There is something special about early Spring fashions. Colours are happy, silhouettes are fresh, fabrics are crisp. And there is still a chill in the air, so styles are fairly warm, dressy and covered. Late Spring fashions tend to be less covered, a lot more casual, and not quite as crisp as retail gets ready for Summer. 

These items, like the dresses from Anthropologie I shared last week, look and feel fresh after a Fall and Winter season of dark neutrals.

• J.Crew Maddie pant in bi-stretch wool: The fit and fabric are fantastic, and the colour is very happy. The fabric is thick, soft and non-scratch. Very comfortable, and well tailored, if not slightly fluid. The front seams down the sides of the style are slimming. The best part about the pants is that the front pocket linings do not show through to the front. They don't cling onto your thighs, which is quite genius. They are about half an inch longer on me than on the model, so regular length and fab with flats, pumps and booties. You might need to size down if you're very straight on the hips, bottom and thighs. Also available in petite and tall, and in many colours.
• Zara Bowling Bag With Metacrylate Handle: A vegan bag in a pretty light blue. It's not a beautifully made bag, but it's fun, fresh, affordable and on trend.
• Ann Taylor Faux Leather Piped Sweater: A gorgeous blue to wear with black bottoms. The subtle black piping down the sleeves amps up the style of the sweater.
• Trouvé Trouvé 'Evans' Leather Slip-On Sneaker (Women): A very comfortable slip-on sneaker that's a copy of last year's style from Miu Miu. Supportive, trendy and more refined than chunkier slip-on sneaker styles. The bone is as nice as the black.
• Fossil 'Sydney' Satchel: A versatile satchel that doubles up as a crossbody. A good size and well made. Works for business casual and casual. All three colours, cranberry, ink and cognac, look super fresh.
• Paul Green 'Vince' Flat: These Paul Green loafers have been a top pick before in ink and cognac because they are beautifully made, comfortable, and surprisingly supportive for a flat. The rounded toe is quite almond, and not stumpy at all. They work both for high and low volume feet. You might need to size down half a size if your feet are low volume like mine. They just brought out the style in white. Modern, crisp and refined.

I bought the loafers and the red trousers. I hadn’t planned to shop for Spring shoes in January, but since we’ll be visiting a much warmer climate in February, I’ll be able to wear the white loafers sooner than I thought. BONUS. And a pair of wool tomato red trousers — to replace the ones from Express that I passed on — has been on my shopping list for a while. I can wear them right away and for most of the year.

The premium denim trend has been going strong for over a decade. It took one of the most common wardrobe items in the world and made it into a coveted luxury item. Premium jeans are marketed as a cut above the rest, as jeans that feel magical when you put them on, that don’t bag out, and that look good all day, day after day. And based on the popularity of premium denim brands, the superior fit, fabrication, workmanship, silhouette and fashionability justified the premium price for many people.

My experience with premium denim jeans has been that for the most part they lived up to the hype. Until recently I would have said that they couldn’t be beat. But that has changed.

For one thing, non-premium denim is improving. The Loft, Ann Taylor, Levis, Lane Bryant, NYDJs, Cookie Johnson, Eileen Fisher and KUT from the Kloth generally offer much better fits for curvy and extremely curvy body types and plus sizes. These days, straighter cuts from J.Crew, Madewell, Banana Republic, the Gap and Boden can fit just as well as premium denim (if not better), are equally well made, and go the distance laundry cycle after laundry cycle. All for a fraction of the price. 

At the same time, premium denim is losing its advantage in some areas. I’ve found the sizing of premium denim for skinnies and straight legs to be smaller than ever at the moment, often sizing out clients who are larger than a US size 10. The fabrications are not as substantial as they used to be, and many are fashionably distressed to the extreme, making them less versatile and robust than you’d like for the price. It’s not uncommon for styles to have doubled up on their percentage of stretch which causes the shape to bag out during the day. Very few are made of 100% cotton, which makes truly authentic denim hard to find. 

All that said, premium denim does offer more silhouette, fabric and wash variety than non-premium denim, thereby making it more exclusive. If you want a hot off the press fashion forward jeans silhouette, or something different from the mainstream offerings, premium denim is probably your best bet.

