212: A data-based dress code for the microseason

An analysis of two years' worth of outfits turned up an elegant solution.

Hope everyone in New York enjoyed that 70º cameo earlier this month, I wouldn’t know because I was being mysterious and worldly abroad. Even in absentia, though, it was enough to remind me of the panic of suddenly nice weather, a phase that may be described as the disappearing middle class (i.e. spring) of seasons.

That sharp turn can send me into a tailspin, at a total loss for what to wear. But this year I’m prepared…I discovered a trick.

Quickly though, before we continue: Regular readers know by now I very rarely work with sponsors on the newsletter, and when I do, it’s on content that would have existed anyway, just with extra emphasis. Today’s send is in tandem with a brand I include organically often, Neiman Marcus (see, emphasis).

When the retailer pointed me to a promotion it’s currently hosting—where you can earn a gift card worth up to $600 by shopping from this selection and using TOGETHER at checkout—and asked what I made of it, my gut reaction was that it was full of pieces that elegantly solve for the impending microseason.

Let me elaborate: I recently reread one of my newsletters from this time last year and was struck by the fact that it contained the solution to the exact light-switch season change I’d been dreading. Here, I’ll let past-me tell you about it:

107: We are so back, baby

One of my favorite days for fashion in New York took place in that window. It was last Wednesday and very suddenly 80º outside. Still stuck in my wintry palette, I wore a black Gucci tank, Pleats Please pants, The Row heeled ballerinas, and because I didn’t trust the alleged jacket-less weather, a white Leset button down.

Everywhere I looked, I saw my same logic replicated or interpreted to such a crazy-making degree of alignment. Everyone had clearly read up in the group chat about wearing a tank, three-quarter sleeve tee, trouser (no jeans anywhere in sight), plain overshirt, and/or some combo of all of the above in shades of black, white, and cream. It was giving cult, frankly.

The suddenness of change had clearly caused a bit of decision paralysis, or maybe we were still sketching our seasonal personas. Even just a day or two is all the most self-knowing dressers need to properly pivot into spring (not me though, I’m lost for weeks), so the synchronicity was never fated to last. It was just one, weirdly satisfying day of a whole city dressed like townspeople in an overchoreographed production.

But the plot thickens. Digging further into the archives, I discovered that the year prior, I published a packing list from a three-week trip I’d just taken, which summed up a nearly identical mode of dress; the specific products I wore, linked in the original send, were also largely black, white, and cream.

043: A capsule wardrobe is the best prescription for travel

• A very good tank top

• A semi-fancy trouser

• Really comfy outside pants

• Couple of button-downs

• A fitted blazer, the type you can wear as a shirt

• A soft, oversized blazer

• One to three sexy little skirts

• Surprisingly, a fantastic leather belt

• Heels that also make sense in the day

• Sandals that also make sense at night

• Shoes to wear socks with

• Three bags, in a color-to-neutral sandwich according to size

At this point, the chalk equations were floating across my field of vision, and a formula for transitional dressing was being drafted: tanks, button downs, “nice” pants, a slight heel, and outerwear with a minimal touch—everything desaturated.

If this sounds basic, that’s the point. What is spring for if not reconnecting with your wardrobe’s most essential, foundational parts? In Neiman’s promo, what I found was a wealth of pieces that plug seamlessly into this microseasonal formula (and, as is the magic of this approach, serve you year-round, too).

Below, my favorite pieces from Neiman Marcus to wear today, when the weather abruptly changes any day now, and forever after.

Rohe Button-Front Back Slit Shirt, $390 / Norma Kamali Sleeveless 4-Way Stretch Mini Pickleball Dress, $145 (beat that) / Khaite X Oliver Peoples Monochrome Acetate Oval Sunglasses, $524 / Savette Tondo Small Flap Leather Hobo Bag, $1,550 / Toteme Mid-Rise Double-Pleated Straight-Leg Tailored Trousers, $540 / Hanro Michelle Lace-Trim Cotton Cami, $100

Bottega Veneta High-Rise Wide-Leg Cotton Twill Trousers, $1,600 / Loulou Studio Brize Single-Breasted Collarless Leather Jacket, $720 (admittedly off-palette, but I couldn’t resist!) / Toteme Scoop Zip Leather Shoulder Bag, $890 / Jacquemus Ovalo High-Rise Pleated Straight-Leg Bermuda Shorts, $740 / Rohe Tailored Wool Scarf Jacket, $970 / Janessa Leone Adjustable Leather & Metal Alloy Belt, $190

Khaite Evelyn Sleeveless Top, $980 / LE17SEPTEMBRE High-Neck Cashmere-Blend Jacket, $690 / Jacquemus Obra Straight Leather Skirt, $1,365 / Tod's Small Di Hobo Bag, $2,245 / Le Monde Beryl Calfskin Mary Jane Ballerina Pumps, $650 (ordered myself a pair of these, eee) / Interior Fletcher Long-Sleeve Strong-Shoulder Maxi Shirtdress, $720

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