Transitional Dressing: How to Adapt Your Wardrobe for Spring

March heralds
the start of Spring and as understated white snowdrops make way for brazen
yellow daffodils, dark muted winter shades are replaced by fresh and cheery
hues in clothing stores. It’s easy to see what the favoured colour palette of
the new season will be. 

This spring summer sees clothing and accessories in
hues towards the softer, cooler side of the colour spectrum. An eclectic,
ethereal mix of understated brights, pale pastels and nature-like neutrals.

March
sunshine is beautiful and welcome but rarely warm enough to enable the shedding
of layers. Morning frost is often on the ground until May and the evenings, though
lighter, are still chilly. It is not unusual for snow to be on the ground at
Easter. 

This can make transitional dressing tricky. 

After what
can seem like endless months grey skies and dull days, it is usual to want to inject
something of the summer into our wardrobes.

Gone are the
days where fashion rules stated that white couldn’t be worn in the winter nor
black in the summer. Modern dressing is about knowing what suits and what makes
one happy. Wearing both winter and summer clothes in spring and utilising and
adapting the pieces already in the wardrobe, is the smartest and easiest way to
move seamlessly between the seasons.

A favourite
black winter dress (this is the Allium B Amelia) can be worn in spring by brightening it up with a statement
necklace or a belt in one of this season’s colours. Swap opaque tights for
sheer and dark shoes for pale aquamarine, banana yellow or dove grey and the
whole ensemble moves forward a season.

A mid-weight
autumn blazer can become a mid-weight spring blazer with the addition of a
lightweight spring scarf instead of a heavier autumn one.

Florals, botanicals and birds are popular this spring.

A pair of
white summer jeans can be brought out of the wardrobe before summer proper by
teaming with a lightweight pastel jumper. A low boot or pair of pumps means
feet need not be bare.
This mint green jumper is a recent addition to my wardrobe. It had been hailing the day I wore it (just last week), but the pastel colour and lighter coloured boots made it seem less wintry and more springlike without compromising on the required cosiness.

Another recent “transitional” outfit is this one. A jumper worn with a vest underneath, a scarf over the top and with boots meant it was warm enough to wear on the last day in February, but the bright accessories suggest a spring ensemble, not a winter one.

Wear summer
dresses in early spring by adding tights and a jacket with an ankle boot or a closed-toe sandal. 

A tunic dress like this one can be worn with tights and court shoes in March and with bare legs and sandals in July.
This is the Eliza from Boden’s Spring Summer collection but I wore it in the middle of February with opaque tights, boots and a black velvet jacket. It meant I could wear it straight away rather than have it languish in my closet until later in the season. I like my clothes to earn their keep. 
The next stage will be with nude tights and heels and then, when summer arrives, bare legs and sandals.

This floral Closet Portobello dress is undoubtedly designed for spring and summer but I added opaque tights, a velvet jacket and ankle boots so I could wear it much earlier in the season for a Valentine’s Meal. (It is the same black velvet jacket, ankle boots throughout this post- a variation of which can probably be found in most wardrobes).
I was lucky with sunshine for the second photograph- it was a very cold February day and I took it for the purposes of this post- but it shows how one dress can be worn throughout the year.

A few
well-chosen accessories can update favourite year-round outfits. Swap a black
or navy handbag for one in a sorbet shade to immediately lighten and brighten
an outfit. A mint green or rose pink manicure instead of winter’s dark berry
tones will lift even the simplest of outfits.

Think
layers, colour and accessories then lie back and dream of summer.

Love Liz x

The full details of each of these outfits plus more photographs can be seen on the following blog posts:
Outfit: Black Dress with Beaded Collar ( features the Allium B Amelia dress with winter accessories)
The Allium B Amelia Dress (worn last Easter with yellow shoes)
Casual Jeans with Roses Scarf (navy blazer with spring scarf)
Mint Green Cable Jumper with Barbour Boots and Floral Scarf 
Nautical Striped Jumper with Daisy Scarf and Yellow Handbag
The Boden Eliza Tunic Dress
Valentine’s Outfit: Floral Skater Dress with Ankle Boots (featuring the Closet Portobello Dress)