Dressing for Transitional Weather
To state the obvious, it’s not fun to be too hot or too cold. Going from one to the other in the same day is annoying and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, fall weather frequently swings from very chilly to surprisingly warm and back to chilly again. The key to dressing for such predictably unpredictable temperatures is strategic layering.
Start with a light base outfit
Think a cami, tee, light blouse, or warm but breathable sweater.
For bottoms, pants or jeans are probably the easiest, but skirts can absolutely work too if you keep your torso warm enough. Adding tights or tall boots helps as well.
Whatever base for your outfit, it should work on its own. That way, if you get warm enough to shed all of your layers, it looks like you planned on wearing that outfit, because you did!
Add a light layer/jacket
This layer should be comfortable over your base top.
Denim jackets, bombers, blazers, cardigans and even trench coats can work well for this.
Coordinate a scarf
Handy for keeping your neck warm while pulling together an outfit.
If it gets too warm, wear the scarf loose or tie it on your bag.
You can also shed your other layers but keep your scarf if you want. There are no rules.
Silk scarves feel light, but keep you very warm. Blanket scarves are great if the weather is too cold for just a jacket, but too warm for a coat.
Plan for a coat
If you’re going to be out early in the morning or later in the evening, when the temps are their lowest, plan on a warm topper.
Packable puffers are very handy for dressing for longer spans of time where you’ll switch weather but can’t ditch your layers.
Puffer vests can work as well. They can be worn in place of a jacket or coat, or in addition to them.
Because I have a thing with colors (I’m subtle about it, I know), I almost always wear some black if I plan on wearing my big coat, and I wear a silver puffer or yellow peacoat with outfits they have no black.
Other thoughts
Numi layers: I keep mentioning them but still haven’t written a dedicated post/review about them. I will, I promise! For now, I’ll just say that they’re great as a little extra layer when it’s cold, but the pads keep you from feeling too hot during the warmest part of the day. I wore one in every outfit above except the one with the camisole.
Natural materials: cashmere, wool, silk, and cotton are known for regulating temperature, so they are great staples for transitional weather.
Wool socks: so your feet are warm but not too hot so they won’t get sweaty (and then cold again).
Shoes: pick something to go with your activity (walking, working, presentation, on your feet, chill) and weather (wet, cold).
Check back Friday for my top layering pieces!