In the transitional season between winter and spring, you may be starting to examine your wardrobe. To help you brush up your closet in time for spring, we spoke with Catherine Bushera, owner of Style By Rachel, to get some advice.
Brighten Things Up
“What we’re seeing, finally is color,” Bushera says. After a few years of neutrals and basics taking over the trends, this spring season is seeing a return to more vibrant tones. In particular, Bushera points to cobalt blue, magenta, and bright reds and oranges as trending colors now.
If you have a lot of neutrals and want to begin incorporating those trendier hues, you can go all-in with the bright shades. “If we’re going to go a bright color, I would do a cobalt blue. And we’re seeing a lot of really bright reds and oranges,” Bushera says. “If the clients were to kind of jump right in, I would stick to those tones. They do great with neutrals.”
For a more subtle approach, start with florals and pastels like lavender, baby pink, and baby blues. “That’s a really good way to kind of slowly introduce color back in the wardrobe,” she says.
Layer Well
With frequently fluctuating temperatures around the NoVA area, plus the rainy season coming up, layering is key in spring wardrobes. That’s especially true for those heading to an office, where the weather outside and the temperature inside may not align.
To keep layers from looking too bulky, Bushera offers some advice. When layering a t-shirt or tank top with a cardigan, for example, “I would really focus, for women specifically, to go with a V-neck for whatever that first layer is … so you don’t feel like you have two layers that are really close to the neck. That’ll really help open everything up so you’re less bulky.”
It will also help to have one light piece and one heavy piece so it doesn’t get too bulky or warm.
And invest in a good piece of outerwear, Bushera says.
“Where I’m finding some gaps in a lot of clients’ wardrobes right now is this mid-weight outerwear,” Bushera says. “Clients will have a heavy winter jacket, and probably a linen blazer, but this in-between category we’re kind of lacking. A really good trench is awesome for the transition.”
Cardigans are another piece that are good for transitional weather. “Cardigans are back for men and women, which I love,” she says. “You can wear [them] inside, outside … A good midweight cardigan is a layering piece you could easily take off and put back on.”
When to Invest (Or Not)
When you’re shopping, think about which pieces are worth a long-term investment and which aren’t.
“I would invest in denim, 100 percent,” Bushera says. “Now, denim stretches out so much, it washes really badly. But if you invest in a good pair of denim, I mean, my best denim is probably eight to 10 years old. I still love it, I still wear it, and it is a piece that historically does not go out of style.”
A lot of jean cuts that are in style now. “The skinnies, the wide leg, the boot cuts, they’re all in style. It just depends on how you’re styling them,” she says.
Other good pieces with longevity include a classic blazer and “a really good loafer.”
Avoid the things that are very trendy and may not last. Take low-rise jeans, for example. “It just doesn’t serve the female body. Whether you’re tall and thin or have hips, that mid-rise to high-rise is really going to help balance out the body and lengthen the leg,” Bushera says.
And be sparing with things like puffy sleeves, cut-outs, or big accentuations. Bushera says she wouldn’t invest a lot in those trendy items “because long-term, we just find ourselves not gravitating towards those pieces,” she says.
Spring Cleaning
Now may also be a good time to sort through your closet and see what is no longer working.
“My rule of thumb is you should be wearing 80 percent of your closet all year round. … If it’s a piece that you have ignored for at least a year, two or three seasons, I would get rid of it,” she says.
Other things to donate include anything that doesn’t fit anymore and pre-COVID workwear. “Men and women are not dressing the same as they did pre-COVID in the office, unless certain roles require a full suit. If you haven’t worn your suiting post-COVID, I would get rid of it and start fresh,” she says.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
