How To Wear Your Spring Wardrobe NOW

It’s the dead of winter.  The winds are brutal, flurries are falling, and all you seem to want to do is curl up under a blanket with a cup of hot cocoa and hide away until spring.  But why wait until April to have that happy, free, spring-y feeling?  Why not bring spring to you?

I know what you’re thinking: but now is no place or time for fun florals, breezy pastels, and traffic-stopping brights.  You’re right, in a way.  But if you get just a little creative and understand how to pair your spring prints and patterns and materials with the chunkier sweaters and sturdier cuts of winter, then you really can have it all.

Take your spring-iest, flirtiest dress.  Now add a serious cardigan, or pick out the darkest color in the print and add a thermal in that color beneath the dress.  Pair tights and boots and…voila!  You have a winter-ready outfit.  Want to wear that floral mini skirt?  Again, don’t forget the tights and knit socks (these are the most crucial ingredients for any of this to work).  Then pair with a comfy pullover sweater and winter booties.

The fun thing about this mix and match style is that you can be as creative as your little heart desires.  The key notes to remember are layering and keeping warm.  You only look stupid when you have bare legs or toes or shoulders in the dead of winter.  You need to balance the florals with cable knits, the brights with darker, more muted or winter-esque colors.

The seasons shouldn’t dictate exactly what we wear, but they should be our guide and help us create great outfits.  Don’t get ahead of yourself and dress in full-fledged spring attire.  Now is that great time when we can merge winter and spring and really play with fabrics, patterns, and silhouettes.  Appreciate it, and have fun!

After graduating from college in ’09, Allyson Barkan flew off to Greece to teach English Literature at a private high school and explore Greek and European culture for a year.  Since returning stateside, she now works in Entertainment Public Relations in New York City.  For travel advice, stray observations as a 20-something in the big city, and the occasional hilarious misadventure, follow Allyson atwww.allysonbarkan.com and on twitter at @aebarkan.