Transitional dressing and "retiring" items for the season

I seem to find transitional season dressing very hard and vow each yeat to do better.
The weather will warm a bit and I will wear things that are lighter and then freeze in office, or conversely wear a winter sweater and it later seems too warm. I know about layering, of course, but usually don't wear a true warm topper at work.

Things that help are in the fabrication--for example, silky blouses are just not warm but may be too hot (sticky) later, go figure! So things I call "lofty" thicker cotton knits, or thin merino knits, work better. Also, I may actually find the right underlayers are as good for transition as for deep cold--maybe silk and cotton help even out temp changes. I may try going more transeasional with my thinner linen knitwear by adding a better underlayer. It makes me think that thin woven blouses, which I like for adding a feminine touch to some classic items, are just difficult.

Also, though I have tended to do a big seasonal rotation in spring and fall, I also find myself looking at items earlier and if I'm being honest, I will be saying, "I don't think I'm really going to wear you any more this season". It is part of admitting that I have other items "coming due" , perhaps cold-spring colors, or fabric weight, and it will split wears too much to keep wearing some of my other items.
That process is kind of weird because it may lead to thinking, hm, if I'm not going to wear it any more until almost next year , will I still like it or DO I like it? I might feel remorse that I did not wear it as much as I thought I would, so have to ask, is it not versatile enough, or too outfit-specific, or type of work day, or what?
Or it might prompt trying to see, am I "retiring" it for really good reason--perhaps it goes best with a particular deep-winter outfit for which the weather has now passed, or maybe I want to put a few woolen items in good anti-moth storage and not have so many out and "at risk" at once.

I'm also trying to look at this not only as out-of-sight storage (needed for wool) but for location-rotation within the main closet. Like moving an early spring capsule front and center and retired items downstream but still in the closet and not a true seasonal swap-out completely.

How about you--do you not only make seasonal swaps/capsules but also make item-by-item decisions to "retire" something until its season comes around again? Do you worry that its retirement may also be the kiss of death?

9 years ago

celia

Veteran

I do that, sometimes too early. I want to retire my clothes for the season because I want something new but it is difficult to hit the spot with transitional items. Sometimes I feel like a certain item is only worn twice in a season.
And the supporting acts also need to change ( like camis and lighter cardigans ).
I usually do a bigger overall transition and then go item by item, still keeping the items I might still wear from the previous season in a more easy reach place.

retailgirl

I do this often at this time of year. The other day I wore my black velvet jacket and decided that would be the last time this year. I brushed it off, put it on a sturdy hanger and into a fabric garment bag. Until next October or November! Our winter started late here this year and the first time I took my red winter coat out, I noticed it had a moth hole. I had it cleaned and sent it off to a wonderful place in Chicago to be re-woven. It hasn't come back yet, but when it does, I think I'll save it for next year, too. I also have some winter weight but springy colored clothing that will come out soon...a hot pink corduroy jacket and a turquoise cashmere sweater.

AviaMariah

I have been trying to be more intentional about transitional clothing the last few years. In the past I really only had a winter and summer wardrobe and then I would either freeze or overheat in the transitional times. So I suppose I have a deep winter wardrobe, which I am now coming out of, and a late winter/early spring wardrobe. I don't actually switch wardrobes out though; I just start reaching for the lighter weight sweaters etc. I also start feeling guilt about the heavier stuff that I didn't wear in the last season. I'm not answering your questions just musing with you because this is something I'm trying to figure out too. One of the hardest things for me is shoes. I love boot/booties and sandals. But by early spring I really don't want to wear boots and my feet get way to cold in sandals. So I switch to loafers, oxfords etc... which I like, but not as much as I like booties and sandals.

Barbara Diane

I'm finding this whole weather/temperature/season thing hard this year. Raining again today, cold by California standards. It was just in the mid 70's, not normal either, and I had to pull from my late spring/summer capsule but not in a too summery way. Tired of some of my more wintry clothes, but also want to wear them more so I will be less sick of my year round items later. Finally wore a new red sweater a few days ago and I felt nice and bright. A wonderful change. And I have a new spring shirt waiting for the season to change enough-weight would work with a sweater, but looks more late spring due to the colors.
It is definitely helping that I brought my out of season storage inside the house this year. I don't really have much heavy winter clothing.

Sal

I do this - but fairly vaguely. In early March my summer floral dress and long maxis won't feel right even if they still could be worn temperature wise. Same with a wool winter skirt in September.

I find a knit with light jacket the best transitionally wise. As long as I am prepared to take the jacket off as needed. Camisoles also help, and scarves.

It is a challenge when out of the home for a long period though to cope with unpredictable weather.

Gigi

Transitional dressing sure can be tricky! I hadn't thought of it before, but your post really makes it clear why I have been kind of confused lately when trying to decide what to wear. Sometimes it's not that you can't find the right item temperature-wise; it's that the item just seems wrong for the season.

I do make item-by-item decisions in transitional seasons before swapping out whole parts of my wardrobe (I do two seasonal rotations since I simply don't have enough space to store everything for all four seasons). Sometimes you just know from looking at an item that you're done with it for the year; you just feel blah looking at it. So away it goes.

I don't worry that it will be the kiss of death, though I may wonder whether I will want to wear it when that season comes around again next year. But I just tell myself that if I know I don't want to wear it when that season comes along again, then the item is probably safe to purge. However, I can't know unless I wait. It's interesting, though--I have two sleeveless knit tops from Ann Taylor (your fave place!) that I looked at all winter long wondering whether I should purge them. But with the milder weather coming up, I am starting to think of them and am looking forward to wearing them. So you just never know!

Anonymous

I change things out and started earlier ( February 15) because it is generally not as cold and because I wanted to wear my transitional outfit for a longer time. The time that I can wear long sleeved shirts and blouses and non-wool trousers is very short before it gets too hot. Same with blazers and other light weight jackets which I enjoy wearing. I do clean and edit things out before putting them away for the season, but do even more when they come out again. If I don't look forward to wearing an item, it is time to pass it on. For all of us who live with definite seasons there is always the chance that we will rarely get all of the wear possible from our clothes before it is time to retire them.
I have tried sticking with year-round fabrics but our temperatures are just too extreme for it to work and be comfortable. Yet cold and hot seasons can often get long and tiresome if a wardrobe is too small. I have yet to find the right balance and will be reading the replies for ideas.

Transitioning is HARD work. That is why I envy the women that keep their entire wardrobe in their closet. But that won't work for me, so I transition.

I transition twice per year. I almost always start the process too early because the weather either fooled me or seduced me. Every garment that is going to be placed in storage is cleaned and pressed (even if I only wore it once during its season). I rarely make purge decision when I am transitioning. I always assume that if I love it today, I'll love it six months from now.

That is the flaw in my system. When I pull everything out six months later, I sometimes find I no longer like the item and curse the fact that I paid to have it cleaned. I wonder "what was I thinking; why did I keep this?" Those few garments are immediately relegated to the donation box.

WRT having a wardrobe that is sufficient to deal with weather/office temperature fluctuations. That too is challenging. I have lots of sleeveless tops that are work appropriate and I love wearing toppers. So I usually wear a topper to work and then take it off mid-morning.

This system needs work. I have yet to hit upon ways to improve on it.

The weather has been so unpredictable this year that nothing has left my closet. Sometimes, like yesterday for example, I wear a spring top because I think it's going to be warmer and then end up keeping my coat on all day. No one sees my top.

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