Winter/Spring
I feel as though everyone’s favorite time of the year is something basic. I mean, there are only four seasons which really isn’t much to pick from, but I mean like you ask someone their favorite season and they usually say “summer” or something BASIC. If you know, you know exactly what I mean. As for MY favorite season, it would have to be Spring. Early spring. I feel like spring and fall are the shortest seasons already, but spring I feel is even shorter than the fall. This is mainly my favorite time of the year because my birthday is at the end of March and spring break is around this time too and the weather is always good and it just makes me smile. However, what makes me smile even more when we talk fashion and more specifically what I like to call the “Winter/Spring” season.
Now I know that this season isn’t really one you see on the runway, but I think it is super important that we talk about it. This is sort of a long transitional period where if you live in certain areas, like the midwest where I live, you know that the weather is different almost everyday. This means that one day it’ll be snowing and not even a week later it’s 70 F outside. Climate change is crazy, but anyways. With all this being said, there is a lot, and I mean A LOT of versatility with what you wear during these months which I would say in Bloomington, Indiana starts at the end of January to the second week of April. That is more so for this year however, but usually this season back up north in Valparaiso would maybe start at the end of February or mid March.
Okay, so why is it important and why talk about it this much? I think this season is crucial for fashion and more specifically, experimenting with fashion and the things in your closet. I am the type of person to wear my winter coat whether its 5 F or 50 F. I do this for a plethora of reasons, but the most obvious one is I’m just plain cold. However, my pants may not necessarily be sweats or something typically warm and my shoes may not necessarily be winter shoes, even though I’m wearing this big winter coat.
With all this being said and considered, this is where the experimentation and versatility comes into play. You are not dressing for one season anymore, rather you are dressing in hopes of transitioning your wardrobe into a more spring summer, but of course you still have a couple winter items because of that slightly cold weather. This so called “hidden gem” of a season is the perfect time to not only experiment with pieces in your closet by mixing and matching, but playing around with your clothes as well. This can mean a lot of different things, but one way I perceive this is as wearing items untraditionally. And this can mean wearing a belt in a different way than you traditionally would or maybe a jacket being both your shirt and your outer layer. However, wearing something untraditionally is up to everyone’s own interpretation and everyone should do what they want to do when it comes to personal style especially. Can you think of anything worse, in fashion, than everyone looking the same? Big barf alert.
Though I keep calling this season “transitional”, it sort of makes it sound like it’s not as important as the other seasons, or that it isn’t a staple. Though I do not think that this Winter/Spring season isn’t a staple season YET, especially in runway, I do think that this season should be a staple due to its versatility. Trust me, I understand that making three lines rather than two lines a year would be significantly more expensive. However, I am more so suggesting that we pay attention to this season in streetwear and also on the runway either during a F/W or S/S line.
Thank you and xoxo :-*
Judy N. Ulayyet
