spring/summer 2024: checklist and fashion tips

Written by Milly Churchill

making your life easier in 10 simple steps

Preparing and sorting your wardrobe for the forthcoming season can be a very inspiring thing to do. After months of wearing the same sort of clothes, the opportunity to change the way you are dressing on a daily basis can fill you with anticipation. If however, you have an overstuffed wardrobe and no real idea of what you have, or where it is stored, why not take the change in the weather as a signal to create some order amongst the chaos?

Included in my top ten tips for getting some clarity and getting value from your clothes are, if you don’t know what you have, how can you choose to wear something? Why are you keeping things you never wear? Are you dressing in a way that reflects your personality and your lifestyle?

You will also find my concise take on the trends that you will be seeing in spring and summer 2024. My own thoughts are that ‘fashion’ has become such a broad and diverse term, and you can now wear just about anything at any time. Take some inspiration from the current trends rather than feel you have to slavishly abide by the styling. Can you perhaps rotate the items that you already have, and add a couple of new items to update your look? Or perhaps now is the time to have a complete rethink and be ruthless so you create a functional collection for not only the upcoming season, but the next few years?

Whatever you choose to do, the change of seasons (winter to spring, and summer to autumn) gives you some added impetus to look at your possessions in a different way. By embracing the spring cleaning ethos, or the cocooning instinct for the onset of autumn and winter, the big seasonal shift is something that people have worked with for millennia. Use this change in energy to your advantage, and bring some creativity and inspiration into your wardrobe, and the way you dress and style yourself.

So with an open mind about what you want to achieve, I hope some of my tips resonate with you.. There are lots of ideas that you can use to sort out your own wardrobe. Why not use this time as the seasons change to update your image and styling thoughts? You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, change should always be an organic process, so just focus on things that are relevant for you.

1.     Timing:

Choose nice weather to make your wardrobe transition. It is almost impossible to get excited about the new seasons clothes if the weather is against you. At the change of season between winter and spring, the lighter colours and fabrics of your summer clothes might look out of place if it is grey and raining outside. Your judgement can be clouded by the environment you find yourself in, never more so than if the weather is dismal and summer seems forever away.

2.     Image and inspiration:

How would you like to look if you could just do it? Are you naturally inclined to romantic styles and floral prints? Do natural fabrics in neutral colours fill you with excitement or dread? Perhaps cut-offs and loose shirts are your chosen styling, if you could only find the right cut? However you might like to update your image, the change of season is an ideal time to assess what you already have, and how you can make things work well for you. Take inspiration from magazines, window shopping, browsing the internet and from the colours and shapes you see in your everyday life. Inspiration can come from anything so be ready to be wowed by the mix of textures in an interior, or how colours in a flower bed really attract you. Many of the building blocks for these new fashion trends and styling will be hiding in your cupboards. Taking the time to look at your wider collection at the time of a seasonal change is a great opportunity not to be missed.

3.     Style:

Has your go-to, signature style changed since you bought the clothes you are looking at? If this is the case, can you imagine wearing some of these items again? Do you tend to hold on to things for more complicated reasons than fashion and fit? Did they cost a lot so you don’t want to donate them, or were they bought for you so you think you can’t move them on? Can you look again at your clothes and only decide to keep them because they make you look and feel great? We are all guilty of keeping things for emotional reasons, and that is obviously fine if there is a strong emotional tie. When you are clear on your current style preferences it makes it easier to be objective about the clothes and accessories that you want to keep and to wear.

4.     Curate:

You may be one of the many people who just keep things because they haven’t looked through their collection for a while. So many of us just move things around without too much thought about why we are doing it. Are you someone who chooses the first thing that you come to, or do you make use of the majority of your clothes? When you are putting things away for the season, can you identify what you have worn regularly over the past six months? Perhaps there are things that don’t fit you anymore, or don’t flatter you, or that will not work well with your lifestyle? If you think that what you wore in the last season was an aberration because of the weather or your life circumstances, and you are sure that you will wear the item next year, then keep it. If not, be honest with yourself, create some space, and find them a new home.

