Analyzing inspo photos to find my Spring style uniform

Please tell me I'm not the only one who struggles with Spring fashion!

As Spring as started creeping into the atmosphere, I’m excited to start transferring everything I learned about my style in winter over to my spring outfits. That being said, the upcoming change in season has me feeling a bit stumped.

It’s like I’ve completely forgotten how to dress for weather that doesn’t call for big comfy knits. And while I love Spring conceptually, I find that I consistently struggle with Spring styling. I’ve even noticed that this is the season where I’m most likely to make purchases that I later regret.

Upon reflection I think there are a few factors at play:

• Actual Spring weather is actually so short where I live that I feel like I’ve never really had to invest in finding a uniform.

• Typical Spring colours are so far out of my colour palette and comfort zone. I’ve never done an official colour analysis, but you will never catch me in a pastel. Combine that with the fact that my wardrobe tends to skew darker and more neutral, and I find it very hard to find ‘traditional’ Spring styles in my existing wardrobe.

• My style words Casual, polished, edgy (which I use interchangeably with “cool”) don’t naturally scream Spring which I usually think of as more soft and feminine

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Part of the journey with my wardrobe has been increasing clarity on what I like vs. what I like to wear. Allow me to explain - I consume a lot (maybe too much) fashion content, and over the years have been sucked into aesthetics or trends that I visually enjoyed, but just never felt truly like me.

Some of the things I’ve learned to avoid:

• Anything overly “sporty”

• Items that feel too corporate or “done up” need to be balanced with a more casual relaxed element

• Most prints or bright colours

• Too many skirts (this one is purely practical since I can’t wear skirts to my office so the opportunity to wear them is immediately limited)

With this in mind, I started by pulling inspiration from various sources to create a mini Spring mood board.

From this, I was able to tap into for Spring that feel aligned with my personal style, and then look into my existing wardrobe for ways to recreate some Spring looks.

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1. FEMININE + BOHO FABRICS

• Combining lace with harder fabrics like denim or cotton:

  • Layering lace dress or skirt over jeans or trousers

  • Lace accent scarf

• Balancing a boho style with structure or edgier elements

  • Flowy feminine top with ‘boyish’ jeans

  • Feminine lace skirt with something oversized or structured

• Neutral colours - using textures for interest

For these looks, it’s all about the juxtaposition for me. The lacy or more feminine elements paired with a more masculine baggy jean, trouser, minimal sweaters, t-shirts — you get the idea.

I don’t have a ton of lacy or boho items in my closet, but managed to dig out an old American Eagle boho sheer top I’ve had for about 15 years and haven’t worn in probably at least 5 years.

The verdict: I love how this one turned out and will be wearing is ASAP. I don’t know if it fully captures the vibe of my inspiration photos, but I’m excited to get more life out of a piece I have considered decluttering many times.

What’s missing: I think it’s been long enough now that I’ve been craving a lace skirt that I can layer over pants (or shorts!). This will be something that I’m keeping an eye out for.

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2. POP OF COLOUR

• Dark neutral outfit with bright “spring” bag

• Bright coloured socks or footwear

• Using a scarf as a spring accent

I like this concept because it basically feels like taking a simple fall or winter look and adding 1 or 2 pieces that feel more “spring” to completely change the vibe. I’ve been craving a bit of lightness lately, unlike in winter where dark, oversized, heavy looks feel right.

I have 2 items I wanted to try - my red Adidas sneakers and a yellow Kate Spade purse I was given several years ago by my mother in law (she has great taste!!).

The verdict: I used the trench coat look from the inspiration photo above, and love how this one turned out! This is a great slightly warmer spring look since it’s a t-shirt and jeans, but the navy stripes in the t-shirt + the red shoes and trench coat just work so well together. I also surprisingly loved this with the red purse as well, despite typically not liking the “matching shoes to bag” since it can feel too expected, but I feel like it works here.

The verdict: I ended up modifying this one compared to my original outfit creation in Indyx as you’ll see in the photo. In all honesty I love this skirt in concept but have really struggled with the styling. I think the ballet flats kept a feminine element I felt was missing. I also definitely think that the addition of the yellow bag made this feel much more Spring than without it, so I’d say it’s a success!

What’s missing: I’m not always big on “pops of colour” as a styling tool, so having a couple of items in my closet that I can pull out for this feels like enough. I don’t think there’s anything to add here!

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3. EFFORTLESS LAYERS

• Sweater vest over t-shirt

• Tank top layered over button-up shirt

• Sleeveless summer top layered over cotton short or long-sleeve tee

As the weather gets warmer it feels like layering gets harder. I have the mindset that I don’t have good spring/summer layering pieces, but maybe I need to challenge that and get a little more creative.

The key to this one for me is maintaining that effortless - almost like the layers were just thrown on before leaving the house but they work perfectly. I know enough not to fall into the trap of believing that it’s actually that simple, and in fact, much effort goes into these looks - and that’s not a bad thing!

For my first attempt, I decided to try my own spin on the outfit in the bottom right of the image above where I layered a button-up t-shirt over a long-sleeve shirt.

The verdict: I felt great in this! This is actually perfect for some of the warmer days right now where we’re starting to break into double digit weather. I also really struggle to style this green shirt because I don’t think the colour is great on me, but with the black contrast I think it fits! It also feels like the shirt underneath adds a certain nostalgic edge to it which I love.

The verdict: Alas my struggle with button-up shirts continues. I’ve tried so many times to style this shirt but it just never feels like me. I don’t think this outfit is bad exactly, but it just did NOT feel effortless or cool. I did wear it out of the house, but highly doubt I’ll reach for this combination again.

What’s missing: I would consider an addition or two to my closet because this concept of effortless summer layering is just so versatile. I love when a piece could be worn in every season in different ways. Specifically I don’t think I’ll be layering over button-up shirts, but I’ll be actively looking for a sweater vest or similar that I can layer over a loose white t-shirt.

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If you’re struggling with finding your Spring style as the weather changes, I HIGHLY recommend some kind of process like this. I went from feeling like I have “nothing to wear” to walking away with several specific outfit ideas as well as countless concepts that I can wear TODAY.

And yes, I do have a couple of items on my spring wishlist, but it’s more like 1-2 pieces that I could wear almost year-round as opposed to a full overhaul.

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Thank you so much for being here on this journey with me! I’d love to hear how you’re making small updates to your outfits for Spring this year and if there’s anything on your wish list!