How to slowly transition clothes from winter to spring

 

I’ve been hearing this a lot: “This weather is so crazy! I don’t know how to dress! One day I want to be in spring clothes and then the next day I want my cashmere back.”

I totally get it! Today I dressed for the 82 degrees that most of Sonoma and Marin Counties were enjoying but that doesn’t mean I’m in a rush to take out all of my winter clothes…just some of them. Because, guess what? On Friday it’s supposed to be raining and the high is 61 degrees. That’s sweater weather.

It happened last week too. On Friday I wore an orange and white lightweight silk dress over skinny jeans to a client’s house for our closet appointment. It was going to be in the 70s and I thought I’d made the right choice. “Not so soon, Brenda, not so soon” is what Mother Nature told me, after the fact. Luckily I was close to home. After my morning appointment with her I had time to stop by the house and make a change. I replaced the silk dress with an orange long sleeved sweater, a scarf for around my neck and a white lightweight coat. The wind had kicked up and it was cold!

I was working with another client last week in her closet. I would have brought sushi for us for lunch but what I really wanted was hot soup. We’d just had a yo-yo run with the weather. Two days earlier it was hot, hot, hot. And now it was cold, cold, cold.

 

 

First of all I reassured her that you can’t do a switch over of a closet in one giant leap. It takes several steps of peeling away winter clothes and starting to bring in spring ones. To create “now” outfits, we pulled a few spring things out that would work on the hot days and put winter things (REALLY wintry things) out and stored them in an attic space.

We’ll probably be pulling out her linen pieces by May. Cotton, silk, and lightweight cashmere are perfect choices right now especially when paired with spring jackets, jean jackets or transition weight cardigans.

 

Here’s what I’d suggest you do

 

1. Pull out your wool skirts and wool dresses that have that “December” look about them. They truly are ready to be stored.

 

 

2. Be sure they are clean before you store them away. I love using these cubes from the Container Store to store my out-of-season pieces.

 

 

3. Keep your lightweight cashmere sweaters and light-to-medium weight cashmere cardigans at the ready. They are still perfect for chilly days or chilly evenings. At this time of year I especially appreciate any cashmere sweaters I have that are lighter in color: taupe, pink, cream, light blue. The lighter colors give a nod to spring even while you still need some warmth.

 

 

4. I love wearing loose jackets this time of year. You can layer pieces underneath them that are just the right weight no matter what the weather is: a long-sleeved lightweight sweater (nothing bulky) or a sleeveless top. This printed jacket I’m wearing above is actually a dress but I unbuttoned it and wear it as a tunic. It feels breezy for the season.

This time is fleeting. Pretty soon we’ll be saying, “Cashmere? No way!” But until then we’ll wear a little of this and a little of that, mixing it up to get just the right outfit for now.

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