The Outfit Problem Nobody Talks About: What to Wear Between Seasons

Published: September 7, 2026 Last Updated 5 hours ago by FPN

There is a strange period in fashion when the shops have moved on, but the weather has not.

One minute, every new arrival is linen, barely-there sandals and easy summer dresses. Then, almost overnight, the colours become deeper, the fabrics become heavier, and every fashion email seems to contain a brown suede jacket you have absolutely no business wearing in 30-degree heat.

It is the awkward space between seasons.

You are ready for something new, but perhaps not ready to dress for an entirely different temperature. The mornings can be cooler, the afternoons can still be warm, and by evening you may find yourself wishing you had brought a jacket after all. It is enough to make getting dressed feel unnecessarily complicated.

This is also where the fashion calendar can become slightly disconnected from real life. Autumn collections have to arrive in stores long before autumn actually feels like autumn, which means we are often encouraged to buy and wear clothes for weather that has not yet arrived.

So what are you supposed to wear when your wardrobe says one season and the weather says another?

When the Weather and the Fashion Calendar Disagree

The instinct during a seasonal change is usually to switch everything at once.

Summer dresses get pushed aside, knitwear makes its return, and suddenly the shoes you ignored for months are back in rotation. You start looking at rich browns, burgundies and olives and wondering if it is finally time to dress for the new season.

But a wardrobe does not have to change as dramatically as a retail window. The smarter approach is to make smaller changes with transitional outfits.

You can keep wearing your favourite summer dress while changing the shoes. A pair of trousers can replace shorts while the rest of the outfit stays relatively light.

The idea is simple: let the weather decide how much of the new season you actually wear.

This matters even more in places where the conventional four-season calendar does not quite apply.

In Nigeria, September does not automatically arrive with crisp mornings and cool afternoons. The weather can be hot, humid, rainy, and unpredictable, sometimes within the same day. Telling someone to recreate a classic autumn wardrobe in those conditions is not particularly useful.

And this is where transitional dressing becomes more interesting. You do not have to reject the new season simply because you cannot wear it literally.

Take the colours, shapes, and mood. Just adapt them to the weather you are actually living in.

The Pieces That Make the In-Between Season Easier

The best transitional outfits are not necessarily the ones labelled “autumn” or “winter” in a shop.

Transitional wardrobe staples are the pieces that can handle a little uncertainty.

A lightweight jacket is useful because it gives you an extra layer without committing you to a heavy coat. An oversized shirt can work in much the same way. Wear it open over a dress, button it up with trousers, or throw it over a tank top when you need something between you and the evening air. 

Fine knits and lightweight cardigans are useful for the same reason. A cardigan can be added when the temperature drops and easily removed when heat returns.

Then there are the pieces that quietly do most of the work in a wardrobe: midi skirts, lightweight trousers, simple dresses and relaxed denim. These wardrobe staples do not look tied to one particular temperature, which makes them much easier to style as the weather changes.

Shoes can change an outfit too.

Loafers and ballet flats are an easy move away from sandals without suddenly dressing for cold weather. Ankle boots can introduce a more autumnal feel, but this footwear does not require you to wear a thick jumper and coat.

Then there are accessories.

A burgundy handbag. A brown belt. Tortoiseshell sunglasses. Gold jewellery. A darker shoe. A printed scarf. 

Sometimes these accessories are all that a transitional outfit needs to feel in season. 

You do not need to wear the entire season at once.

There is also an easy-to-overlook fabric lesson here. A linen shirt and a brown suede jacket may belong to the same autumn collection, but the two fabrics are very different propositions when the temperature is still high. 

That is why fabric should be considered before colour when you are dressing between seasons.

Cotton, linen, silk and lightweight denim can help you introduce deeper colours and more autumnal styling without overheating. Heavier denim, suede, leather, chunky knits and wool can wait for the days when the weather actually makes sense for them.

The styling guide: How to dress for the season you’re actually in

This is where transitional dressing becomes more about making the clothes you already own work a little harder.

Summer Dress + Lightweight Blazer + Loafers

A summer dress does not have to disappear the moment autumn collections arrive.

Add a structured blazer and loafers and the same dress immediately feels more polished and slightly more suited to the season. Keep the blazer lightweight so you can remove it when the temperature rises.

Tank Top + Tailored Trousers + Cardigan

This transitional outfit is useful for those days when the morning feels cooler than the afternoon.

The trousers give you more coverage than shorts, while the tank top keeps the outfit light. The cardigan is there when you need it and can easily be removed later.

Midi Skirt + Fitted Top + Lightweight Jacket

A midi skirt already has enough coverage to make an outfit feel different from a typical summer look.

Add a fitted top and a lightweight jacket, and you get the structure of a transitional outfit without piling on heavy layers.

Jeans + T-Shirt + Blazer + Loafers

For the days when it is too warm for knitwear but you are tired of dressing like it is still the height of summer, this combination is hard to argue with.

The blazer adds polish, the T-shirt keeps things relaxed, and loafers stop the outfit from feeling too heavy.

Lightweight Dress + Boots + Minimal Accessories

This is probably one of the easiest ways to introduce autumn footwear without completely changing your wardrobe.

The dress keeps the outfit light while the boots do most of the seasonal work. Keep the rest simple and let the contrast between the dress and shoes carry the look.

Your wardrobe does not have to follow the calendar

The temptation during a seasonal change is to believe that your wardrobe needs a complete reset.

It doesn’t.

You probably do not need to pack away every summer dress the moment autumn arrives. You do not need to buy a new set of clothes simply because the shops have changed their displays. And you certainly do not need to suffer through a heavy knit on a hot afternoon just because it looked perfect in a campaign.

A good wardrobe should have some flexibility. Because the best transitional wardrobe is not the one that follows the fashion calendar most closely, but the one that can adapt when the weather refuses to.

Photo: Getty Images