Transition time! How to mix and match pieces from your summer closet and winter closet

Spring is a time of transition. The snow has melted, the temperatures are rising, and we are turning the page to a new season. When making the transition from Winter to Spring, we all feel excited to ditch the parka and go straight to sun dresses. But when the air is still brisk and the ground is still frozen, it’s great to make a graceful transition with the changing seasons. In this post, we will walk through transitional pieces and outfits and how to bring your wardrobe from Winter to Spring without having to do a total overhaul.

If we look at the core make-up of an outfit, we can identify some easy swaps. We have broken an outfit down into 4 categories: Base Layers, Toppers, Accessories, and Footwear. For each category, there are easy swaps to make your outfit functional for each season.

Base layers
Neutrals: Swap out blacks and navys for creams and beiges.
Swap out dark denim for light-wash or white.
A turtleneck or button down can be styled underneath a dress to add some warmth.

Toppers
Put the parka away and opt for a trench, blazer, jean jacket, or leather jacket.
Keep the chunky kits for now, as they are great to layer over dresses or under lighter jackets.

Accessories
Swap out the beanie and replace with a brimmed wool hat.
Trade your heavy knit scarf for a light-weight silk or wool scarf instead.

Shoes
Swap snow boots for ankle boots with a bare leg.
Swap your boots for some fresh white sneakers.

Another way to make your closet feel more spring-like is to play with lighter colours. Neutrals in white and beige (instead of black and navy), lighter wash jeans, coloured leather, and pastel colours are a fail-safe way to refresh your closet.

Evergreen items - if you’ve ever considered building a capsule closet you will know how important multi-functional items are. Some items can be considered evergreen as they can stay in your closet season to season and always have a place. Here are a few of our faves:

Culottes
Culottes make great work wear, paired with nylons and leather boots. But with bare legs and chic sandals, they are a breezy and comfortable summer pants. If you want one pair to bring you through the seasons, be sure to stay away from a sturdy wool and opt for something on the lighter side.

T-Shirts
This pretty much goes without saying, but t-shirts should always have a place in your closet. They can be worn alone with a great pair of jeans, or layered underneath cardigans, jackets, blazers, you name it. You can never have too many, especially with different colours and flattering styles, such as boxy, slim-fit, and v-neck.

Light weight sweaters
Light weight sweaters are like t-shirts, great for layering, and great to keep you toasty on cooler summer nights or in the frigid A/C of your office.

Leather jacket
A leather jacket is a timeless piece that can add structure to flowy pieces and a bit of edge to any outfit. They are great transitional pieces that can double as a blazer or cardigan in the cooler months and as a light jacket in the warmer months. This is also true for oversized blazers, which are having a moment right now.

Now that we have gone through the components of an outfit, which items to swap, and the evergreen pieces that should have a place in your closet year-round, we will share some winning combinations for transitional outfits.

Winning combos

• Blue-striped collared shirt + trench + light jeans + white sneakers

• Dress/Jumpsuit + trench

• Dress + chunky knit + white sneakers

• Dress + leather jacket

• Light-wash jeans + t-shirt + leather jacket (in a fun spring colour!)