Summertime Sniffles

Looking cute while sick? It's possible...almost.

It's inevitable: Every summer, I get a cold. Not just a sniffle-cough scenario, but a full-blown in-bed-for-days-with-a-fever illness. This year, it hit as I was en route to L.A. for our most recent cover shoot. By the time I made it to my hotel room, all I wanted was comfy pajamas, a warm blanket, and my mom. Sadly, none of these things were in my suitcase.

But instead of letting my misery defeat me, I vowed to be prepared for the next time I was feeling under the weather. I began searching for things that, had I had them, I'm sure would have made me feel better instantly (or at least made me a bit more comfortable)--starting with this jersey pj's set from Vera Wang. It's lightweight, with a loose fit, so I knew I wouldn't wake up all sweaty and tangled in the middle of the night.

One of the worst parts of being sick, I think, is the constant temperature battle your body has. One minute, I'm shivering under five layers; the next, I'm burning up under one. So it's nice to have a few things to wrap up in--and easily discard. Like a cotton terry robe. This one from the newish L.A.-based lingerie company Undrest has a soft hood and three-quarter-length sleeves that you don't have to keep pushing up.

I'll admit it, my ideal slippers are not cute--actually, they're men's--but they're so, so warm. I've blown through two pairs in the last year, and now I really want to start traveling with a third. There's just something so comforting about a pair of big shearling slippers, even in the summer.

The one thing my room did have was an amazing cashmere blanket that I carried from the sofa to the bed and back again during my stay. It was unbelievably soft and just what I wanted next to my skin when I was all achy.

A full day of sleep, an insane amount of vitamin C, and six phone calls to Mom later, I really was much better, and headed off to my interview pretty close to feeling like myself--but with (as usual!) a long list of things on my to-purchase list.

Heather Summerville is a senior editor at