You Don’t Need A New Spring Wardrobe. Wear Any One Of These 4 Untrendy Pieces And You Will Look Perfectly Put Together Every Single Day.
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by The Candidly Team
We had a realization recently. That feeling we have of hating our clothes doesn’t actually come from hating our clothes. It comes from missing certain pieces that tie those clothes together.
It makes sense doesn’t it? And it explains why even though, on an item by item basis, we actually like a lot of our clothes, we don’t enjoy getting dressed in them.
Styling our clothes successfully means we have to have a few tricks up our sleeves. For us, those tricks come in the form of individual items that either fit us so incredibly we never have to think about it or they elevate an outfit to make the whole thing 3x better.
We have 4, just 4, such pieces we use for spring. They’re easy. They’re chic. And they work.
1. THE LIGHT LINEN BLAZER
There’s a lingering question of what piece of outerwear do I wear in spring when misty mornings turn to sunny lunch hours turn to chilly evenings. The answer is a linen blazer. It’s more tailored and polished than a pilling sweater - lighter and less bulky than a full-on jacket. It works over long pants and midi skirts and dresses. It dresses down in the daytime and up in the evenings.
And here are 3 of our favorites.
Madewell Relaxed Blazer in Pinstripe Linen Blend
We actually bought this as part of the complete suit which you saw above, but it works just as well over any length of jeans and a white or black tee or tank. The fit is oversized without adding an ounce of bulk. Instead the long lapel is elongating and slimming.
Price: Varies with sale
J.Crew Alexandra blazer in stretch linen blend
J.Crew is king when it comes to blazers. The quality is always perfect and expensive-looking but they also add stretch to their materials so you don’t feel stiff and suctioned in. This one comes in other colors and an incredible size range. But we love it in the color “ballet slippers” for spring.
Price: $198
J.Crew Factory Linen-blend one-button blazer
We’ve been turning to J.Crew Factory as a reliable and more affordable source for a lot of our staples lately. This linen blaze is a perfect example. It comes in all the colors we want, including this pretty neutral that’s a little softer than a bright white and a very chic stripe that’s currently in our cart. The size range is also excellent.
Price: $98
2. The Everyday Midi Skirt
Skirts just instantly make you look “styled.” They're more comfortable than pants and more covering than shorts in the heat. But, of course, you have to find one you feel completely flattered by. You can’t have any of those tight bands that exaggerate a belly pooch or thin, cheap fabrics that show every bump. We have 3 skirts in 3 styles that we absolutely love and feel seen by and own in multiple colors. And here they are:
Free People Lowen Skirt
Do we talk about this skirt too much? Well, then tell Free People to stop making it in new, perfect colors every season, because with the fit being this good, we aren’t going to stop bringing it up anytime soon. It’s smooth in front, elastic in the back for a polished look that feels like a dream on your belly. And the skirt floats in just the right (not-too voluminous) A-line shape to make your hips, legs, and butt look their best. As we said, there are too many colors we want, even though we already own 4.
Price: $60
Anthropologie The Tilda Maxi Slip Skirt Linen Edition
People do not talk enough about how flattering a bias cut is on curves. It’s literally the thing that makes you ask yourself, why does this skirt look so good on me when others widen and pucker and just plain suck. It’s hard to describe how smoothly and lovily (as Eliza Doolittle would say) this skirt fits. It’s skimming and lengthening. The waist is elastic and the linen fabric is substantial enough to make you feel held in and like no texture comes through from underneath. It comes in other colors and prints but again, a pale pink with a white tee and sneaks is a foolproof spring look.
Price: $138
Z Supply Gail Midi Skirt
If you’ve mildly fantasized about putting together a look with an elegant column skirt but are stopped short by your fear of wearing tighter fits, this could be the skirt for you. The stretch is excellent but you feel supported on a leggings level. It isn’t skin tight and falls in a really flattering way. We love the striped version with a white tank and jean jacket, but there are lots of solid color options as well.
Price: $59 - $69
3. The Perfect CAMEL Belt
We forget how much a gorgeous belt can do for an outfit. It gives our simplest clothes a “quiet luxury” feel and is just one of the easiest, most understated accessories. You’ll be shocked how much the perfect one can do to improve your outfits over and over again. Just pick a style that speaks to you and never look back. Here are 3 we personally can’t choose between.
Cuyana Wide Leather Belt
This is one of the prettiest belts we’ve ever seen, so we were willing to invest a bit more when we bought it. Since then, we’ve worn it enough to bring the cost per wear down to a matter of pennies. It’s on the wider side so it works with dresses and skirts but also with pants and jeans (as seen above).
Price: $178
Nation Joss Belt
Only buy this one from Nation if you’re deeply comfortable with compliments from strangers.
Oh, and they were very kind to give us a code to give to you. Use CANDIDLY20 to get 20% off.
Price: $128
* Gifted product
Favorite Daughter The Favorite Belt
Favorite Daughter makes our favorite black belt, a belt so special we wrote an entire article about it. Yup, about a belt. Their tan version is a tad more minimalist, but admittedly still perfection. It’s the belt we reach for in spring and summer. We wear it with an airy linen or gauzy button-down and jeans, and with zero effort, poof, we’re chic.
Price: $98
4. THE CROPPED LINEN PANTS
Maybe it sounds obvious, but we swear once we found a cropped linen pant we felt really, really good in, it completely changed our feelings about getting dressed in the months of April through September. Of course, it’s all about finding that perfect flattering fit that looks impeccable but still makes us feel like we’re in house clothes. These are 4 comfy pairs that look chic every day of the week.
The Colette Cropped Wide-Leg Pants by Maeve: Linen Edition
We write about the Colette pants so much that even we get tired of describing them. We do not, however, ever get tired of wearing them. They are magically smoothing, and not too tight but the perfect shape on curves. They feel blissful round the waist and glide over hips and look chic and French and lovely every. single. day. The color selection is overwhelming though - be warned.
Price: $138
Anthropologie The Somerset Pull On Pants Linen Edition
We obsess over a pull-on pant that manages to look intentional and chic. Having these pants to reach for on our miserable, bloated days is a true gift. And again, multiple colors are necessary.
Price: $118
Madewell Pull-On Barrel Pants in 100% Linen
You can also go for the barrel style which covers a thicker hip, nips the waist, and comes off very styled as opposed to pajama-like.
Price: $98
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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