Take Your Summer Clothes Into Winter!

  Now that December has come, the temperature has definitely dropped, even in my home town's "temperate" climate. Some clothes make an easy transition into the cooler months. Your favorite maxi skirt and pair of jeans probably look just as cute with boots and a cardigan as they do with flats and a t-shirt. What about those less obvious pieces like sun dresses though? For the trickier items, I have a few tips that have helped me.

Layering

        

 

 

   Layering clothes is something that I do just about every day. For modesty reasons, I already layer my dresses (oh, and the fact that our summer days rarely get above the 70's, at best ;) ). The transition to the cooler months just requires putting long sleeves underneath instead of short sleeves. Some dresses also look cute with a sweater over them, such as the plaid dress in the photo.

   You might have to get creative with layering if you are going to be spending time outside on a chilly day. I often wear a cardigan over my outfit when I'm indoors, then leave it on under my jacket when going out.

Tights

   I don't know what I would do without tights! With tights, you can stretch the range of temperatures in which you can wear your shorter and/or thinner skirts and dresses. The ideal tights for winter are thick, opaque and well-fitting (if they don't bunch at the ankles, you can wear them with flats and sneakers!). However, it seems that most of what I'm seeing in stores this season are basically colored nylons. If you wear those with a cozy pair of knee-high socks under your boots, it helps the cold not to seep in so much.

   If you find tights uncomfortable, you might find footless tights or leggings easier to wear. If you are wearing boots, they can be easily layered with socks.

Scarves and Other Accessories

    Yes, I'm singing the virtues of scarves again! Wearing a big, cozy scarf (I'm not talking about a skinny silk scarf this time) over your summery dress can stave off the need to pull your favorite sweater out of the laundry in order to be warm. Other accessories such as handwarmers, legwarmers, and hats also go a long way in preserving body heat. Plus, you can always shed them if you get a little too warm sitting by the fire.


Coordinating Colors

   One of the problems I have in my wardrobe is that my warm weather clothes are in light colors, while my boots and winter coat are dark. I often just wear them together and deal with the contrast - after all, it can make an interesting statement. However, if you want to look more coordinated, you might try investing in various shades of tights and leggings, as well as accessories. For example, the dress I wore in the last post looked good with my boots and oatmeal tights. However, I also wore it with dark gray tights, which pulled out the darker colors of the dress and looked good with the boots.

  

  Depending on where you live, your circumstances might call for drastically different summer and winter wardrobes. I quite enjoy getting out the warm sweaters, myself.  ;) However, if your climate gives you the flexibility, experiment with using clothes that you normally wouldn't think of wearing in December and January.
   Speaking of December, the Christmas season seems to have fully launched. Forget about lazy weekends! I'm looking forward to styling outfits to wear to various events, and seeing what my friends and fellow bloggers wear. :) I don't know about you, but I like to have a different outfit to wear to each gathering I attend, so this makes dressing up more of a challenge. ;)  I hope that you all have peace during this hectic season, and take time to think about the miracle of Jesus coming to earth.

Do you have any tips to share for making the most of your clothes in all seasons?

How do you feel about wearing the same outfit twice in a row?

 

"The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter."

~Psalm 74:16-17