Transitional Wardrobe: Summer to Fall

I'm not the type of person who does a huge wardrobe "flip" for the seasons. I don't really store off-season clothes away, I just put some stuff in packing cubes to keep my dresser drawers a little neater. Other than that, my wardrobe stays out year-round and everything is accessible. But I thought I would show you what a mini-flip looks like because I still move things around to make the cooler-weather items I reach for more accessible.

Right now, it's cooling down but it's still nice out, so I can still wear skirts and dresses withouts tights. My first step to transition between seasons in my closet is to take out all the high summer pieces (I don't know if that's just a retail term, but high summer just means clothes that can only work in the heat and can't be transitioned to another season with layers, etc.).

So on my bed, I lay out those high summer pieces. For me that was 2 pairs of linen trousers (one is more cropped too), a pair of denim shorts, one summery blouse (that can't really be layered because of the off-the-shoulder style and puff sleeves). I also took out my red wrap top that I've been meaning to sew a snap-button closure (to keep it from gaping open) for probably a year now. I'm going to leave that top in my transitional wardrobe because it will be cute with jeans or with a denim jacket thrown over, but I just needed to force myself to do that alteration.

So those items get stored away in a medium-sized packing cube. They don't fully fill-out the cube, which is good because I still left some summery stuff in my wardrobe (those will be added in about a month, when it gets too cold!).

For example, these two linen midi skirts are staying out because they can be transitioned into more fall-appropriate outfits. The colours work well for fall, the wrap styles can work with tucking in bulkier sweaters and since they are a midi-length my legs won't get cold.

So then I pulled out my packing cube of wintery items, which is essentially just trousers. I keep my sweaters in a bottom drawer of my dresser and when the seasons change, I just move them up to a top drawer (so they never get packed away!). The trousers that came out are all pretty similar (guess I have a favourite colour...grey!) - 2 high-waisted wide leg trousers: one in a tweed wool, one in a dark grey window-pane pattern. And then two high-waisted slim-straight leg trousers: one in a darker tweed wool and one in a dark grey with stripes. You'll notice that two pairs have elasticated waistbands too, because comfort is key! It also helps when tucking in bulkier items like sweaters.

So this is what the bottoms section of my wardrobe looks like. Like I said, eventually those summer skirts will get folded into the packing cube, but for now they'll stay.

And then these are my dresses and tops. Most of the dresses will get folded into my dresser when it becomes colder because they're not styles that look right with tights. Sometimes I just move them so they hang on the far side of my closet so they're not right there when I open the doors (depends on how I feel each year). In terms of tops, most will stay out - I'll only fold down the linen tops in the middle of winter (but they're great transitional items for fall & spring).

And if you were wondering, this is my beloved sweater drawer! I do love a cozy sweater! This fills about three-quarters of one dresser drawer (I cropped out the tights and other stuff that fills the rest of the space). Clearly I have a colour palette that I enjoy here too: light grey. Apparently as it gets colder I just wear more grey! All these sweaters are different styles: there are turtlenecks, crewnecks, quarter zips, cardigans, a sweater dress, etc.

So that's basically the transition to early fall! Just put some super summery stuff in a packing cube, take out some wool trousers. Move sweaters to a top drawer and voilà - done! I really like not fully packing away my things in a suitcase or in an out-of-reach place because it makes the season change more work (in my opinion - I know there are a lot of perks to that method for some people!).

How are you doing?! Is it back-to-school for you or are you just soaking up the fall weather?!