Per my therapist: You can’t control what people say or do (or something), but you can control how they make you feel. As such, I have decided to stop trying to control what the weather does (or says it will do), but instead work on controlling how it makes me feel. It’s been quite remarkable and as a result, I no longer feel cold.
(Denial is my favorite spring 2018 accessory. So are parenthetical asides, apparently!)
A few weeks ago, before all this, I began bookmarking spring outfit ideas on Instagram so that I wouldn’t forget them come warm weather. The idea was that these little pockets of sunshine would give me something to look forward to and would get me through the final push of why-does-it-still-feel-like-winter weather. My collection has only grown, as you can see, only now, I have begun to pair these mini inspiration boards with the exact temperatures I would like to feel as a result of looking at them. See? Control.
1. For a Cool 73-Degree Kinda Day
Do you know what the ultimate weather luxury is? Being in a climate so temperate that you can pair a sweatshirt with shorts — shorts because it’s warm enough to go sans pants without prickly goose pimples; a sweatshirt because it’s probably considered hot enough to require air conditioning inside the bagel store you’re swinging by for iced coffee and breakfast. And it’s luxurious because where else are you heading in this except back home to lounge? I could and will, at some point, write a whole essay about the suburban nostalgia I experience whenever I think about this high school summer “errand” and accompanying uniform, as so elegantly demonstrated by the late Princess Diana. My memories are hardly worthy of the above photo, but when I think about recreating this outfit, I can taste the hazelnut iced coffee and everything seeds already.
2. For a Chilly 71-Degree Evening
The Mango jeans on Desert Mannequin’s Anum Bashir are the straight legs my denim dreams are made of. This puff-sleeve top, meanwhile, is exactly the kind of top I’d pack in absolute lieu of a jacket for a vacation away somewhere warm that gets “chilly” at night.
3. For a Super Sunny 85-Degree Afternoon
I bookmarked this specifically for wedding season: forgot to tell you we’ve bypassed spring and leaped straight into summer, where the sun cooks even in the late afternoon. (Ahhh, doesn’t that feel good?) But for the person who doesn’t feel like a dress is enough of an outfit, a cotton candy pink spiderweb-light jacket just might be the exact thing a slinky orange slip needs to feel like the main attraction.
4. For a 65-Degree Post-Rain Day
There has to be a little cool-weather relief! Looking at this is like staring into a fan, or walking out onto the street after it rains and cools off for just a second. All I want is to wear a lightweight blazer, always, but more importantly, giant scarves — the black-tie equivalent of scrunchies — are the best friends my ponytail has been seeking out on Bumble BFF for at least a few months now. Also, I’m not over baskets-as-bags and I want to know, WHO’S WITH ME?
5. For a Day That Starts in the High 60s But Has the Potential to Dip
Early transitional spring dressing, in my opinion, means it’s almost fall-like in terms of layering. If only I had a red leather mini skirt (currently hunting) like Yaminah’s, I would also pose on a roof, then shout about it for all the world to know.
6. For a Balmy 80-Degree Evening With a Breeze so Beautiful You Keep the Windows Open
Does this look like literal polka-dotted heaven? I can’t even remember if I think non-heater-enforced 80 degrees is too hot to sleep in. Right now it sounds heavenly, but only in this outfit.
7. Exactly 75 Degrees — All Afternoon Long
Someone in my Month of Mirror Selfies story noted that I seemed to be happiest not in pants — and she meant that I was much happier in skirts, as opposed to bare-bottoms, surprisingly enough. Perhaps she’s right, and if so, why fight a good thing? Why not take a cue from this two-for-one double posted a near-year-go that I saved before you could even save things to Instagram? Don’t have to ask myself twice!
8. For a 72-Degree Lunch
I LOVE WARM WEATHER SWEATERS, NOW AND FOREVER. THIS ONE IS PERFECT. BAGGIER THE BETTER. I WILL SIZE UP, UP, UP…
And away! (I blew myself away with the hypothetical spring breeze. Now tell me what you wanna wear this spring even if the weather isn’t cooperating!)
Feature photo via Sleeper; Market work by Elizabeth Tamkin.
