Transitional Pieces for Spring

(a decidedly un-spring-like picture because it's currently 25ºf and snowing)

Spring in Maine is best described as a funny season with a tricky personality:

First, there's "Sorta-Winter", in which it will continue to sporadically snow well into April and sometimes May, too (I once went snowboarding on May 6). Sorta-Winter will throw you for a loop and endlessly frustrate you as you stare at your cute flats and loafers and light breezy dresses while you begrudgingly tug on your boots and sweater once again.

After sorta-winter comes Mud Season. This is an actual thing, because all that snow has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is the dirt. And there's a lot of dirt here, which means there's a lot of mud. I have vivid memories of being a kid and losing more than a few boots to the persistently grabby mud of Maine spring. Mud Season is not the time for dainty footwear. it's not the time for anything but more boots, really.

And finally, there's bug season. Bug season is like mud season, but bloodier and more painful. The bugs in Maine are no joke. I've tried to describe the specific hell of black fly season to friends from out of state, and they never seem to understand. These aren't your standard kitchen flies... black flies are a hellish swarm of carnivores that will eat you alive if you let them. There are few precautions you can take to protect yourself from bug season, the most reasonable being covering every inch of skin with clothing and then never leaving the house.

Sounds like fun, huh?

So yeah... spring in Maine, it's not your typical fresh floaty season. But that doesn't mean it's no less glorious. I can't wait to smell the apple blossoms on my mother's trees, to see the sheer joy of the people of Portland as they bare their incredibly pasty skin to the sun, and to watch the trees like they're the most riveting suspense film for any sign of green. That said, dressing for spring in New England requires strategy. You never know when the temperature will drop 10 degrees, when a fog will roll in, or when you might have to contend with a driveway that rivals the Swamp of Sadness. Below are a few of my picks for the season we're in and the season to come, because it's cold out but GAWD do I just want to wear a floral dress already!