The great thaw has started

A lookbook of outfit ideas for the in-between of the seasonal in-betweens

New York’s Great Thaw is an annual celebration that takes place in the quiet of a New Yorker’s subconscious and is marked by a collective understanding that the worst of winter is over.

No one will say it lest we be wrong but you know it’s here when the stimulus starts to come back online and you finally feel like you can pluck yourself out of the stale soup of oneness you’ve been swimming in.

You want to leave home, you get restless indoors, you can comfortably wear your winter hits (patent leather loafer, leopard print coat) with the greatest memories of your summer style (cargo shorts, bare feet).

Aflalo blue shirt, H&M shorts (going to get these too), Chanel moccasins (these could be a winning alt), Ray-ban sunglasses, vintage collar (try this, pair it with this), Nina Runsdorf earrings

Aflalo coat (here is a cotton blend leopard number), Leset sleeveless turtleneck, Missoni lurex pants, Soeur sandals, Khaite bag, Cutler + Gross sunglasses

For all its thrills, it is also a kind of precarious time because coming out is always more abrupt than going in — hibernation doesn’t require much effort but putting yourself back together and out there? Intense.

When the freeze starts to melt, psychic movement resumes around corners and shapes and into the cracks that have been impenetrable for months.

Suddenly, you realize how blocked you were. How grey it looked, how bleak it felt. Now there is so much emotional terrain. It’s an exhale, this redemptive rejoice that is laced in the subtlest shade of shock and grief: what did I just endure?

Kallmeyer jacket (hot on this open neck version), By Malene Birger asymmetic dress (the lace one can make all your Row Spring 25 dreams come true), Deiji Studios jersey pants and cotton peplum belt, Chanel shoes, Ray-ban sunglasses

That’s why The Great Thaw starts implicitly. When you remember that all you have to do in nice weather is find a park bench, let the sun hit your face and take a deep breath to feel happy, you can’t imagine turning back. You really hope you don’t have to. And the simplicity of it arms you with a kind of freedom that makes your creative ideas somehow more viable, be they scrunchies as jewelry —

Mango body suit, Tory Burch skirt (this one is the same shop and this one is such a different vibe, but I love her too), Altuzarra slingbacks, Datura scrunchie around upper arm, Jujuvera silver collar necklace and Alighieri pencil pendant on navy silk string; the rainbow loom bracelets are by my daughter Madeline

See: polka dot scrunchie and rainbow loom bracelet styled over sheer tights and black sandal mules

Magda Butrym t-shirt and bermuda shorts (the complete, athletically inclined range of fancy knee-cap leggings will work here), black sandal mules

Or leggings as primo base layer —

Vintage jacket (unsarcastically, I love this alt from Chico’s), All Three white tank, Belle the Label surf shorts styled over a pair of plain black leggings

TWP shirt, Mango body suit, Ruadh jeans (don’t mind these low risers from Levi’s), red tights I snipped holes through to turn into leggings, Proenza Schouler sandals (great alt)

This is a great way to repurpose old tights or tights that have torn in non-invasive places

It’s still too soon to absorb real feedback from the streets, which is the thing that makes living in New York so rich but even with a slight rise in temperatures, new dressing inputs spring back online.

The storefronts don’t have much to give, it’s the tree buds and grass growing and the new flowers, the subtle change in how the air smells and how it rolls down your lungs into the heart of your belly, then back out with stale remnants of the prior season’s freeze that get you going.

All Three white tank, Aflalo jeans, Ray-ban sunglasses, a good pair of earrings and the silk thing around my shoulders is actually the removable tail of a dress you’ll see further down

Khaite jacket (see: alt) and sunglasses, Belle the Label dress, Brave Pudding sock boots

Chanel jacket (i picked 5 for you, but this from St. John might be the ultimate alt), Christopher Esber tank, Alex Mill cargos (just get these shorts, or here’s a more de facto alt), patent flats (again, these could be a winning alt) and a tassel minaudiere (this. Row. clutch.)

So when you take to your closet and realize that you don’t have to be so damn practical, you get excited to play with your clothes again — loop a scarf through a belt loop and let it cascade, tie another around your waist like a sache, pretend one’s a ruffle, that another’s a belt --

Khaite black t-shirt, Kallmeyer belt (sold out but very nice too), Soeur scarf, Argent trousers, Row loafers

Margaret robe, Dice Kayek ivory jacket (see: alt, alt, alt), Soeur x Cafe Leandra pants (more structured, but good), Heirlome scarf (this too could work), I’d try these flats from Khaite as a subtler alt

Navy silk shirt, navy pants, suede mules and bag; le chiffon scarf as flair

Tory Burch satin coat (this one from Dries is 50% off), Aflalo shirt, Le Scarf black and white silk scarf, Kallmeyer pants, Khaite boots, Ray-ban sunglasses

And just like that, your wheels are spinning again.

The idiosyncratic pairings yield more wearability: a turtleneck or wool cape, both with sandals —

Charcoal grey turtleneck knit, Kallmeyer belt, H&M cargo shorts (Houston, we have a full size range and sale; just got these too) A di Gaeta sandals (or these)

Cos cape, Frances de Lourdes cami, Aflalo jeans, Gianvito Rossi sandals, Miu Miu sunglasses

Maybe a crochet halter top with tapered pants, or a feckless scarf, or a hat —

Alex Mill jacket, All Three tank top, Khaite tux pants, here from Scarosso are great red wedges, here’s a yellow linen gauze scarf, and a good collar necklace too

My Dear Tejas jacket, Sea NY fringe tunic, Still Here capri jeans, Gucci sandals (try these)

Indress feather brooch (like this one from Max Mara too), Chava Studio plaid shirt, Aflalo pants, Gianvito Rossi pants; Laura in her variation of a downward dog at lower right.