5.     Storage:

Once you have curated the things you want to keep, check everything before you put it away. Is it clean? Does it need to be repaired or altered in any way? Storing your out-of-season clothes will probably involve using a mix of bags or boxes to suit your own particular circumstances. These can be used over and over again, so it is worth finding a system that works for you, and investing in something durable. When you do put things away, even if this is at the end of your wardrobe in a couple of strong bags, do consider adding moth protection. Anecdotally just about everyone I know seems to have had a moth issue recently. There are all sorts of deterrents available, from freezing your woollens, to tiny wasps and natural scents, (moths apparently don’t like Cedar-wood or Lavender). The best advice seems to be to make sure that the items you are storing are really clean before you put them away.

6.     Core collection:

When you are considering what to keep and store, and what to remove from your collection, can you identify and trans-seasonal clothes? These are items that work well all year round, and form the core of your wardrobe. These might include your lighter knitwear, jeans and trousers, dresses, shirts, and T-shirts. Many of these items can be layered all year round to suit the weather and the temperature. A T-shirt and shirt from your core collection might be worn under a heavy jumper for winter, but worn alone, they will ideal for much of the rest of the year. Building on this core will give you the best value from your clothes. As you are packing things away, can you think of ways that you could wear the items throughout the year?

7.     Lifestyle:

When you think back to last spring/summer, how did you spend the majority of your time? If you can imagine the upcoming seasons? Are they set to be similar, or has your lifestyle changed dramatically? Perhaps you are now working, where before you were at home most of the time? Are you retired and no longer need the workwear from last summer? However your lifestyle might have changed, make sure you have clarity, and reflect the life you are living now through your clothing choices. Holding on to clothes you no longer want or wear creates stagnation within your wardrobe and stifles your creative choices. Make some room for the clothes you love, and allow the unworn items to bring joy to someone else.

8.     Lists:

When you put your winter things away, and bring your spring and summer clothes out of whatever storage you have used, do get into the habit of making lists. Although it may seem to be a bit of a faff, there is a list for everything once you get into the habit. What have you put away in what bag? What have you recycled that you would really like to replace when you bring these clothes out next season? When you look at the new season’s items, are there any gaps in your collection? Has one of the current trends appealed to you, and you know it will fit in with your existing choices? We all think we will remember, but 6 months is a long time and you will have done an awful lot in the meantime so a quick note can make all the difference when you come to the next season change.

9.     Event planning:

Think about any big events that might be coming up. Are you going to the races? Are you going to a party? Have you been invited to a wedding? Perhaps you are going on the holiday of a lifetime? My focus here is on big, planned events, rather than the last-minute invite. Unless you are the mother of the bride or groom, I am sure you will already have something in your collection that will make you look and feel fabulous. If you can identify this outfit, or couple of outfits now, you will save time, energy, and money in any future frantic hunt to buy something new, that you don’t actually need. Occasion wear is rarely ultra-fashionable. The shift dress and coat has been a staple for years so why not switch jackets, or wear a colourful wrap with your beautiful dress to create a new image?

10.  Trends:

So now to the particulars of the trends for spring/summer 2024.

Firstly, can I point out that these are all subjective, and should be used as a guide if you want to, and if anything appeals to you. Fashion has become so homogenised that you can wear just about anything, to anything. Whatever your styling choices, someone somewhere will deem it to be current, so don’t worry about wearing things that might be out of date, because they won’t be.

However, the forecasters still have a job to do, the design houses still have clothes to sell, and the retail industry always celebrates the major change of season, so there will always be new things to covet and to buy.

In no particular order, the following are the strongest trends that I believe will be seen on the high street, and amongst your friends and family this summer. If some of these ideas fit with your overall plan then perhaps you might already have it. If not, why not make a wish-list and see if you can find the perfect addition to your collection. If the new looks leave you cold, then for the sake of your self-image and your wallet, please let the trend pass, rather than trying to shoe-horn something into your collection just for the sake of it.

