With only one day left of the winter season, it’s time to think about trading our tried and tested puffer for florals, finer tees, and all of our springtime style favourites. But how do we differentiate fashion from fads when there are so many options? Our springtime style guide has the answer! This guide focuses on staples that will work season after season, not just passing trends.

Item 1: The Oversized Button-Down.

The oversized button-down should always be a key wardrobe piece, regardless of season. Don’t take our word for it though, the Vogue Spring/Summer 2021 runways had a plethora of this style! For this style, go up size from normal… then go up again! This oversized look can be worn as a shirt, as a dress, over leggings or jeans. It really is the canvas on which to build a multitude of different looks. The beauty of this look is that you can buy a large shirt – or just steal one from your boyfriend or husband!

Some tips for this look:

• Stick with neutrals in white or blue for versatility and easy pairing.  
• Cinch, cinch, cinch with a pencil belt.  It’s all about highlighting your best asset – the waist – whilst keeping proportions right. You don’t want to lose the volume on top (from bust up) and the length on the bottom (from waist down).
• If you’re on the shorter side, pick the look up with a heel, otherwise it might overwhelm your frame, and if you’re on the taller side, don’t be afraid to keep it casual with a flat.

Item 2: The Trench Coat

Does it get more classic than the trench?  The coat actually originated in the early 1800s, and then took on its more modern silhouette shape during WW1 – talk about longevity! This piece is resilient and oftentimes water resistant. It also has a lot of utility with plenty of pockets and a belted waist. Of course, we can’t forget the sophistication this item brings to a look, evoking European elegance and timelessness. Finally, this look can’t be beat when it comes to versatility -from work to the weekend, date night to a night with the girls, there’s never an inappropriate time to wear this completely inter-seasonal staple.

Some tips for this look:

• Stick with classic camel. It’s timeless, whilst colours tend to be more seasonal.  
• Be cognizant of length and proportions – your trench should end roughly ¾ down the length of the body.
•  Keep it simple – you don’t need to overthink it, nothing looks better than a trench paired with your go-to light blue denim, and a white tee/tank. Minimalism is always the way to go with the styling of a trench.

Item 3: Stripes, Stripes, and…..More Stripes!

Stripes are hardly new on the circuit, but why is that a bad thing? The stripe is one of the only accents that is never considered a trend, for the simple reason that it never goes out of style. Just check it’s history! From horizontal to vertical, pinstripe to block, the stripe has emerged as a dominant force on the SS2021 runways. This pattern is an easy way to elevate your basics.  It pops, but not too much, it excites, without overtaking, and much like the trench, it screams French sophistication.  The stripe, as we know it, has origins in the French navy of the 1800s, gradually finding its way to all manners of workwear in France post-1858. Hello, modern nautical!

Some tips for this look:

•  Make sure the base of the colour is darker than the contrasting colour.
• Stick with pinstripes that are less than two inches wide, regardless of whether the stripes are horizontal or vertical.
• Utilize a mix of slanted and angular stripes, which create a contrast that can contour and make your curves work.

Item 4: The LBD Reimagined

Let’s go back to 1926, American Vogue, and Coco Chanel. It was then that the little black dress became the LBD, and fashion was changed forever. Vogue, at the time, even said that it would become “a sort of uniform for all women of taste”. And boy, were they right. Since then, the LBD is a wardrobe must for every woman. Fast forward to spring 2021, and we still see the LBD all over the runways, in street style, and on celebs, and for all types of fashion sensibilities. Body-co, oversized and pleated are just a few of the many styles an LBD can come in. Why so popular? Aside from its timelessness, black is scientifically proven to slim the body.  Irradiation illusion, discovered by the German physicist Helmholtz, showed that a black rectangle surrounded by white looks smaller than the same rectangle in white surrounded by black.  Fashion and science working in harmony!

Some tips for reinventing this look:

• Add a chic, oversized, more masculine-leaning blazer to offset the LBD’s innate femininity
• A turtleneck underneath your slip LBD helps modernize the look and is also perfect for the chillier early spring mornings or late nights.
• Pair your LBD with flat combat boots to add a bit of grunge and daytime wearability.

Item 5: Pastels

When one thinks of spring, one thinks of colour, and the colour-wave of the season is most definitely pastel. Now, pastels are characterized by soft and delicate hues, low in saturation, and are often described as “light, calming and soothing”.  Think pink, mauve, magic mint, peach, and lavender. These colours are a great way to ease into the colourful warmer months without going full blown neon.  Think of them as a transitory colour wave, taking you from the calmness of spring through to the electricity of summer.  For some, pastels are even a mood booster helping to both ground and uplift, perfect for springtime! 

Some tips for this look:

• Utilize tonal – aka “monochromatic” – when it comes to pastels.  Choose your favourite shade and integrate it fully.  Breaking up pastels can often create a disjointedness that feels cheap and tacky.  Pick your hue and take it to the max. 
• Pastels often need to be grounded in muted, flat and deep tones, like browns.  Utilize these colours in accessories like footwear or bagwear.
• Pastels scream ultra-feminine.  In order to counteract, think about integrating pastels in more masculine silhouettes like oversized and boxy cuts or in more casually-leaning pieces like hoodies and baggy sweaters.