7 Tips to Help Plan Your Spring Wardrobe

It’s time to begin planning our spring wardrobes. Yes, I still have snow on the ground outside. But I’ve learned that if I don’t put some forethought and methodology into my seasonal wardrobes, I end up with too many clothes, some regrettable purchases and not enough outfits. Can you relate? Today I’m sharing 7 tips to help you plan your spring wardrobe so you stay within your budget and enjoy wearing your clothes. But first, let’s back up…about 7 years.

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When I began blogging in this space almost seven years ago I still had so much to learn about creating stylish outfits and putting together a wardrobe that could help me do that on a consistent basis. Most people who knew me would say I dressed well back then, but they didn’t know I frequently struggled to put together those outfits. If only they had seen the piles of clothes on my bed that I had tossed aside in frustration as I got dressed for my day.

I began this blog from a position of desperation. I was tired of having a closet full of clothes but still feeling like I had nothing to wear. Can you relate? With a journalism degree from 1986 hanging on my office wall and a husband with a new camera he had purchased to take landscape photographs, I decided to create a fashion blog for women over 50.

I wasn’t a professional stylist, but I knew how to do the research. I didn’t pretend to know the ins and outs of putting together a wardrobe and great outfits (just yet!), but I knew I could relate to other women who were in my same season of life and also wanted this information. And I knew I could learn this information and pass it on to others in a way that made sense. Yes, I wanted to get dressed for my day. But I also wanted to help you do the same. I actually became quite passionate about helping women in their 50s and beyond stay stylish, relevant and engaged.

At first I tiptoed into each piece of styling advice I offered, hoping I was getting it right. With a heavy emphasis on research, I wrote a series on discovering your body shape and proportions so we could learn to dress our unique bodies and get Dressed for My Day…My Way. Armed with that knowledge, I ventured into learning and then sharing the keys to Building a Wardrobe that Works for You. And then several years later, with the basics securely under my belt, I began the hard work of dialing in my own personal style and refining my wardrobe to reflect that. As I got serious about being true to myself and having fewer regrettable purchases, I shared what I’d learned in a series called Define Your Style…Refine Your Wardrobe.

And that brings us to present day. Seven years later, I haven’t earned a certificate I can hang on my wall declaring I’m a professional stylist, but I’ve received hundreds and hundreds of emails from women thanking me for helping them to get dressed for their days. I’m not proud of these emails; I’m humbled and grateful. But they do confirm that this little space in the Internet serves a purpose, and I’m so pleased to be able to serve women in this season of life in this way.

I didn’t mean to go quite so far down this rabbit hole. But I did want to assure you that the tips I’m sharing with you today…and every day…are ones that I truly believe will make a difference in your closet, your outfits and even your interactions with other people this spring. Getting dressed for your day absolutely can change your life. And when you feel confident and beautiful in what you wear, you’re more prone to engage with other people in a positive way and do a little good. I believe that, and hundreds of women have confirmed that suspicion.

Tip #1 – Pull your spring clothes out of storage and assess the situation.

Because of what I do here at Dressed for My Day, I do end up purchasing or being gifted what amounts to a full new wardrobe each season. Otherwise, I would wear much more of my last year’s wardrobe again this spring. But even though I’ll have a lot of new items in my closet this season, I do have a number of classic investment pieces that I wear over and over. Hopefully you do, too.

Knowing what you have in your possession will help you avoid wasteful purchases, but it can also help set the direction for the wardrobe you build. If possible build upon the foundation you’ve already laid since hopefully the pieces you are carrying over from previous seasons are those that you love and resonate with your personal style.

Throughout this post I’m sharing some style boards that I put together for my personal style and spring wardrobe. These are the beginnings of my spring wardrobe. I’ll provide shopping widgets with the items you see and some more economical options when we were able to find something similar.

Tip #2 – Determine your color palette for your seasonal wardrobe.

I like to work with a narrowed down color palette as I begin to build my seasonal wardrobe. I used to be very strict about adhering to my chosen 2-4 neutrals and 3-5 signature colors for a season. But in recent years I’ve learned I can add in one item of a rogue color here and there and still have a cohesive wardrobe. So I may fudge on my color palette a little as the season progresses, but I still usually begin planning my seasonal wardrobe with a narrowed down color palette in mind.