Colour trends:  Red, Blue, Pastels, White, Metallic

Fabrics: Practical, Sheer, Athleisure jersey, Metallic, Floral

Details: Metallic, Roses, Bows, Fringing, Texture

Silhouette: Long coats, Short skirts/shorts, Skirts, Utility with big pockets, Drop waists

Overall feeling: Quiet luxury, Sportswear, Relaxed Tailoring, Feminine, Ethereal

Key pieces: Trench coat, Straight skirt, White shirt, Bomber jacket, Rose floral dresses

Accessories: Mesh, Statement jewellery, Pointed shoes, Big textured bags, Wide belts

For more information there are whole websites dedicated to forecasting and analysing fashion, colour, textiles, interiors etc, so have a look and see everything else that is being suggested as ‘new’ for this forthcoming season.

11.  Bonus tip:

You will already have lots of items that will fulfil your summer 2024 needs. Now that you have a better idea of everything you own, you can hopefully find things as well. You will also be able to easily identify any gaps, and avoid impulse purchases, so you can get much more value from your clothes.

The way to view any trends is to make them work for you. Perhaps you can add the odd thing that will combine with your core collection to create a different look? For summer 2024, can you add a wide belt to wear over a jacket? Or why not bring out your long forgotten white shirt and update your jeans?

You could always choose a single update to fill most categories in one. An elegant, large red bag that is quilted, has a metal handle, a big outside pocket, and a fringe, has all your fashion questions answered in one item! Wear this with your old mac, pointy shoes, pencil skirt and sheer shirt and you will have cracked it. This statement is obviously tongue in cheek, but from this you can see that whatever the ‘new’ ideas about how to dress in summer 2024, there will be a simple hack. You won’t have to buy something to be fashionable, unless you want to.

Milly’s Top Tips:

• Why not ‘shop your wardrobe’ and find something that you already have in the depths of your collection to update your look? Have you got a pastel colour jumper or T-shirt? Can you make more use of the cotton jacket you keep for best? When you can see what you have, this becomes so much easier, saving time and money.

• This concept doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever buy anything new. If you do find something that appeals to you when you are shopping, just take a minute before you buy. Make sure that it will add to the sum of your collection, rather than risk being unworn and unloved. Use a list so you can plan any additions, and help to ensure you get value from every new item.

• My own preference is to create a core collection of clothes that can be worn for much of the year. Adding layers for the winter, and mixing items with lighter colours and fabrics when it gets warmer, expands your choices no end. We might only have a few weeks in mid winter when it is really cold, and a few weeks in the middle of the summer when it is very hot. This leaves the vast majority of the year where we have a temperate climate requiring layering just in case it unexpected gets a bit hotter or cooler.

• This is nothing new, and you will probably find that this idea is already reflected in your own collection. But do you actually concentrate your efforts on supporting this area of your wardrobe? People often put lots of time and money into finding the ideal ‘occasion-wear’ outfit, something that however beautiful, is probably used only rarely. However, they can overlook the joy of creating a brilliant selection of clothes that will be worn day in, day out, all year round. Consider redirecting your attention and resources into the image and styling that reflects your personality and aspirations every day.

• Summer is a great time to explore some of the shapes and colours that you might not consider in the depths of winter. For some reason, we all tend to be freer and more adventurous when the sun is out. Make a note of what works for you, and perhaps you can consider expanding your creative inspiration through your whole wardrobe. Think about the themes you can replicate irrespective of the seasons, or the trend forecasters. Is that a new colour, different styling, or just the freedom of expression you have found? Creating a wardrobe that reflects who you are, one that is inspirational and practical, will serve you well, whatever the occasion.

In Conclusion:

I am sure we all have our fingers crossed that the weather will improve, and we will enjoy some lovely sunny days in the weeks and months ahead. When this happens it will certainly be a shock to the system after so many dull, wet months. You will want to ring the changes and wear something different. I hope this checklist has given you a great place to start to view and value your collection in a way that works for you. Keep in mind that a wardrobe that works for you is unique to your tastes and lifestyle. Getting value from your clothes is very personal so trust your instincts.

With that in mind, what better time is there to become acquainted with the clothes you have, than now?

Photo credits from the top: Daiga Ellaby Unsplash, Andrea Piacquardio Pexels, TuTu Unsplash, Ksenia Chernaya Pexels, Kylefromthenrth Unsplash, Malcollm Garret Pexels

All rights reserved. Milly Churchill asserts the right to be identified as the author of this work