The first nice day of the year hit the east coast this week like a bump of ecstasy. Workers took long lunches, sneaking outside to soak in vitamin D. (It didn’t hurt that this spring-in-February preview coincided with a widespread Slack outage, as if cosmic forces wanted to make sure America’s corporate class touched grass.) People were nicer, life slowed down.
And then there were the haphazard outfits people put on to celebrate the unexpectedly beautiful weather … no matter how bizarre they might have looked. Uggs with shorts? Why not! A puffer coat and a summer dress? Pull it from the back of your closet!
This is “pushing spring” fashion: not quite in season yet, but worn anyway if only for the dopamine hit. On a walk through my Brooklyn neighborhood on Wednesday, where temperatures peaked at 55F (13C), I saw a man break out his flip-flops – even though he also had a fleece on. I could have done without the toe-sighting, but I appreciated his enthusiasm.
“This week, I feel like everyone was juggling the need for some warmth with their eagerness to show skin,” said Freya Drohan, a New York-based fashion writer. “I saw lots of collarless mid-length coats, women in ballet pumps but with huge Lenny Kravitz-style scarves wrapped around their neck, and a guy in very spring-ready double white denim, but with a fur trapper hat.”
Most confounding to Drohan was the woman wearing “knitted wool booty shorts and legwarmers over semi-sheer black tights”. That’s one way to dress for “faux season”, or the stray nice days peppered into winter that remind those of us with seasonal depression what the will to live feels like. These spring-teasing days never last; a 60F (15.5C) Saturday segues into Monday’s blizzard. You never know when you’ll have to crawl back under a comforter-esque coat, so might as well go for that crop top.
Diana, Princess of Wales, remains an enduring avatar of faux seasonal dressing, as captured in early 90s paparazzi shots in which she wore oversized sweatshirts and bicycle shorts while heading to the gym. Last year, Town & Country even renamed fall “Princess Diana outfit season”, calling the late royal “the queen of transitional style”.
If you can’t quite commit to the joys of completely manic, mismatched dressing, Drohan says there are more subtle ways to enjoy the weather: reach for clothes that have a “short seasonal window”. Think mid-weight corduroy or suede, two fabrics that are just too warm for summer, but not warm enough for winter – a real Goldilocks conundrum that’s just right right for fake spring. “It’s time to show off your suede trench coats, jackets or mid-length skirts,” Drohan said. Whether or not you pair those with a “what the hell, it’s warm” sandal is up to you.
But, as every mother ever has repeatedly warned her offspring, beautiful days can turn into chilly nights. Brandon Tan, the fashion director of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen, has a mantra: “Be optimistic, not foolish!” Bring a coat, or at least “drape a slinky sweater” over your shoulders before heading out.
For Tan, there’s a militaristic element to fake spring dressing, with outfit planning becoming as serious as preparing for battle. “This spring, I predict a lot of people will mix in a tactical approach to feminine styles,” he said, “sort of like technical nylon jackets tossed over dresses, and tall rain boots paired with skirts.”
Perhaps the most important fashion tip: don’t spend too long planning an outfit for fake spring – you might miss the sunshine altogether.
