Layering Ideas For Transitional Weather

After I published my post on wearing tights with open-toed shoes, Ingrid emailed me again and said:

"Thank you for taking the time and effort in responding to my question. Do you think you can do more postings on layering in the future? I'm lost at times in knowing what to layer in this kind of 10 degree weather. Thank you once again!"

Ingrid, I'm with you on this one. In-between weather always confounds me. It's not quite spring but it's mild outside; it's not quite winter but the temperature can turn chilly on a dime. It can go from sunny to drizzling to downright freezing in a single day.

To deal with this transitional weather, my most recent layered looks rely heavily on:

• Lightweight wool jackets and coats
• Arm warmers and fingerless gloves
• Jeans
• Cardigans and lightweight pullover sweaters
• 3/4 sleeve tops

When combined, these items give you tons of body temperature adjustment options. You can wear everything when it's cold outside, take off the arm warmers when you're indoors, or remove the cardigan if you find yourself overheating.

With the magic of Polyvore, I whipped up a few outfits (very) loosely based on my own wardrobe to illustrate how versatile these items can be when worn together.

Look #1 features a 3/4 sleeve tee, a sleeveless cardigan, and hot pink arm warmers. (I don't have hot pink arm warmers...yet.) Although this outfit mostly uses neutrals, I think the pops of pink and green, combined with the beige, white, and gray, keep things on the light side. Toasty yet spring-like.

Look #2 comes pretty close to what I have on as I'm writing this post, except that I don't own any Hello Kitty earrings and I added those just for fun. I love layering white tees under an embellished tank top. If you remove the cardigan and go around in short sleeves, you never feel quite as chilly as you would if you were wearing just a tee or tank, and it looks so much more interesting. You can button the cardigan up or wear it unbuttoned if you need something to keep your arms from getting cold. Top it off with a belted trench or a lightweight wool coat.

Look #3 is perfect for looking pulled-together when you're running errands or off to meet a girlfriend for an afternoon matinee. (Confession: It's a bit of a go-to look for me when I'm in a hurry.) Wear the jacket fully buttoned and the fingerless gloves if the weather suddenly turns cold outside. The cotton striped sweater is long-sleeved and lightweight, meaning that it'll keep you just warm enough. Like Look #1, this outfit relies on pattern (stripes, the patterned flats) and a pop of colour (tomato red) to lighten up the neutrals.

So far I've featured looks that revolve around jeans, but what do you do when you want to don a dress or skirt? Look #4 shows how it can be done. A knee-length coat in a lightweight wool fabrication, leggings, and tall leather boots keep legs warm if it starts to get windy. A red sweater dress with short sleeves is tolerable if it's warm; if it's cold, add a scarf and some fingerless gloves (or black arm warmers) to take the chill off. The statement necklace adds a bit of visual interest if you decide to forego the scarf.

Ingrid, I hope you found this post helpful! To my lovely readers, do you have any favourite layering strategies or items you swear by for transitional winter-to-spring weather?

Update: At the time I finished this post and published it, it was snowing. What gives, Mother Nature?!