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Because to Everything There is a Season

Published 10.17.2006 | Permanent Link | Comments (2)

Amy,

My question pertains to fall clothing and when exactly a full-on switch should be made to fall clothing/fabrics/accessories over the current summery ones being used. I'm assuming - but this is where I need help - that it depends on the actual temperature of where one resides. I'm from upstate NY, so fall was always very pronounced by now. In DC though, it's still in the 70s which is fine temperature for summery type clothing. I'm not about to bust out tweeds, cashmere and knee high brown boots but I am 99% sure that I will not be wearing my white linen skirt and pink tank top anytime soon. Given those parameters, is it still 'safe' to wear some summer type garments (like say a summer dress) but with a cardigan or sweater with it? If not, what are some good transitional type pieces between summer and fall, when you live in such a mixed climate like DC?

Thanks,
Heather B.

Well, it’s getting a tad late for this question, I suppose, but seeing as DC continues to have bizarre bursts of weirdly warm weather, I guess it’s still relevant. So I will try to curb my sudden penchant for alliteration and do my best.

I’ve never been big on “rules” for what one can and cannot wear in any particular season. I know there’s the “no white after Labor Day” rule, except now there is “winter white,” but I can never tell if a particular item of clothing is a “summer white” or a “winter white,” and at this point I generally feel the need to lie down and not think about it for awhile.

I think the temperature should definitely be your biggest guideline, followed by a secondary awareness of the current season. Which isn’t as complicated as I’ve made it sound, as usual.

You know how sometimes we have those days in August where it suddenly plunges into the 60s? And because you’re used to 90-degree weather it feels really cold? So you wear some jeans and throw a hoodie over your tank top and you go out shopping, and you see some girl all decked out in her fall back-to-school clothes. Clothes she was just clearly itching to rip the tags off of. So there she is, in August, wearing tweed pants and boots and a fake Burberry scarf and she looks ridiculous, because yes, it’s chilly out, but it’s still summer.

br430616-1.jpg And you know how sometimes we have those days in February and March where it suddenly rises back into the 60s? And because you’re used to 30-degree weather it feels really warm? So you wear some jeans and a short-sleeve shirt but bring along a little jacket just in case, and you see some girl all decked out like she’s going to the beach. She’s in shorts and a tank top and flip flops and she actually looks uber-white and chilly and most of all, ridiculous.

So whenever the weather gets a little iffy and transitory, I think about That Girl when I get dressed. I don’t jump the gun when it comes to switching my closet over and tend to do it pretty gradually. I own a lot of seasonally neutral layers – cardigans, hoodies, tanks and tees – that I can pile on or take off as necessary. I wear cardigans over sundresses in the fall, provided the dress is not like, white with pink polka dots. (Think jewel or earth-toned instead.) I love those cropped tweed pants paired with a dark t-shirt. I wear open-toed shoes any damn month I please. Just as long as I’m not That Girl, For She Is Ridiculous.

Come back on Friday for another Advice Smackdown Q&A....

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Comments (2):

Susan Wagner said:

I would go even further here, and suggest more deliberately mixing fall pieces with summer basics--toss a cashmere sweater over your sundress or pair a ribbed turtleneck with a cotton skirt; wear both with boots. Or wool trousers with a basic tee and jean jacket (for the layering).

I also really and truly believe that summer footwear should be put away by now. No flip flops outside the house, no matter how warm it is. Break out the ballet flats. Also, straw bags and other summery tote things should be wrapped up and stored for next year. Even if it IS still 90 degrees.

Because otherwise, as Amalah so wisely points out, you are That Girl.

Posted on October 18, 2006 18:24

Heather Barmore said:

Oh wise, Amalah, thanks for the advice. Though yeah, the weather has been nice and cool lately, but a few weeks ago, it would randomly be 80 degrees and the next day 65.

Anyway, thanks again.

Posted on October 20, 2006 14:00

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Amalah is a pseudonym of Amy Corbett Storch. A Washington D.C.-based freelance writer. The Smackdown is published on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. You can follow Amy's daily mothering adventures at www.amalah.com. Also, it's pronounced AIM-ah-lah.

Amy also documented her second pregnancy in a Weekly Pregnancy Calendar, Zero to Forty.

Amy is mother to delicious preschooler Noah and baby Ezra. NomNomNom.

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