I’ve been very confused of late. Every morning I wake up, and one burning question weighs heavily on my mind. Is it, you may ask, ‘what will happen if Donald Trump gets in again’?
Nope, not it. The Spring Budget? Also not it. It’s how in the world am I meant to wear all of spring’s glorious new trends when it feels like a snow-laden Narnia outside one minute and a relatively balmy day the next?
I threw my puffer jacket into storage the moment the sun showed its face, only to haul it out again the next day. I am bored of my laddered tights and worn-down heels. But the weather’s mood swings mean I have no idea how to wear my new clothes.
What’s a girl to do? Here’s how to incorporate this spring’s ‘It Items’ when the weather is as unreliable as your flakiest friend…
Off-white for a denim update
Jeans, £90, boden.co.uk
Jeans, £45, river island.com
I won’t be cracking out the shorts until summer, but a fresh spring update on jeans? I’m ready. Enter the ecru jeans, as seen on Proenza Schouler’s spring/summer catwalk.
NOT white. Never in fashion has there been a more important distinction than that between ecru and white. White jeans speak of the sort of person who thinks an annual holiday to Mustique is a human right.
Ecru, by contrast, will imbue the jeans-and-jacket formula you’ve worn all winter with a spring-appropriate freshness. Stay away from skinny.
It s a mom jean or cropped kick flare. Nothing more and nothing less.
Flash an ankle with a boat shoe
Miu Miu sent boat shoes down its spring/summer 2024 catwalk
Shoes, £55.99, zara.com
Step out in sandals or anything remotely foot-baring now and you might as well ring your local A&E in advance to warn them you’ll be checking in for hypothermia.
But if you’re so bored of your winter boots that you’re thinking about chancing it, you’ll be pleased to know there is an easier — if unexpected — interim solution.
Enter the footwear trend nobody saw coming. The boat shoe. Yep, that’s right.
Miu Miu sent them down its SS24 catwalk and now they’ve been co-opted by the street style crowd, losing their red chino associations.
The key to looking like a cool, 1980s prepster in the Hamptons as opposed to a Surrey dad at a barbecue is to choose a pair with a thick-track sole.
Timberland’s ‘Noreen’ style are the originals (£180, timberland. co.uk), but Zara also has a version for £55.99 (zara.com). Wear with your ecru kick-flare jeans for a tiny flash of ankle that hints at the summer to come.
Go boho — with a gilet
Gilet, £260, bysoren.com
Blue gilet, £125, feragb.com
In February, Chemena Kamali presented her first-ever collection as creative director of Chloé. The consensus post-show was unanimous: 1970s-esque boho is back, with billowing printed dresses at its helm.
How to wear yours now? Layer your wool roll necks under and your cardigans over. Extra points if you belt the cardigan, Sienna Miller in 2006-style (she was in the front row at the February Chloé show).
For extra cold days, add another layer in the form of a wool gilet. The fashion crowd are buying theirs from sustainable brand By Soren (bysoren.com).
Yes, your short-sleeved summer dresses may have to remain in the wings for a while. But long-sleeved ones? Layers are their best friend.
Spring for an It Coat
Jacket, £129, mintvelvet.com
I emptied the pockets of my puffer jacket before I prematurely launched it into storage and found a winter’s worth of tissues and crushed dog treats.
It didn’t exactly fill me with the joys of spring. Something that will? Spring’s It Coat.
Well, it’s not quite a coat. It’s a quilted, printed jacket. But paired with knitwear (again, don’t pack that away just yet), it’s just the right amount of warm. T
he fashion elite are wearing New York brand Sea’s £500+ versions, but Boden has a reversible one that’s a beautiful Liberty-esque floral patchwork on one side and a pared down blue floral on the other (£145, boden.co.uk).
La Redoute offers another reversible option for £75 (laredoute.co.uk). And Mint Velvet has a boxy jacket for £129 (mintvelvet.com).
Size up for extra cool factor and to be able to wear a thick knit underneath.
Clash your seasons for instant cool
L-R: Earrings, £17.99, mango. com; Bag, £110, jcrew.com
Your cashmere scarf (and even beanie, dare we say it) may not be able to sign off for the summer break just yet.
But juxtaposing them with accessories usually the reserve of warm May days allows you the best of both worlds and signals that, while not delusional, you are at least hopeful of days without chilblains. Eventually.
Accessories are an easy way to indulge in some spring joy — poke out Mango’s £17.99 floral earrings (mango. com) from underneath a beanie or nestle J. Crew’s adorable raffia heart bag (£110, jcrew.com) beneath a brolly. The coolness is in the incongruity.
