A change in the weather…

A change in the weather…

I have never been a “winter” person.  In fact, I wouldn’t mind having three seasons a year and just bypass winter completely!  I don’t like being cold or wearing heavy, bulky clothes to ward off the chilly air.  Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the upcoming season change and the shedding of the wool. 

As I have mentioned in the past, I love to wear separates. I love that you can take eight or ten pieces and make more than a dozen different looks.  Regardless of the season, every closet needs to include a nice pair of jeans.  Most jobs today have “casual Friday” and you can take a pair of jeans and make them look fun and casual to fairly dressy.  Jeans can range from $40 upwards.  I have bought jeans at Ann Taylor and Loft factory stores and have paid around $50. 

Fitted blazers are a fun clothing item and  I have featured two in my spring wardrobe capsule.  I love color so I have included a bright coral/orange blazer (yoox.com), and a more practical blue/gray, peplum style blazer (whitehouseblackmarket.com) to complete any look. 

A blazer can take an average outfit to AWESOME!  There are many blazer styles including casual, unstructured, dressy, peplum, boxy, structured, so it’s important to know what looks best on your body type.    

Every closet needs to include a long-sleeved white collared shirt.  The versatility of this clothing item is incredible as it can be worn with jeans, nice trousers, or a nice, classy pair of Bermuda shorts.   To complete this wardrobe capsule, I have added a few other shirts and blouses that add color and different styles.  I chose a bright orange/coral sleeveless top, a couple beige tops (ginatricot.com, $49 and zalando.co.uk $30), a blue/gray sleeveless cowl (riverisland.com), and a basic white tee.  Any of these tops can be worn with a pair of jeans or tan pants and you’ve created a nice look. 

Spring shouts “flowers” and skirts are a great place for those blossoms.  In my collection I have included two colorful floral skirts.  The beautiful contrast of dark and light are included in my first skirt (houseoffrasier.co.uk., $57).  The combination of these colors lends itself to a limitless array of blouse/top  possibilities.  Skirt two is much more subdued in light greens, blues, golds, and orange (zara.com $20).  This printed pencil skirt can be topped with the beige tops as well as the blue/gray sleeveless top

.   Another staple needed in every closet is a cream pencil skirt because this color goes with everything, including all of the tops and jackets I have featured in this collection. 

My pop of color I chose throughout my collection was the orange/coral.  While putting this collection together I was surprised at how prevalent this color has become in all clothing items.  It’s always been a favorite of mine and I can remember having a cute top and skirt these colors as a teenager and feeling really good in it.  I chose Rebecca Minkoff peep-toe pumps in this beautiful color (lastcall.com  $119) that can be worn with the majority of items I’ve selected.  A pair of nude heels (newlook.com $23) is a MUST for the career girl because they can be worn at virtually every setting.  For a more casual look I have chosen a tan slingback flat (urban outfitters.com, $60).  These would look great paired with white Bermuda shorts, white tee and a cute blazer. 

Over two dozen outfits can be made using the thirteen separates in this collection.  To build a substantial wardrobe using limited pieces, it’s important to plan carefully and start with a couple “focus pieces” that include the color pallet you will be using throughout your seasonal wardrobe.  My focus piece was the colorful floral skirt, and I added pieces that complimented that initial item.  Building a wardrobe can be fun; let yourself be creative and enjoy the results!

Until next time,

Judy