Easy pants, wafer-thin sweaters, go-everywhere coats and more. Spring is a time of renewal. As temperatures rise, daylight extends and pollen froths in the air, wardrobes also undergo a turnover.
Thick, woolly sweaters and heavy coats are pushed to the back of closets, making way for lighter layers, breathable fabrics and punches of color. Those looking to refresh their spring wardrobe have no shortage of options to choose from, a fact that can quickly make shopping a daunting endeavor.
To help, I spent more than 12 hours browsing websites to find worthy items in eight key categories of springtime attire. These 48 products come from brands across the world. Some are big, but many are small, independent labels. They range in price from about $60 to $800, and were picked with a variety of body types and personal preferences in mind.
Most importantly, they address a desire for simple clothing that is better than basic. Good news for those in constant search of comfort: Loose pants are still in style, and some of the season’s best come with drawstrings or elastic waists.
They include styles from high-end labels like Pleats Please Issey Miyake and mall chains like Gap. Deiji Studios, an Australian brand, offers a dark pinstripe pair and J. Crew has a sporty style with a stripe down each side. The patchwork look of a pair from Tigra Tigra, a label in Los Angeles, was achieved by working with artisans in India, while another pair, from the in-house line of the San Francisco store Reliquary, has the color and soft silhouette of a cloud.
Gossamer-like cardigans have been appearing more on runways and on the people who closely follow them. They are often worn as a sweet — almost ironic — foil to baggy low-rise jeans or slouchy pants that break and pool at the ankle.
The American label Eckhaus Latta, which specializes in knits and is considered by many to be at the forefront of cool sweaters, is offering several shrunken cardigans this season, including one in a coral shade called “langoustine” that was made to mimic a button-up shirt. Geel, an emerging label in Los Angeles, sells a cropped version with a hood and Guest in Residence, a label founded by Gigi Hadid, makes pointelle-knit cardigans in punchy colors like mint green and in neutrals like cream.
As the weather warms, having a polished overcoat that can be worn comfortably over a variety of items — a T-shirt, sweats, a lighter jacket or a blazer — can take some of the guesswork out of getting dressed.
A number of small labels — Kule in New York, Mijeong Park in Los Angeles and Studio Nicholson in London among them — offer calf-skimming versions in neutral shades that evoke the all-weather coats by the heritage Scottish brand Mackintosh. Notable weather-resistant options include a sherbet-colored style from Land’s End and a Banana Republic coat that comes with a matching bucket hat.
The spring months could be described as a bridge to beach season. The same could be said for woven leather bags, which mimic the look of luxury versions by Bottega Veneta and marry the heft of a leather carryall with the carefree sensibility of a summery raffia bag.
Traditional basket weaving and other handicrafts inform the aesthetic of the Belgian brand Dragon Diffusion. Bembien and St. Agni, two labels known for sleek designs, offer versions in a range of sizes, including small cross-body bags and substantial totes. While many woven leather bags are stiff at first, they tend to soften with use.
Many new styles of cotton or linen shirts — collared or otherwise — are so oversized that they toe the line between casual and formal, making them more versatile. They can be worn untucked with a pair of jeans or paired with slim slacks for a more formal look.
The French label Charvet, founded in 1838, traditionally affixes mother-of-pearl buttons to each of its designs, which are produced in solids, stripes and other patterns. With Nothing Underneath, a brand in London, offers button-ups in a selection of pastels, and Flore Flore, a Dutch brand, produces its versions in Portugal using organic Italian cotton.
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