So all this talk about Winter messed with my head - YouLookFab Forum

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So all this talk about Winter messed with my head

Anonymous

Last weekend I rotated my winter clothes into my working closet. I did this knowing full well we had a lot of summer left. I read Carter's post about wearing clothes that were too heavy for the weather. I made a mental note not to do that.

Then on Friday, I wore heavy ponte pants and a long sleeved (what I thought was a lightweight) knit top to work. I sweltered. All day long I wanted to ripe my clothes off my back. I couldn't wait to get home and change. There is a chance I might never wear those ponte pants again.

So you would think I would learn from my mistake? No. The next day I drove to Nordstroms wearing heavy dark, dark jeans paired with a very bold (what I thought was lightweight flannel) shirt. Everywhere I looked I saw women wearing lightweight, light-colored sleeveless tops and dresses. I felt like I was in a costume. Again, I wanted to ripe my clothes off. Instead I sulked home and changed into a more weather appropriate outfit.

Winter is not here. Fall is not here. Sigh.

Oh, I am not alone. I was looking out the window at work on Friday and I saw a lot of other women trying to rush the season. I saw coats. Coats!! I saw booties. They had to be as hot as I was. Yet we were trying to make it look like we intended to dress that seasonally confused. I don't think I am going to rotate my closet this early next year.

Dressing

37 replies

Latest reply was from viva

Traci

Veteran

THIS is why fall and spring dressing can be so tricky. You have to have both warm weather and cold weather items in your closet. And then you check the weather before dressing to make sure you're choosing the right items. But what about the fact that 70, overcast and windy is cold, while 70 and full sun is hot? And what about when stores and restaurants start overcompensating for the beginning change in temps, so what would have been a comfortably warm day is now freezing cold?

In my mind, I love transitional dressing and look forward to bringing out the sweaters or sandals SO much. But in practice it makes me feel a mess.

kkards

Veteran

it should be fall....but even where i live (in the mid altantic state), it's been in the mid to high 80's everyday....other than switching my true sandals for closed toed flats and pumps, until yesterday (high of 75 and more of the same today) i hadn't even thougth about wearing jeans let alone sweaters...

viva

Veteran

It's so hard to know! Just a few days ago it was too hot for jeans in Maine. Yesterday it barely got into the 60s and I wanted to light a fire. It's definitely a tough time.

Anonymous

Oh, that's tough eh? It's very similar here in the UK though. A few days ago I needed the heating on for a while and yesterday I was hot all day long in just a light cotton sweater.

RobinF

Veteran

Yes, the transitional seasons are so hard! I was out yesterday and saw people in puffy coats as well (it was high 60's-low 70's) and some in flip flops and shorts, and even some in coats WITH flip flops and shorts! Just weird...

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I am a hawk with the weather forecast this time of year. The last couple of days I finally put the shorts on the bottom shelf in my closet and moved the jeans up. But I'm wearing jeans with short-sleeved tops since the temps have still been getting into the 70s. Today it will barely break 70 and that is PERFECT in my world. I'm sitting in my dining room this morning with doors and windows open wearing a hoodie and socks with my pajamas.

This is why I do incremental closet switches. I've already put away the lightest, airiest tops and dresses and brought up lightweight sweaters. Heavy sweaters will stay hidden for a few more weeks, until probably mid-October. But I need to remember that I can make sleeveless tops wearable this time of year by pairing them with lightweight jackets. And my barest sandals are going on the bottom shelves and making way for the booties. Yay!

Anonymous

Sigh. I don't know how to do things moderately. I try. I really do. Then the right amount of caffeine and sugar and suddenly I am a demon on a mission.

JAileen

Veteran

I know what you mean! Every time the weather changes, I can't figure out what I used to wear.

Our weather has been swinging wildly. In a week, it went from a high of 93 down to a low of 37. Oh, I just looked at the thermometer and it's 38 this morning. But it's forecast to get back up to 90 on Tuesday! So I've been wearing in-between clothes, with a topper that I can remove when it warms up. On Friday I wore bf jeans and a long sleeve tee with a wool poncho. Yesterday we went birding and I wore a short sleeve tee, cropped pants, and a windbreaker. Not very fashionable, but I was comfortable, at least.

El Cee

Veteran

I fully understand the "demon on a mission" mode. Seasonal transitioning of wardrobe can be an overwhelming job, especially for those of us who do not have spacious closets and have to keep a lot of stuff in storage. I always have the desire to get the enormous project done in one fell swoop -- and be done with it -- but this never turns out to be a good plan. I have changed my tactics over the years. I now do what Janet does... incremental closet changes according to what the weather is doing, which does involve a great deal of weather hawking. Up until yesterday, we were still having midday temps in the mid 80's, so I still have the majority of my summer wardrobe in my closet and dressers. I did manage to put away all but one pair of shorts and most of my sandals, and I brought a few lighter weight cardigans and jackets out of storage. For me, it is all about layering this time of year. Outer layers get removed as the day moves on, leaving me in a tank top and cropped pants as midday approaches. Yep, it looks kind of weird to be wearing a tank top in late September, but I think it looks worse for me to be a sweaty mess. I am trying to look more seasonally appropriate by wearing darker colors. Most of my very summery pastels have been packed away. But I still feel off and not quite seasonally appropriate.

