Dressing for (sort of) spring when winter doesn’t seem to be going away

Like all British people in perhaps the entire history of the world, I’m prone to getting wildly overexcited the moment the faintest glimpses of sunlight break through our perpetually cloudy sky.

This has led me to wearing all manner of warm-weather outfits before it’s been comfortable to do so in the past, and after one unfortunate (barely sunny) day a couple of weeks ago when I skipped merrily out of the house in a tee and instantly regretted it, I’ve accepted that beach dresses and espadrille sandals are off the cards for now. Spring has been acting in a somewhat pathetic manner and getting the shit kicked out of it by big bad winter for what feels like a rather long time, so I assume I can’t be the only one whose mornings have all become one big guessing game. Can I retire the enormous winter coat for a normal sized one? Will I be able to wear a jacket, perhaps? Is wearing something that isn’t boots going to result in the removal of several toes? And when oh when will I be able to start wearing skirts without the addition of tights?

Although I would love to pretend the thoughts that are filling my head on a daily basis while I’m getting ready are about the work goals I’m intending to smash that day or intelligent musings on important issues, the reality is that there’s one overriding thought that presents itself to me without fail every morning at the moment: what the fuck do I fucking wear?

I don’t have the answer for you, I’m afraid, and I hate being cold, but I’m also growing to hate my beloved coats and boots from sheer overuse, so I’ve started trying to transition my wardrobe nonetheless. It has warmed up a little over the past week or so, that’s for sure, but what to wear when it’s technically spring but winter is insistent upon lingering is a perplexing matter, frivolous though it may be. Here’s how you’ll find me approaching dressing for however long this strange inbetween season lasts.

Please god no more enormous jumpers

I’m kidding, of course. I love enormous jumpers, and shapeless jumpers, and all the jumpers, but I simply cannot bring myself to purchase more enormous jumpers at the end of March, and my collection has not proven extensive enough to prevent boredom. Unless the temperature really plunges again, I’m swapping them for sweaters, light knits, and long sleeved tees. This one is a Primark £3.50 job – I’m really impressed with the shape and it’s the most useful item I’ve bought in ages.

I’m not sure having bare legs is a good idea but hey let’s give it a go anyway

I often get this bizarre idea in my head that you can’t get cold legs. While that’s definitely not true, it’s a whole lot easier to handle chillier weather on your bottom half than your top, so I’ve taken to wearing midis quite a lot recently, since they’re easy to style for colder weather. This one was a £5.99 find in the Zara sale and I wasn’t going to be waiting around until May to wear it, although I suspect it will be lovely with a white tee and mules should that time ever arrive. Culottes and trousers are also top of my agenda for the despairing morning hunt through the wardrobe, since they can be more tricky to style with boots and as such I don’t feel they got quite enough love over the winter period.

It must be jacket temperature by now…

…that depends what kind of jacket you mean and how brave you are, my friend. My coat collection is precious to me, but it’s obviously not as extensive as my tshirt collection, let’s say, and there are only so many *looks* you can create when one item is essentially hiding everything else. Luckily this 6 year old Topshop biker is an unusually thick one, and shearling jackets (faux, of course) are also proving to be useful companions right now.

Shoes make my freezing feet feel like they might break in two but I’m now bored of my boot selection

I made the foolish error of getting rid of lots of boots this winter; it was a step in the right direction for my hoarding habits but not so successful given our weather situation. I love several of the pairs I have left to the moon and back, but there are only so many times I can feel enthused about putting the same ones on again, and my usual transitional footwear choice of a block heeled shoe isn’t cutting it just yet (why does having cold feet make them feel like they might snap please someone?), so I’ve developed quite an affinity with trainers. I don’t feel like I have many nice pairs that aren’t for the gym though, some that I really love are firmly on my shopping list. Suggestions welcome!

When in doubt, accessorize it out

There’s no need for me to elaborate on the topic of basket bags, is there? The amount I’ve used this one from Zara last year is verging on ridiculous but as soon as it was no longer snowing, it was in use again. If we really have to wear enormous jumpers, boots and thick coats that very definitely say winter, let our accessories shout ‘SPRING!’.

Let me know if any of these are winter to spring transitional outfit staples for you too – or, indeed, if there’s anything I need to add to my repertoire while we make our way through this seemingly endless in-the-middle season. Is anyone else struggling (probably too strong a word for such a fluffy subject, but I’m partial to drama) with what to wear right now?

What I’m wearing:

Jacket – Topshop | Top – Primark | Skirt – Zara | Belt – River Island | Trainers – Converse | Bag – Zara

Photography: Rob Poor

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