In between weather: How to dress for spring according to Glamour editors
The most confusing time of the year, all sewn up via these style shortcuts.
Image credits: Getty Images
Transseasonal, in-between, cross-season – it’s all fashion speak for the same thing: the enduring wardrobe conundrum that faces us twice a year when the seasons shift. One moment we are snug and polished on the morning commute, the next labouring under the weight of a chubby faux fur jacket on a 23-degree day. With spring’s arrival, it’s getting no less confusing out there. More labels are presenting outside regular show calendars, some are collapsing pre-seasons, others adjusting collections to account for shrinking winters, or, as with many independent labels, dropping newness as they like. And that’s not to begin to mention flipped seasonality for us here in the southern hemisphere and unpredictable weather extremes globally.
Navigating it doesn’t take a fashion expert, just simple forethought, and some styling shortcuts. Spring is all about the first hint of brighter days and longer nights in the air - and we want to dress accordingly. We’ve collated the ways to dress now to exude carefree in-between style.
The knee-length skirt
If there is one staple of the spring wardrobe that is going to be the ultimate work horse, it’s the knee-length skirt. Not your typical pencil skirt - which connotes a kind of stuffy buttoned-up corporate feel, antithetical to breezy spring dressing – it’s a regularly cut and could be anything from wool, to airy silk, or animal print. An easy toggle from tights and a pump to a strappy sandal as the heat dials up.
[Top to bottom: Chanel, Marni, Jil Sander, Gucci autumn/winter ‘26/’27]
Layers to it
Miuccia Prada gave us (yet another) masterclass in style sleight of hand this season. Beginning with coats, the autumn/winter ‘26/’27 collection transitioned into lightweight jackets with knits, then shirting with skirts and finally skin-baring sheers and micro tops. Models were each peeling off a layer as they took a turn on the runway, and we’re taking a leaf out of that book. A cropped bra top under a bomber jacket is the perfect transition for post-work drinks on the first warm evening. The rule: keep the layers light like a silk slip under a chunky knit. It’s all about comfort.
[Top to bottom: Prada, Prada autumn/winter ‘26/’27, Dries Van Noten autumn/winter '26/'27]
The simple cotton dress
No one does spring transition dressing like the Scandis – weather shifts are embraced on another level when deep dark and cold defines winter. And as at the recent Copenhagen fashion week, the humble white cotton dress (or LCD, little cotton dress) is making a return, with many connecting its resurgence to a need to tap simpler, less tech-addled times. Pastoral connotations aside, long sleeve styles are cropping up on mini styles which makes them temperature-versatile. Homespun details like a sweet bow emphasise the feeling of lightness these lend.
[Top to bottom: Prada, Miu Miu autumn/winter ‘26/’27, Skall Studio spring/ summer ’27, Miu Miu autumn/winter ‘26/’27]
A winning suit
The fresh idea coming through in tailoring is in the new, close fit cut. Rather than swamp the body like the double-breasted muscular suiting that’s been dominating for some time, these are a way to show off some skin rather than shroud it. Gucci set the tone, with midriffs on show under shrunken 90s-style blazers but also underscored another reason we’re nominating them as spring-dressing essentials: broken up, they transform into different outfits. A low-slung, lean pant with a slinky tank is a look to have on call for spring weather. As with a lean blazer worn plus a mini, or, if the cut is long enough to work as a dress on its own. Smart, modular dressing.
[Top to bottom: Gucci, Jil Sander, Emilia Wickstead, Christian Dior autumn/winter ‘26/’27]
Second skin dress
Dressing for night is perhaps the most complex of all transseasonal dressing. Evening, and the temperature can dip back to winter lows. Rather than mull the benefits of a light jacket versus a leather one, or feel out of place in a full winter coat, the smoulder of the second-skin dress has you covered. The key is to choose elements like high necks, long sleeves and long lengths in stretch fabric that skims and hugs curves. Covered up but no less come-hither.
[Top to bottom: Schiaparelli, Gucci, Alaia and Stella McCartney autumn/winter ‘26/’27]