Anonymous

So El Cee, do you pack stuff away so that you can easily find the pieces you want to transition back into your wardrobe? I use large plastic bins. Each bin is delegated one category of clothing (athletic wear, tops, bottoms). I think it would be harder for me to find those few pieces that I want to wear as the season changes. I would have to remember I even had them too (short memory).

So how is your challenge progressing? I found that by storing away those pieces I always reached for forces me to upgrade my outfits by selecting nicer things because the old standbys are no longer physically available to me. It was hard though. Really hard.

El Cee

Veteran

Sterling -- I do exactly the same thing as you do -- I store out of season clothing in big Rubbermaid type bins and try as much as possible to store by category of clothing as well as by mini-season (e.g. -- deep summer vs. transitional summer). Everything is marked. I also have a medium sized basement closet for the items that would get too wrinkled in the bins. Evenso -- I still find this transitioning thing to be stress producing. I really wish I had a large walk-in closet that could hold all 6 mini-seasons of clothing. You know what I will be doing if I ever win Powerball.

Glad that the hiding away of the way too comfy fallbacks is working for you. That was a brilliant idea. I did something similar this summer in that I kept my sloppy but comfy camping/gardening type clothes in a dresser in the guest room. Out of sight, out of mind. My own challenge has been tough. I now realize that my fallback bottom is always something in blue/black/gray denim. I am having difficulty breaking this pattern. Non-denim bottoms just are not as comfy (with the exception of ponte pants that are only worn in dead of winter). And white denim is just too "precious" for my daily life... gets dirty after one day of wear. I have colored denim bottoms (red, blush, olive, eggplant, mustard) but I wear them less frequently as they are either not true neutrals or just not as versatile. I guess I really do prefer dark neutral bottoms... practical and they go with everything in my closet.

Staysfit

Veteran

The indoor thermometer read 70 F today in my house and I'm freezing! Supposedly, the last of the very warm days are over, and it's supposed to be cooler now, but it's all relative. The most important item for me to sort are my shoes. I have open toe shoes and sandals all over the place, and I never wear them once it is below 65. My feet get too cold.

Next to get packed away is anything linen. Linen tees, pants, sweaters, dresses. There is no reason for any of that to take up space in my closet again until the temperature is above 80.

The next phase will be cotton and anything else I don't wear during transitional months. I keep out graphic tees, and a cotton sweater or two for layering. Shorts get put away in this phase as do any knit skirts and dresses that are not suitable for cool weather when worn with a topper.

That's pretty much all I need to do. My closet is large, and I have enough space in it for most everything I own.

Cerinda

Veteran

Nodding right along with you. Not only did I wear sleeveless linen midday yesterday, but a down parka (ok, so it was unzipped) to an outdoor neighborhood gathering last night. I'm still hauling clothes from one end of the house to the other (LOL: sloth, not demon).

I'm beginning to recognize how blurry the line between orphan and transitional item is for me: I nearly purged a handful of black and dark grey linen pieces I didn't wear all summer; suddenly, they're all I'm wearing.

kerlyn

Veteran

I hear you! I find these transitional times so difficult!

When I bring my daughter to the university for her music lessons, I'm noticing all sorts of seasonal confusion. There's one girl who has been wearing the heaviest, chunkiest sweater with flip-flops! If she's cold enough to be wearing that sweater, how are her feet not freezing?

I feel like I'm terribly sensitive to temperature fluctuations, and I often find myself changing outfits a couple times a day. I guess it's a good thing I work from home!

Sally

Veteran

Being on the opposite side of the world I keep wanting to put my summer stuff away. I'm on holiday at the moment and have put all my merinos away so it's t shirts with cardigans at the moment and jeans.
A lady at work said when she comes back to work in two weeks, she's in summer clothes whatever the weather decides to do.

Suzanne (ambergreen)

Veteran

Here, it's supposed to get up to 88 tomorrow. Five days after that? A high of 59. And I guarantee you there will be people all over the place wearing shorts that day (mostly men) and some women in tank tops.

Out west here, temps peak at 5pm and then can drop pretty quickly outside of high summer, so a lot of the time if I'm going out to an evening event, I'll be dressed for a chilly, breezy evening when most are still in that day's tees, shorts, and flipflops. I try to stay Zen about that.

deb

Veteran

It is supposed to be 97 F here today but last Thursday it was 72 F. I am appreciating the benefits of have all my clothing in one closet.