Unless, of course, fast fashion giants like Zara, H&M or Forever 21 have beaten the premium denim houses to it. 

On the whole, my clientele has become less interested in premium denim over time. After all, if they can achieve a more flattering and comfortable fit with similar quality at a quarter of the price, why not? They would rather spend their budget on other wardrobe items. Premium denim hasn’t gone away, but it is a smaller component of their denim capsules. 

I used to be a devout premium denim gal, but like many of my clients, I’ve added lots of non-premium denim into my wardrobe. It fits and feels fab. Some of my favourite pairs of jeans are premium and others are non-premium, which speaks to my love of high-low style. I will continue to purchase premium denim when it gets me the exclusivity in fabric and silhouette that I’m looking for. But I’ll snap up a non-premium pair just as happily when they fit the bill.

Caroline Issa to design for Nordstrom, Selfridges’ “Bright Old Things” campaign, a new Target collaboration, and other fashion news that made headlines this week.

• Caroline Issa has signed on to design four collections per year for Nordstrom. The first will launch on 9 February.
• Here’s an interesting project: Selfridges celebrates the “retirement renaissance” with their “Bright Old Things” campaign.
• 80-year-old writer Joan Didion is the face of Céline’s newest ad campaign.  
• It has also just been announced that Joni Mitchell (71) will be the next star of Saint Laurent’s Music Project.
• Next Target collaboration: a 250-piece lifestyle line from Lilly Pulitzer. Here’s a first sneak peek. 
• Stella McCartney and Adidas are bringing out a more affordable sportswear line for girls aged 15 to 19: Stella Sport.

Fun Fashion Fact

Did you know that the word parka means ‘animal skin’, and is derived from the Nenets language — a language spoken by an indigenous people in northern arctic Russia. The first parkas were actually invented by Caribou Inuits, and they were made of skins or furs. “The hides gathered in Summer would provide heavier, warmer coats, while Spring skins created a sleeker, thinner coat often worn in layers.”

A wardrobe capsule is ANY collection of clothing, footwear and accessories that helps you to satisfy your dressing needs in one or more areas of your life. Seeing your wardrobe in terms of multiple capsules is effective because wardrobe items MUST relate well to each other. If they don’t, you’ll end up with a set of items that you love, but are hard to pull together into outfits. Furthermore, capsules break up your wardrobe into manageable chunks which makes shopping for items and creating outfits a lot easier. 

A few points upfront: 

• A mix and match capsule is built around a colour palette, a season and a dress code. I’ve chosen dark neutrals with light neutral, citron and teal accents. I used both black and ink because they work well together in one outfit. The season is Winter with a nod to the start of Spring, and the dress code is business casual which means no jeans except for Casual Fridays.
• This capsule serves as a TEMPLATE that consists of 4 bottoms, 6 tops, 3 inside toppers, 1 outside topper, 4 pairs of shoes, and 2 handbags. Use this template to build career wear capsules in other colours to create a functional working wardrobe. 
• This capsule is not supposed to represent your entire career wear wardrobe, but it would provide a solid starting point for one. You can either flesh out this capsule, or create another capsule using a different colour palette. 
• Career wear capsules that combine modern classics with trendy pieces are a winning formula. That way you’ll feel professional and fashionable at work.
• All of the tops work with all of the bottoms. All of the toppers work over all of the tops. All of the tops, in turn, can be worn with any of the bottoms if you’re prepared to pattern mix and sport some arty outfits with drama and drape. Some of the footwear options work with all four bottoms.
• The silhouette, texture and colour variety of the items in this capsule allows you to create many outfit combinations that are distinct from each other. From a simple column of dark neutrals right up to a maximal combination of sporting four patterns at once, and all the combinations in between. 

Note: This capsule is not suited to a strict business formal work environment, which probably requires a matching suit. But even if this is your situation, you might find the capsule useful for your more casual workdays. I have also found that in recent years many work environments have transitioned to a more casual dress code.

On to the components of the capsule.

