Last spring I kept waiting and waiting to wear my pretty, lightweight spring pieces, only to be disappointed more often than not by chilly days and May Gray. It’s not near the snow that some of you experience during spring (aghhh so sorry, come visit!) but it’s not the light and airy sunshine I always imagine it to be either. I finally accepted that my spring wardrobe of lightweight pieces wasn’t cutting it. While, I could just wear my fall and winter clothes, which I did last year, sometimes you just need a change in color palette and materials when the season changes! I want to shed the dark colors and heavy fabrics. So, last year I made a mental note that come spring again, I would plan a more fitting wardrobe. Here we are!
If you want wardrobes for warmer springs, check my previous capsule wardrobe posts HERE.
SIZING: I’m 5’6″ and usually S/M or 6 in clothes, 8.5 to 9 in shoes.
My Early Spring Capsule Wardrobe Plan
My early spring wardrobe plan is basically to add a few brighter and lighter colored sweaters and sweatshirts. I already have a great selection of closet staples that transcend multiple seasons, so a handful of sweaters and sweatshirts was all I really needed. (I share how to morph items from winter to spring in the recent post How to Wear an Item in Different Seasons.)
Casual style. I have plenty of nicer spring tops, but as my lifestyle has shifted more towards kindergarten drop-off and working from home, I need more casual pieces. Plus oh yeah, I’m 20 weeks pregnant, so I needed to adjust and add some pieces for that, too!
I’ve been back and forth between calling this a “capsule” because while it could be a mini spring capsule wardrobe, I’m not treating it like a true capsule. I will definitely grab other pieces in my closet from time to time. Like, if i need to grab one of those nicer blouses or a dress to dress up, etc. This list serves more as a plan or a core list for me to make sure I have what I need to remedy the holes in my casual section for cooler spring days. Hope that makes sense!
Anyway, if you’re looking to build a little casual wardrobe for cooler spring days, here’s what I came up with!
cream sweater | black fleece | color block sweater
oatmeal sweatshirt | coral hoodie
striped tee | t-shirt | white tunic
denim jacket | utility jacket
oatmeal cardigan | color block cardigan
jeans | distressed jeans
black jeans | leggings
nude flats | colored flats | white sneakers
leopard print sneakers | taupe sneakers | pink sneakers
metallic pendant | white pendant
white earrings | metallic teardrop earrings | tan cutout earrings
spotted earrings | yellow earrings | metallic gem earrings
Some items linked above are not the exact item shown. Similar items linked for those not currently available.
I did a quick count and can turn these pieces into well over 35 outfits. If I decide to break out my white maternity jeans, I’ll have even more!
Tops
Like I said, sweaters and sweatshirts were my main focus. I had to add all of these except for the twist fleece. You may recognize three from my recent Old Navy reviews post. I made sure to mix things up with solid lighter neutral ones, at least one darker one (and I have a few more in my closet if I really need some), a colorful one, and printed one. I have yet to add the colored sweatshirt. I ordered several from Amazon, so hopefully one works!
There aren’t a lot of shirts in here since in early spring I’d rather wear sweatshirts and sweaters. I also have plenty of basic tees that I can pull out whenever I need to, but I didn’t want to build my core early spring wardrobe around them. I will also be adding 1-2 graphic tees to the mix for later spring. The white tunic made it into the mix because it’s my go-to while pregnant. It works throughout most of my pregnancy!
If you’re looking for some tops for spring, shop some through the widget below!
Completer Pieces
The denim jacket, utility jacket, and beige cardigan are staples for me at least 3 out of 4 seasons. Out of my many colored cardigans, I only featured beige as I plan on it being my main color this season and wanted to make sure I chose tops that worked with it. The color block cardigan is a trendier item I’m digging for this spring. I don’t have one yet and ordered THIS one recently in the color Z-khaki. Hopefully it works out!
Check out more layering pieces in the widget below!
Bottoms
I have all of these in non-maternity styles, but I am still nailing them all down in maternity versions. I’m close, just have to decide which pairs I hate the least. 😜 Dark wash blue jeans and black jeans are my closet staples, and I really love medium wash distressed jeans for spring to lighten the mood of outfits. Lastly, leggings aren’t usually in my everyday wear (just athleisure/weekend and activewear) but I have found myself wanting to wear them more and more this pregnancy.
I went back and forth on whether to include white jeans, which are usually in my spring rotation. I already have a maternity pair. I left them out given that I treated this as a plan for early spring, and I didn’t want my plan to rely on white jeans as part of the core. I’ll bust them out whenever I need a little more variety of course, and probably more often in late spring.
Shop more bottoms in the widget below:
Shoes
I stocked up on my sneaker collection this year and I ain’t sad about it! 😁 But you know, I couldn’t NOT include my beloved yellow flats. They’re in my early spring rotation enough, and as spring progresses I’ll wear them more and more.
LOTS of good options to shop in the widget below!
Accessories
How to Make This Work If It’s Super Cold
If I were in super cold temps and maybe even snow, I’d still focus on sweaters and sweatshirts, but just thicker versions of them all. I’d personally aim for ones like the coral color block sweater which is warm without being super chunky. And obviously long sleeve shirts instead of t-shirts. Plus, remember all the hidden layers you can wear under clothes to stay warm, shared in How I Stay Warm In the Winter While Trying to Look Cute!
I’d also change to more appropriate footwear, such as waterproof booties, my fuzzy waterproof taupe wedge sneakers, and light grey Hunter boots–all shown in THIS post on waterproof shoes.
Lastly, I’d add some scarves in lighter colors and lighter fabrics as temps permit.
Anyone else need a little capsule like this for early spring?
Like these types of posts? Check out all my capsule wardrobes and packing lists HERE. You can always find that link at the menubar at the top of my blog under “Capsule Wardrobes.“
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