It might not feel like Spring has sprung in your neck of the woods, but at retail, Spring and Summer 2017 has been in full swing for a while. If you leave your Spring and Summer wardrobe refresh until warm June and July, you might fall short. By the time June rolls around in the northern hemisphere, stores are full of beach wear like shorts, T-shirts, skimpy tops, sandals and short sleeveless dresses. It’s slim pickings for almost everything else. 

If you plan to shop for the following items to refresh your wardrobes for Spring and Summer, try to get them before June. That way you’ll get the best assortment of sizes and styles:

  • Business casual and business formal clothing 
  • Lightweight jackets and toppers
  • Cardigans
  • Sleeved dresses
  • Sleeved tops 
  • Tops made of substantial fabrics
  • Crisp cotton knitwear
  • Crisp open-weave knitwear 
  • Dressy dresses
  • White jeans 
  • Casual pants that are “leg-covering” like linen joggers, tulip styles, breezy cotton wide leg pants, and chinos.
  • Swimwear

Years ago I learned this the hard way by taking clients shopping for a full style renewal in June and July – and coming home disappointed with the very small dent we made in their shopping list. I know better now and warn clients that we have to shop earlier in the year for the items that I’ve listed above.