Bottoms

Choose an assortment of silhouettes and colours. Choose two dark and one light pair of trousers, and a patterned skirt. I chose a pair of classic bootcut trousers in ink, a trendy pair of ankle pants in light grey, a basic pair of black Ponte knit skinnies, and a classic pencil skirt in a fashion forward pattern. Keep all four bottoms solid if patterns aren’t your thing, or change the assortment to two pairs of pants and two pairs of skirts.

Tops

Choose an assortment of silhouettes, fabrics and colours across patterns and solids. Sticking to four neutrals and two colours is one way to go. Choose dark and light neutrals across classic and trendy styles. I chose a classic white blouse and citron pullover. I chose a trendy drape front blouse in grey, a fluid boat neck pullover in ink, a silk-front sweatshirt with a panel print in black, and an oversized avant-garde tunic in teal. 

You can wear the oversized teal tunic semi-tucked at the side with the skirt. The patterned sweatshirt works with the patterned skirt and solid footwear, although throwing in the animal print flats is a fun addition. Wearing the plaid poncho over either of these ensembles will create an arty maximal outfit, which you might prefer to ground with solid black footwear and an ink bag. 

Indoor Toppers

You have the option of leaving off indoor toppers, but most end up wearing them at some point during the day in cooler offices, especially over a lightweight blouse. 

Choose an assortment of silhouettes, fabrics and colours. I chose three toppers and none of them are blazers. I made the black leather jacket the modern classic, and opted for two knitted toppers for extra comfort. A sweater jacket or tunic cardigan, and a plaid poncho wrap for a trendy touch. 

Note that you can wear your outfit with the coat on the way to work, and leave the poncho and sweater jacket in the office to wear once you’ve removed your coat. They are often warmer and more comfortable than fitted blazers, and can look just as pulled together and chic. 

Outdoor Topper

Choose a trendy or modern classic wool coat that fits over all the layers. Choose it in a neutral or colour.  Of course, you can use the indoor toppers as outerwear if the weather is mild, but you’ll probably need a warm coat for the commute. In some cases you’ll be able to layer the leather jacket under a roomy coat, and use the poncho as a gigantic scarf. 

I chose a trendy ink wool man coat because it’s softer than black, and can work as a black coat. If wool coats aren’t sufficiently warm, wear a long puffer coat.

Footwear

Choose an assortment of silhouettes and colours. I chose a pair of high-vamped flats and pointy toe booties to amp up the trendy integrity of the capsule. The knee-high riding boots and pumps are modern classics. The black booties and pumps can be worn with all four bottoms, but the tall boots can only be worn with the skirt and Ponte pants. The flats can only be worn with three bottoms because the bootcut trousers have been hemmed for heels. 

Black footwear is versatile for this capsule, but a little colour and pattern on a shoe helps to create more varied outfit options. 

Accessories

You can stick to one bag for this capsule, but might like the variety of two. I chose a citron tote to lift the dark palette, but complemented it with an ink clutch when you’re not in the mood for a bright bag. Carrying a clutch inside a large tote is a great option for when you nip away from your desk, leaving the heavy tote behind while you carry the clutch. 

A scarf in a pattern or colour keeps you warm and provides outfit interest on days when you want to wear a little pattern next to your face. I chose a polka dot scarf because it’s a particularly easy pattern to mix. A belt is a must when partially tucking tops into pants because it finishes off the outfit. I chose a black studded belt so that the simplest outfit created from this capsule will have textural interest. Add jewellery, watch, eyewear and headgear as desired. 

Add onto this capsule with a pair of jeans for casual Fridays, or a dress to wear under the indoor toppers. Feel free to add a few more tops, perhaps in a pattern. Another coat, pair of patterned pants and black pumps would also be welcome. 

Few people are able to purchase a capsule of this size at once. The point is that you use the capsule as a template for creating capsules from your own wardrobe, identifying and filling in the gaps so that you can create more outfits with existing wardrobe items.

It’s not easy or fast planning your wardrobe this way, but purchasing your career wear wardrobe in capsules is one way to ensure that you have an assortment of mix and match outfit possibilities on hand. Having several mix and match capsules in your closet allows you to pick and choose your outfits daily from different capsules, thereby ensuring ongoing variety.