This year’s winter season seems to be relentless, despite the sprinkling of warmer days we’ve had in the midwest. Though those warm days only bring so much cold weather relief when winter storms continue to plague much of the United States.
Despite the fickle weather, I could swear I’ve heard a bird or two chirping outside. That has to mean winters on its way out and springs about to make its grand entrance, right? Not only does the change of the season guarantee warmer weather, green leaves, flowers, and much needed tax returns, spring also promises to bring with it bright, new, refreshing fashion.
In order to get myself prepared for spring and summer, I decided to start looking through some breakdowns of the 2022 women’s spring fashion. This year, I came across some things that I’m pretty excited about, and some that are a hard pass for me. But hey, to each their own.
The main takeaway from this information is to help spark some creativity and excitement for the warmer weather. Never change your style to to fit a trend—modify the trends to fit your style.
Five Trends That I’m Excited About
Wearing White Year-Round
Yes, yes, YES. It’s about time. The origin of this ‘no white after Labor Day’ rule seems to have started in the early 1900’s, and it’s reasoning varies from swapping whites for darker, heavier fabrics to keep warm in the winter, and to avoid flaunting your wealth by donning your vacation wear (white garments) year-round. Whatever the original reasoning was, it’s time to ditch this rule and wear white whenever the heck we want.
- Styling Tip: When layering, don’t be afraid to mix different shades of white. You can pull the look together by adding in different fabrics, textures, or patterns. Also, accessorizing with a contrasting color or metals will help take the focus away from the mismatched shades as well.
Mini Skirts
As someone in her early 30’s, I never thought I’d say that I’m excited for the resurgence of the mini skirt—PSA: there are no age limits to fashion. I probably wouldn’t pair a mini skirt with a fitted A&F graphic tee like I did in the past, but instead I’d opt for pairing a mini with an oversized sweater, light layers, or a longline cardigan. By adding oversized or longer pieces, the short skirt becomes a part of the outfit, instead of the outfit itself.
- Styling Tip: Try breaking away from the classic denim mini by pairing a bolder, sequin skirt with a casual, oversized top and sneakers.
Oversized Bags
It’s been close to a decade since I’ve carried larger bags—other than on trips to the airport, which haven’t happened in awhile. Anymore, I pretty much only carry small cross-body purses. Some holding no more than my phone, keys, and a few cards. Though carrying a large bag would require an adjustment period, I’m kind of loving the idea of being able to tote around my snacks, giant planner, and miscellaneous ‘necessities’ again.
- Styling Tip: If you’re not into an in-your-face, obnoxiously large bag, try choosing one that’s les structured and made of a softer, more pliable material. This will help the bag conform to your silhouette, thus appearing less bulky.
Romantic Clothing
You have no idea the amount of joy I felt when I saw this trend popping up in several articles. I have always loved floral patterns—the more like ‘grandma’s tablecloth’ the better. Throughout the past few years, I’ve also become moderately obsessed with puff shoulders, and balloon and lantern sleeve tops. Though I would have gladly continued wearing these items regardless of their trendiness, it makes me happy to know that I’ll continue seeing these styles available in stores.
- Styling Tip: If florals or big statement sleeves aren’t your thing, try adding touches of romance to your outfit with feminine accessories, such as pearls or rhinestone earrings. You could also focus on sticking to a red, pink, or neutral color palette as well.
Fringe
Fringe is something that has come in and out of my own personal style numerous times, but there is something about wearing it that always makes me feel a little glamorous. The one catch to this trend is that there’s a fine line between Great Gatsby and Elvis Presley. If the Elvis look is your thing though, by all means, wear your fringe jumpsuit with pride!
- Styling Tip: Try adding subtle touches of this trend by incorporating fringe accessories, such as necklaces or earrings. You can also glam this trend up even more by opting for a piece of clothing with beaded fringe. This will appear less western, and more red carpet.
Five Trends That Are A No For Me
Crochet
Crochet confuses me. The warm, thick fabric makes me want to wear these pieces in the winter, but their general minimalism makes me want to wear them in the summer—IDK. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried to make this trend work, but I’ve had to face the fact that it has no place in my wardrobe.
- Styling Tip: If you’re trying to style a skin bearing, fitted crochet top, try balancing it with a loose fitting, full coverage bottom, such as wide leg pants. You could also layer a crochet top over a tee or long sleeve shirt for a different look.
Gingham
I know that gingham is a beloved pattern for a lot of people, but I think I was overloaded with it during my time working for a well-known candle and fragrance company. Now, I tend to gravitate toward houndstooth, which I think looks pretty similar.
- Styling Tip: Try adding a leather jacket or platform boots to edge up this otherwise feminine pattern. Gingham also pairs nicely with lots of other patterns— try pairing it with one of your favs!
Bright Colors
I know that this is a bit of a controversial one. There seems to be a pretty solid divide of people who love implementing color into their wardrobe, and those who prefer muted or neutral tones. I happen to fall into the latter. I’m going to blame it on my skin tone, because every time I try to wear a bright color, I end up looking seasick. The past few years have been saturated with dusty shades, pastels, and neutrals though, so I suppose it’s time to make way for the vibrant, color-wearing people.
- Styling Tip: If you’re not bold enough, or you struggle finding the color that best suits your skin tone, you can opt for bright accessories—jewelry, clutches, silk scarves, shoes, belts, or hair accessories. The smaller touches will help keep the bright statement to a minimum, and it will also help prevent any clashing with your skin tone.
Teeny Tiny Cardigans
One of my biggest issues with this trend is that they seem to look the cutest when they are worn as A top, not OVER a top. I simply don’t have enough faith in Mother Nature to trust that a gust of wind won’t catch that cardigan and show the world things I’d rather them not see.
- Styling Tip: Try using fashion tape to help keep the cardigan in place. That way, there won’t be any accidental “slips.”
Y2K Fashion
This kind of embodies a few things that I’ve already mentioned, but I’m talking about the trend as a whole. Simply put, Y2K hasn’t been my personal style since, well, 2000. It’s hard for me to wear things now that I wore when I was 11.
- Styling Tip: Some of the Y2K fashion that was shown on the spring runways were low rise jeans, micro mini skirts, halter tops, butterfly tops and belts, and colored sunglasses. Try mixing and matching items for your perfect amount of Y2K. Butterfly clips never hurt either.
But Wait, There’s One More
Catsuits
Catsuit—the sibling to the jumpsuit. This one has me on the fence. I love a good jumpsuit, especially on days when I want to feel put together with minimal effort. They come in so many differnet styles that you can easily wear them to the grocery store, or out to a boujee dinner. Catsuits tend to be much more form fitting than jumpsuits—think Catwoman, obvi. I can appreciate the sexiness they bring, but I personally don’t have enough confidence to rock this amount of tight.
- Styling Tip: Try to avoid skimping on quality for this one. The higher the quality, the thicker the fabric, the more sculpted you’re going to look.
If there’s one thing that you take from this information, let it be to wear what YOU want. It doesn’t matter what I, or anyone else thinks about a certain trend, as long it makes YOU feel good. As someone who lives and breathes fashion, trends can be super fun to follow. The thing with trends, though, is that you should use them as inspiration—you shouldn’t necesarily follow them to a T. So when it comes to the trends popping up for spring, get creative. Play around with the ones you like, and don’t think twice about the ones that aren’t you.