I encourage you to look for artwork or photographs that inspire you, whether they depict nature or snippets of life. I found the images above (and many more) in Pinterest when I put “nautical scene with red blue” in the search engine. You can see that each image represents a very different color palette, but they all have a nautical theme. So if you plan to lean into fisherman core or a nautical inspired wardrobe for spring, any of these would work beautifully.

That said, you could do the same thing with “French village with soft green pink brown” or “English countryside with navy green pink” or “Japanese garden with cherry blossom turquoise.” Yes, I tried all of those and more and got beautiful inspirational images.

Tip #3 – Anticipate expressing your personal style with your seasonal outfits.

If you were with me during last year’s style series, Define Your Style…Refine Your Wardrobe, you know to prioritize your personal style over the current trends. But when you hit the stores or browse the websites or flip through those tantalizing catalogs, it’s tempting to throw your personal style aside and hinge your hopes on the shiny and new.

But I encourage you to look at the new trends and colors through the lens of your personal style. Adapting a few of the trends to suit you will help keep your look current and stylish. But weed out those things that do not work with your personal aesthetic. You can appreciate them, love them even, but still choose not to wear the ones that really don’t reflect your style.

Tip #4 – Prioritize outfits instead of just shopping for clothes.

While I’m a firm believer in building a mixable, matchable wardrobe that will produce for you endless outfits, I do encourage you to always keep outfits at the forefront of your mind as you build that collection. Otherwise you can end up with a selection of clothes that seem to go together because of the colors, but they really don’t work – because of silhouettes, proportions, types of items, fabric differences, etc.

I like to use the 3-3-3 rule as I contemplate adding pieces to my closet. They need to work really well with at least three other garments in my collection, wear nicely with three different pairs of shoes and be appropriate for three different types of outfits for various occasions or settings.

I always immediately try to create three different outfits with items when I purchase them. Otherwise, they don’t earn entry into my wardrobe.

Tip #5 – Consider how you will update your wardrobe with current silhouettes and trends.

When you’re ready to begin shopping, I encourage you to prioritize updating to current silhouettes as much as possible. One of the easiest ways to make your entire wardrobe look more modern is simply to update your denim. This year most anything goes as far as jean silhouettes, but we’re definitely leaning into straight leg and wide leg jeans, including flares. And ankle length jeans are very on trend and current.

Remember to shop for jeans that work for your proportions, prioritizing the rise. That’s the distance from the crotch to the top of the jean and it determines where the waistband sits on your frame. You can often change the length of inseam of your jeans, but you need to shop for the best rise. Above I’ve indicated the rise and inseam on three pairs of jeans I recently bought and really like for my frame.

For additional help finding jeans for this spring, see the YouTube video below.

Tip #6 – Prioritize necessary base layers and completer pieces to create outfits.

I think it’s smart to prioritize necessary base layers such as t-shirts, jeans, casual pants and shirts…so you’ll have something to wear! Think about the different styles of tops that will help you create a variety of outfits that you love to wear.

Try not to repeat too many types of tops, but also make sure you do have some in colors, not just neutrals. And I like having a few striped options, too. Stripes are so on trend and such a classic way to add interest. Oh, and I always make sure I have at least one fun graphic tee to add a little levity to my wardrobe.

But I prefer to spend more of my clothing budget on smart completer pieces that will help me create great outfits. These are what making dressing for spring (and fall) so much fun.

Tip #7 – Don’t forget to add some interesting and unique pieces to give our wardrobe life.

Finally, don’t forget to add a little life and personality to your wardrobe. I can get so focused on making sure that I have the essentials that I neglect to add anything truly unique and special. That’s a big mistake that leads to boring outfits and frustration.

Look for pretty colors, interesting details, stripes or polka dots, fine finishes and unique silhouettes or necklines. Below is a shopping widget with all the items in my Spring 2025 Capsule Wardrobe shown above.

And below I’ve created a shopping widget with the more economical options we found.

I hope these tips help you to begin planning your spring wardrobe. More importantly I hope this post has sparked some enthusiasm for the upcoming season. Let’s enjoy getting dressed for our day this spring!

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If you’ve begun to plan your spring wardrobe, I’d love to hear about your plans. What colors and neutrals will you wear? Where did you get your inspiration? What trends will you incorporate? And which completer pieces are you looking forward to wearing? Just click on “join the conversation” below to share.