Joy

Veteran

My goal is to fit all seasons of my clothes in one closet. I may change my mind eventually as I get tired of seeing them faster, but for these transitional times it could be worth it. I just read that Boulder is expected to have summers like El Paso has now in the fairly near future.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Lol oh Sterling, I do this at least once every year. I love the change of seasons. Sometimes I'm so anxious to wear a new thing that I convince myself that it's fall weather when it's not, really.

However, I think we've finally turned the corner here. The night air smells sharp. Fall has arrived. I hope it does for you, too -- sooner rather than later!

Deborah

Veteran

Sterling I hear you. We are at the opposite here, moving from Winter into Spring...s l o w l y lol. I do keep everything in my walk in so I haven't put anything away. I will move my tall boots and coats into my spare room once I am sure I don't need them tho. But I am very ready to wear my spring clothes but if I do I will freeze lol. I am trying to be grown up about it all and be sensible so if it's a little warmer I have been swapping out boots for ankle boots with an open toe to lighten up the outfit. We probably are past coats now, so its an opportunity to wear jackets. I do share your frustration:)

Sal

Veteran

I also do the move in two stages, and normally have a day or two of regretting it. I have moved one lot of winter clothes away and will do the second lot when I can summon the energy.

I basically accept that if it is cold again I will just wear my warmest spring/summer items - I don't feel like wearing black boots any more nor skinny jeans.

Windchime

Veteran

LOL, Sterling--I can so relate! In our defense, it's impossible to pick just the right outfit when there are 30° swings in temperature from morning to afternoon! (which is exactly what happened here a few days last week)

Sometimes during fall I wear one outfit to work in the a.m. and then completely change into something cooler for late afternoon/evening teaching and rehearsals.

DonnaF

Veteran

I live in a temperate climate, so my main seasons are spring and fall. But right now it's summer! (After fall weather last week.) My biggest benefit is that DD is a young adult, so she's freed up at least half of her closet so I only need to schlep to the next bedroom to get extra warm or cool clothes. I'd like her to take or release more, but I don't know the next time she'll be in town. Hmmm; maybe I can just FaceTime her and hold up stuff.

Menopause. The weather is going through menopause.

frannieb

Veteran

I can relate to everyone - living in a 4 season climate makes closet change over hard. Especially when you have a small closet that makes it necessary to switch out your clothes and pack things away.
Plus the additional challenge that windchime mentioned of the morning starting at one temperature and the afternoon being 30 degrees higher.
Today I have spent all day making the closet switch for fall/early winter. My heavy winter stuff will stay away until after christmas. Right now I am able to layer, layer, layer - then it it is time for the heavy stuff.

So I do 4 closet switches each year and pretty much I decided what weekend to do it by being a hawk and watching temps and forecasts - however I think it is inevitable to have an occasional day in which I am not dressed for the weather.

Staysfit

Veteran

I was so motivated by Sterlings laments that I spent an hour or so working on my closet transition today. My sandals are neatly packed away, and I pulled out all my booties and closed toe shoes. They need some sprucing up and weather proofing/ rain and stain spray. That's also part of the process. I need to go buy some. I'm all out.

Maneera

(website)

Veteran

I feel your pain, Sterling. It's still around 32deg C here. It's definitely cooler, but not cold enough. I tried to wear jeans a couple of days and then just defaulted back to shorts & dresses.
I rushed with my wardrobe switch last year and then regretted it. A lot. I don't intend to pull out any winter clothing until it's actually cold enough for them this year. And I don't think it'll happen before mid-Nov

Barbara Diane

Veteran

High 90's today, still wearing my sandals. The weather has been all over the place the last month.

Sisi

Veteran

Oh, how I understand you! Spring and Autumn are so difficult. In this crazy weather it is impossible to do it right. When it is cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon, I generally use a "cotton + wool" formula. For example t-shirt and jeans with a woolen cardigan or, like today, cotton dress and woolen pullover. Sometimes I take a second pair of shoes to work for the expected change of temperature later in the day (for example if I put on warm shoes in the morning, I take along a pair of sandals). Despite this, there are always days when I do it all wrong! And things are more difficult when you are not at work, where you have the room to store away the extra layers, but when you are out and about!

As for closets I adopted Marie Kondo's suggestion: just divide clothes into 2 categories: "cotton" and "wool". This has been really enlightening for me!

bella

(website)

Veteran

I do what Janet does, rotate little by little. I don't have a big closet to begin with and no more maybe 1/5 of my closet is out of reach at any time. But I still move things around every few weeks to make sure that the items are in season are within easy reach.

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