Excuse me, Madame Mother Nature?

Perhaps this is not such a challenge in places in the south or, you know, the wardrobe-to-season-ratio Bermuda Triangle that is California, but here in the middle of the country we deal with more temperature variability than we ought to. We wake up in the morning and get ready to gallivant about town, all the while wondering what to wear-- and not because of the typical "closet full of clothes with nothing to wear" scenario. It's the fact that we have no idea what to expect from the day. After all, the forecast says it should be sunny and in the mid-60s, but it looks as though it's going to pour at any moment and there is a serious chill in the air.

How in the world are we supposed to dress in this weather without looking like a complete nomad with the level of layers we pack "just in case"?

I for one hate the idea of wearing my Winter clothing even an hour past the first day of Spring. To me, the time change is a preview and the actual day is intended to be more significantly a celebration of seasonal change in my wardrobe than a glorification of rebirth in nature. It's not that I don't enjoy the earth and the wonderful world around me... it's that I enjoy it so much more when donning a silk maxi skirt and fabulous sandals.

Each season rolls around and we have those things we covet, those items we know we must have in our closet to make our wardrobe for the coming months fit the image we have in our minds. For me, this past Winter it was a beautiful Mackage coat I obsessed over for months. It was black, puffy, and had an enormous hood. When I speak of it I tend to get that far off look in my eyes not entirely unlike the one drug addicts get at the mention of a magic eight ball-- even when it's a reference to the toy. I love my Winter coat and am actually somewhat sad to say goodbye to it until next year.

At the moment I am trying to decide what my exciting Spring wardrobe maker will be. As it takes so long for Spring to truly show up here, this seasonal piece tends to roll right into Summer.

It doesn't have to cost a great deal of money, nor does it have to be a "hot item" in every magazine's recommendation column. It's that piece that seems to capture your mood for the season. In my case, as it is tremendously apparent, my mood is lost somewhere between Studio54 and fields of wildflowers.

So, as I consider my wardrobe signature this season, I ask the climate:

Please commit. I will commit to those Prada sunglasses or any number of DVF dresses I am obsessed with (or more realistically, the style of either) as soon as you get your act together. This whole "pack a sweater and coat to be prepared" nonsense is getting old fast. The time is ripe for swingy silk maxis, not extending the life of my gray wool mini.