How March Madness Applies to Fashion

I emerge from my winter of blog (and life) hibernation to say, YAY SPRING!

The sun is shining in NYC, the air is a refreshing, crisp 61 degrees, the crocuses are blossoming on 85^th Street, and the not-quite-winter, not-quite-full-blown-spring weather confusion has some New Yorkers committing many fashion faux pas; flagrant offenses that have snapped me out of my winter funk and got my fingers typing again on ye olde blog for the first time since 2009.

March is a crazy month of uncertain weather and confusing clothing choices, but Daylight Savings Time has begun and the official first day of Spring is mere days away, here are some of my tips to leave winter behind and embrace warmth gracefully.

Four Fashion Tips for the Spring Transition:

or

Four Fashion Faux Pas New Yorkers Got Caught Committing TODAY:

1. Beware over-eagerly wearing new purchases and committing my NUMBER ONE FASHION PET PEEVE of all time. Now is the time to get excited about shopping again, its true. New season = New Purse, New Jacket, New SHOES! I know you are anxious to break in your new kicks but please inspect the shoes before wearing them out of the house willy nilly! Pourquoi? Just this morning, right after noticing the blooming crocuses on my way to the subway, the woman walking in front of me caught my eye. She was rocking a shiny, brown leather pump (with nude stockings and a great skirt) made of what appeared to be extremely supple and high quality leather. Brand spanking new. Their maiden voyage. But that’s not why I noticed her shoes. More blinding than the morning sun was a little, round, yellow sticker adhered to the soles of her shoes, probably indicating that they were an additional 20% off at Century 21. With every step she took, I wondered, “Why?...Why?...Why?” So I implore you, please inspect your new shoes before wearing them. You may think the bottom of your shoes isn’t visible, but alas, if that were the case no one would spend $1,000 on red-bottomed Louboutins. And if you pull off your price sticker and a gooey mess of glue and paper stays stuck to the shoe, don’t stop there. Finish the job. Scrape, scrape, and scrape some more.

2. When in doubt, your outermost layer should be Spring-y. When the forecast shows highs above 50 degrees, please, for the love of God, do not wear your knee-length puffy down coat, even at 8am. Anything that sheds – fur, wool, down - should be sent to the cleaners and then stored away until next December....starting last week! Wearing bulky outerwear makes others uncomfortable just LOOKING at you and reminds us of gloomy winter days, which we’re trying to forget about! Mornings may still be nippy and cool, but embrace the promise of warmer weather with a trench or short jacket and wear layers underneath if you need to stay warm. I call this dressing optimistically J

3. Your legs haven’t seen sun in 6 months. BABY STEPS to short skirts, please. I’ve seen more than a few fashionable ladies sport nude stockings with much success so far this month. Before baring your dry, pasty skin for all the world to see, consider going the pantyhose route until the weather is consistently above 70 degrees and your skin has a bit of a glow to it. I’m not advocating that you look like a self-tanning victim with matte, bronzed Oompa Loompa tights. Make sure to find a light-weight stocking in an appropriate skin tone. If you don’t like stockings but still want to wear your cute little skirts, please pair them with a boot instead of ballet flats for now. Just for another month or two until the world is used to seeing some skin again, then all bets are off.

4. Add a pop of color…judiciously. Winter is a great time for embracing neutrals and earth tones since they are so easy to match while layering and don't clash with sallow winter ghost-skin. Now that the sun is out, add a hint of brightness. Wear pink lipstick, a pastel scarf, yellow shoes, a light blue tie…just not all at the same time, please. I saw a man on the subway today wearing salt-colored khaki pants, a pastel blue sweater on top of a white collared shirt and a canary yellow tie. TOO SOON to dress for sailing or the Georgetown Waterfront. Instead, gradually add spring and summer colors to your wardrobe. That way you can still wear your basic black since that’s what’s front and center in your closet, but more cheerfully with the addition of pink earrings and a light green shimmery eye shadow or sparkly coral lip gloss. Get it?

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Maybe I should have thanked the woman with yellow-stickered-soles... Thank you for shocking me out of my pregnant, winter coma and back to consciousness! Thank you for encouraging me to look around and notice all the other fashion offenders on the streets today so I could write up this informative advice post for the masses.

Thank you crocuses for showing your faces and being the first sign of new life this year!! I am back and will emerge from winter S.A.Dness with grace and exuberance. Blog, I will not abandon thee any longer. Clothing, you will no longer be dreary. Mood, you will be improved.

("First Spring Flowers" Photo Credit)