If you live anywhere near the Northeast you know, spring sunshine pops in here and there but, in reality March and April can still be chilly months. Therefore, every year - March and April continue to be the hardest months for me to hone in on my style. But I’ve finally cracked the code on looking cute when the weather sways from 40-65 degrees! My highly scientific formula is of course, detailed below.
I wish I could remember the exact day when my takes on corduroy made a 180. For those of us who endured 90s Christmas parties, corduroy used to just remind me of those black or forest green overalls that were stiff as cardboard. (I don’t know how Corduroy the bear rocked those overalls everyday without his nipples chafing.) I, without question, accented all the corduroy in my life with MaryJanes and bows because corduroy equaled Christmas which equaled winter and that was the only time it was to be worn!
I am sure some people have already moved their corduroy pants to the back of the closet but, in the right colors corduroy can endure our current weather, which I like to call: Sprinter. Re: Sprinter is that Springy Wintery weather that has an ambiguous end date but is typically over by Memorial Day. Corduroy is a slightly fuzzy, thicker striped fabric and is therefore good for Winter, but in the right prints and pastels it becomes Spring.
I get so much wear out of my pink corduroy bell bottoms! Their dusty shade is a medium bright pink which is perfect for, well, a medium climate. They add just the right dose of color to any look. The exaggerated bell shape at the bottom of the pants is exactly the right kind of drama us long-legged girlies need in our lives! For a sunny but windy day in NYC - I knew I needed a cute coat to compliment my cord pants, because I knew I wouldn’t be taking it off. As I do in both fashion and life - I decided to go all in on the trend with a corduroy bomber jacket. And let me just rock your world for a minute: it’s floral.
Pantone’s 2024 color of the year was Peach Fuzz and 2023’s was Viva Magenta. Add those two together and it equals 2025! (See I told you there was going to be an equation?) So by the Whitney Wisdom 2025 Theorem this color combo in the same fabric, is an elite choice. I can’t tell you how many people stopped me in New York City, a place where no one talks to strangers and everyone has a sense of urgency. A cool feature of my corduroy jacket is it’s not 100% floral or 100% solid burgundy. It’s the 50/50 combo that caught attention, even on 5th Avenue. Paired with the pink bottoms I played into both a color blocking and print-mixing effect. The collar, top half of my arm, and center of my back have the floral highlights. This is such an interesting way for the designer to play with print.
It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mindfully accessorize. I went with Mom-mom’s long chain rose and green gold pendant that not only matches my engagement ring, but allows me to still rep my flowers on the off chance the coat was coming off. For that added 70s flair I layered a white turtleneck that peeped up just above my jacket collar. Since it was windy, I held my hair down with a gold beaded clip that was $42 at Anthro but I got it for $5.
One thing about corduroy that I briefly mentioned up top, is it's a nostalgic fabric. Corduroy is not always in style which gives it the ability to take us back to the 70s and 90s where it was everything. For an afternoon plant shopping I went with baggy floral corduroy pull on pants which doesn’t sound half as cute on paper as it looks in real life. I usually wear a solid sweater in any hue from mocha to emerald to my signature rosette with these. Since it was a little nicer out, I decided to lean back into the 90s with a Whitney Houston graphic tee (that was made mine for obvious reasons) , a necklace that could set off a metal detector, and a fuzzy coat. I frosted with platform sneakers and thick-rim rectangular shades.
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