Lizzie Fortunato resin bangles (they work on a small wrist only if you are layering them over something, otherwise likely to fling off!)

Aflalo tunic, The Row ‘Gala’ pants, some black boots for you here and Ray-bans!

Cordera crochet halter top (a simpler alt 1, 2), Soeur trousers, I think Emme Parsons’ ‘Danielle’ is the best alt to these mocs (in that they’re shiny and sleek)

Loro Piana hat, Lee Matthews dress, Callas Milano black flare trousers (but now an elastic waist and more fluid material should be fine), Grenson fisherman shoes (they come cow hide now), Ray-ban sunglasses

Beads never withstanding —

It’s a Cordera hat, but think it might be modeled after something vintage; Caitlin Burke used a similar one to style Kallmeyer’s Pre-fall 25 collection

I’m liking how I feel in sheer shirts styled with tanks as opposed to bras under them.

TWP open-weave silk shirt, Frances de Lourdes sheer tank, Maccapani pants (see also: these)

This is the thing, I think, I love most about the in-between of the seasonal in-betweens. You crave newness but it’s too soon to commit, which takes you back to your closet with fresh eyes on and invites you to move through the racks and shelves and respond when enthusiasm flares up for: Bermuda shorts styled with leggings underneath (seen above). Suede and wool and chiffon in one look (below). The simple rendering of a black shirt and skirt, made weird by a wood bead bucket hat (!!).

Rohe jacket, Arma suede shirt, Dries van Noten skirt, Gucci sandals (see: here), Cutler + Gross sunglasses

Cordera beaded bucket hat

Here’s a good polo (here’s another), here’s the best next skirt (and the one after that), and sum shoes

Lately, I have been so hot on tall boots and chunky boots with tiny shorts or dresses — or conversely, trousers and delicate tops.

Aflalo dress (the one with the tail I was wearing wrapped around my shoulders 100 pictures ago), St. Agni belt (have been putting her on everything), Bottega Veneta boots (I stand by this alt)

Soeur jacket, Doen velvet hot pants (silk could be good), Bottega Veneta boots, Magda Butrym bag

Good cropped jacket here, Posse shorts, some riding boots here, Prada sunglasses ($290 on Cettire)

Donni pink coat (here is Leset’s; it’s collarless), Khaite silk tank top, Amir Taghi pants (these are good in cotton), Bottega Veneta boots

Vintage jacket, Christopher Esber tank, Aflalo pants, Bottega boots (see also: these)

Skall Studios trench coat and turtleneck, Magda Butrym shorts (underwear), Toteme boots (37 for $382, 39 for $320), Khaite sunglasses

The tights feel fresh when I’m naked in other places

Here’s a black bra; Rohe khaki skirt, Officina del Poggio red belt, Rouje black sandals

Soeur jacket, Fleur du Mal bra (it’s cotton), High Sport ‘Jules’ pants, The Row sandals (if you’re going to invest in a similar pair, it should be these)

Aflalo red mini dress, TWP trench coat styled as bustle (this shape from Leset is a consistent favorite too), basically, black flats with 20 denier (so, pretty sheer) tights

Massimo Dutti jacket (another alt), Kapsul top, Khaite tux pants, and these are the shoes to get if you are looking for this silhouette

Or vice versa: the sweaters are best when the legs are out.

Lot of shit going on here! Tory loafers and skirt (similar), Norma Kamali shoulder-ass-padded long sleeve tee styled over Linnea Lund’s cashmere t-neck cape sweater coat thing and Prada chiffon cape over that (different print, same idea); if you prefer something easier breezier (more cost friendly too), I defer to All Three’s interpretation

Kallmeyer white taffeta trench (here in black), Leset black sleeveless turtleneck, Maria McManus sequined underwear, Co brogues, Loulou de Saison bag

Aflalo coat, here’s the charcoal polo, Area denim shorts (I like these for your more reasonable alt), your patent moc alt here, and for a weirder bag, please, this.

I’m eager for more color too —

Aflalo coat, striped halter top (dare we try this?), green trousers (or, even better), white Keds-style sneakers

The referenced Ciao Lucia shorts styled with a striped halter top from this brand with Khaite’s ‘Lillith’ bag, knee highs, black patent moccasins and the leopo-coat

It doesn’t feel exactly right yet but I know that it’s coming —

Donni pink coat (see also: cropped cutie), Alex Mill jacket, Magda Butrym shorts, Proenza Schouler sandals (found them on Farfetch, by some miracle of the sale gods, for $207)

Which is the thing about setting the tone for a season. There is so much for you on the other side of letting creative desire get the best of you. Of getting dressed for the hell of it, because it feels good or lifts you up or just enables a bit more flexibility. This is true whether an occasion waits for you on the other side or it’s just to change back into leggings and your sweater shoes after the selfie timer goes off.

Loro Piana hat, Polo sweater, Alo Yoga knee cap leggings, Brave Pudding sock shoes with assorted anklets styled over

Have-fun-with-your-clothes season is here. Enjoy the weather,

Leandra