As I brace myself for my first Houston summer, three things are happening. First of all, my northern blood is thinning, as evidenced by my exclamation–Brrr!–of the last “cold spell” here, when temps briefly dipped somewhere in the mid-50s. I’m simultaneously ashamed by that reaction, which would earn a roaring laugh from the kin I left behind in Vermont, and also relieved by it as I hope to survive the months ahead. Which brings me to the other two things that are happening: it’s getting hot outside, and public spaces are now positively arctic.
I, too, worship at the altar of air conditioning, but damn. You people really now how to turn up–or, rather, down. Since learning of the widespread existence of the “office sweater”—or car sweater, or oversized-bag sweater—I’ve found myself in the unexpected position of shopping for knitwear while the mercury creeps toward triple digits. Styles vary by the severity of your situation, from a light desk-side cotton to a chunky movie theatre cable-knit.
Abby Ledoux traded Canada’s border for Mexico’s when she moved to Texas from northwestern Vermont in November 2017 to join the staff at Houstonia.
An alumna of Emerson College’s journalism program in Boston, Abby was previously associate editor of three weekly newspapers in her home state of Vermont. There, she covered everything from Bernie Sanders to the heroin epidemic and won numerous state and regional awards for her work, including the Vermont Press Association’s 2014 Rookie of the Year. She was also an investigative reporting fellow at the New England First Amendment Coalition.
Today, Abby is excited to explore Houston’s vibrant, diverse culture (and shopping scene). Aside from fashion and design, she’s passionate about politics, hip hop and Mexican food. She believes leopard is a neutral and red lipstick can fix almost anything.
