothes. Even though short sleeve t-shirts are not typical dark academia fashion items, I think they are acceptable if the summer look fits the dark academia aesthetic.
Sleeveless Top
You can solely wear a sleeveless top or pair it with a blazer, a solid shirt, or a plaid shirt to have many different looks.
For instance, if you wear a mock neck sleeveless knit top with the outerwear I said earlier, you will have a classic dark academia look.
If you wanna look chicer, you can pair a camisole with a blazer. That way, you can tolerate the hot weather as well.
Miniskirt
Miniskirts are essential items because you can wear them all seasons and basically they are good to match most types of clothes.
Besides, there are lots of options you can choose from: pencil miniskirts, pleated miniskirts, plaid miniskirts, and so on.
I would say those are the best miniskirts for dark academia outfits and I believe you will look adorable when you them in summer.
Shorts
Although shorts don’t have as many variations as miniskirts, they still can diversify the dark academia summer outfits. If you don’t want to go for a feminine miniskirt, you can choose shorts to have a boyish look instead.
Blazer Vest or Suit Vest
You may have noticed that I mentioned “blazer” several times in this post. That’s because blazers are one of the dark academia wardrobe essentials. However, some people may hesitate to wear blazers in summer even if I said that it’s nice to pair a blazer with some summer items.
The good news is, you don’t have to. You can try wearing a blazer vest or a suit vest that shares the same atmosphere a blazer has. And because they are sleeveless, you will feel much cooler. Moreover, you can match a blazer vest/suit vest with a t-shirt, short sleeve shirt, and (thin) long sleeve shirt too.
Shirt Dress
Shirt dress is one of the best dress types for dark academia summer outfits, especially a flared shirt dress. It’s great that you don’t need to worry about what you should pair with. Just wear it solely and if you feel hot, you can unbutton one or two buttons and fold the sleeves a little bit.
Sleeveless Dress
I put the sleeveless dress here because I want to tell you that it’s a gorgeous dark academia summer look when matching a sleeveless dress with a collared shirt.
I recommend trying different items like short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, blouses, apron dresses, spaghetti strap dresses, or other sleeveless dresses.
Every little change can make the outfits look completely different and you will never get tired of them!
Dark Academia Summer Outfit Ideas
1. Blazer + Crop Top or Sleeveless Top
2. T-shirt + Plaid Sweater Vest + Corduroy Shorts
3. Beige Shirt + Black Skirt or Slacks
4. Graphic T-shirt + Flared Midi Skirt + Belt
I recommend wearing an academia aesthetic-related graphic t-shirt like books, poems, schools, arts, etc.
5. Brown Blazer Suit + White T-shirt
6. Khaki Mock Neck Top + Black Slacks
7. V-Neck Top + Oversized Blazer + Slacks + Leather Handbag
8. Sleeveless Collared Dress + Belt + Leather Bag
9. Brown Chiffon Shirt + White Pants + Crossbody Leather Bag
10. White Crop Top + Brown Blazer + Black Slacks
11. Black Short Sleeve Shirt + Black Slacks + Brown Crossbody Leather Bag
12. Sleeveless Mock Neck Knit Top + Plaid Slacks
13. Olive Green Oversized Shirt Dress
14. White Shirt + Plaid Sweater Vest + Brown Shorts
15. Black Top + Brick Red Pleated Skirt Suit
16. Black Mock Neck Jersey Top + Khaki Pants + Belt
17. Short Sleeve Collared Top + Plaid Sweater Vest + Pleated Miniskirt
18. Blazer Vest + Beige Pants + Belt + Leather Handbag
19. Short Sleeve T-shirt + Cable Knit Sweater Vest
20. Short Sleeve Shirt + Suspender Pants
21. White Crop Top + Striped Cropped Blazer & Skirt Suit
22. Black Top + White Shirt + Khaki Shorts + Belt
23. Striped Suit Vest + Plaid Pants
24. Belted Pleated Shirt Dress
25. Sleeveless Mock Neck Knit Top + Black Skirt or Slacks
26. Short Sleeve Collared Mini Dress
27. Linen Shirt + Plaid Flared Skirt
28. Shirt + Slacks + Belt + Brown or Black Blazer Vest
29. Lantern Sleeve Shirt + Miniskirt
30. Thin Cardigan + Belt + Slacks
31. Printed Shirt + Belt + Slacks or Shorts
32. Shirt + Spaghetti Strap Mini Dress + Stockings
33. Black Short Sleeve Knit Top + Gray Skirt or Slacks
34. V-Neck Ruffled Blouse + Belt + Pants
35. Black Mock Neck Top + Khaki Slacks
36. White Suit Vest + Brown Pants
37. Black Chiffon Blouse + Belt + Beige Pants
38. Collared Blouse + Sleeveless Plaid Mini Dress + Crossbody Leather Bag
39. Oversized Plaid Shirt + Black Pants + Crossbody Leather Bag
40. Cutout Shirt + Belt + Slacks
41. Brown Polo Dress
42. Shirt + Plaid Skirt Suit + Crossbody Leather Bag
43. Brown Balloon Sleeve Shirt + Black Pants
44. Thin Cardigan + Belt + Shorts
45. White Bishop Sleeve Shirt + Brown Pants
46. Ruffled Shirt + Belt + Miniskirt + Leather Bag
47. Striped Shirt Dress + Suit Vest
48. Black Plaid Shirt Dress
49. White Silk Shirt + Brown Miniskirt
50. White Shirt + Black Shorts + Matching Vest
Dark Academia Summer Outfits Gallery (Quick Links)
This gallery includes all the dark academia summer outfits you have seen above and plus some extra ones. If you want to see the details or buy any of them, you can simply click it and you will see the product page.
Where To Buy Dark Academia Summer Outfits?
If you wonder where are good places to buy other dark academia summer items in addition to what I’ve shown you in this post, I recommend you visit the following online stores:
I’m sure you will not only find some dark academia summer pieces but also dark academia style clothes that you can wear all year round!
If you want to know more about each store and other stores that have dark academia fashion items, you can check them out here:
Those are the best dark academia summer outfits that I want to recommend to you.
I’m sure there are still hundreds of dark academia summer outfits that are not shown in this post. But at least I hope this post can inspire you to create your own dark academia summer outfits!
