17 April 2025

Here’s Your Spring/Summer Checklist: 30 Key Essentials

Here’s Your Spring/Summer Checklist: 30 Key Essentials

Don’t you just love this time of year? There are signs of spring everywhere — from pretty flower blossoms to longer days, and of course sunshine (depending on where you live). Recently, I got in my closet and scooted aside all my winter coats and sweaters, and anything I won’t be wearing until next fall. It feels so good to get your closet organized when you start a new season! Pro-tip: if you have room, try separating out your clothes by season and store your fall/winter clothes away — it makes getting dressed so much easier!

Right now, all the stores are packed with beautiful clothes that we’ll wear all spring and summer … the choices are endless. Buy early so you’ll have a longer wearing time. And, since it’s time to start outfit planning, think about all the possible combinations you’ll wear for the next five months!

The items on this checklist are important when it comes to creating outfits. For example, everyone needs a basic white tee — but this season, try a polo for an instant update. When it comes to denim, invest in 2-3 modern styles that fit well, and then wear them all the time. The list goes on, so keep reading to get more ideas on which items make a difference. Of course, you can make substitutions depending on your lifestyle, but this will give you a framework for building the best wardrobe for spring/summer ’25. I hope you find it helpful 🌸

P.S. I’m going LIVE on Instagram tomorrow to share What’s On My Rolling Rack! I’ll be sharing new finds from NYC – you won’t want to miss this one! I hope you’ll join me Friday the 18th at 11am PT/2pm ET.

The Spring/Summer Checklist

Row 1: Rag & Bone sweatshirt jacket | Stripe shirt | Cardigan | Doen skirt

Row 2: Seersucker blazer | Skirt | Toile dress | Polo tee

Row 3: Veronica Beard jeans | Linen pants | Button-up | Pink sweater | Trench

Discount codes: Frame: SUSIE15 | Cinq a Sept: SUSIE15

Key Spring & Summer essentials

Details below

4 Dresses: Midi style linen | Weekend casual | Floral daytime dress | LBD

5 Third pieces: Trench | Blazer | Utility jacket | Denim jacket | Lightweight cardigan

5 Bottoms: Skirt | Linen pants | White jeans | Faded blue jeans | Denim shorts

4 Accessories: Woven bag | Tote | Scarf | Glam sunglasses

Tops & Pretty Blouses

The 6 staples I recommend for your spring/summer checklist are below

Polo: This is the Vince polo that’s replacing my basic white tees. It’s comfy, versatile and flattering. Check out this one by Frame with the piping detail and this one from Tuckernuck that comes in several colors.

Striped tee: Love these linen ones by Frame, and this Rag & Bone one

Button front shirt: I love the two by Frank & Eileen above. There’s this one from J.Crew that’s on sale right now. I recently wrote a blog post about the Third Piece Rule and several asked what to wear when it’s really hot – I love the look of a button front shirt worn open over a tank.

Pretty blouses: Who doesn’t love a stylish top for spring? For something under $100, check out this one from Evereve. This one at Frame caught my eye, there’s also the Doen blouse that I just picked up after my Nordstrom friend told me they were flying off the racks!

Tank: This one by Vince is a good one

Lightweight Cashmere Crew: Hands down, the Quince $50 sweater is a great one for throwing over your shoulders for a super chic look. This one gets my highest recommendation!

Versatile Dresses

Having a collection of dresses on hand is one of the easiest ways to get dressed. Below are 4 essentials I recommend

Midi styles: Quince basics like this linen one that looks like a designer piece and this smocked one. J.Crew is looking so good right now and I’m loving this one which would be a great graduation dress

Weekend casual: The Frank & Eileen Mary dress is a favorite that I always default to! I just got this new denim one with a cute ruffle collar that I love. Use code LOVE for 15% off your order

Floral daytime dress: Love this one by Cinq A Sept, also look at Rails and Farm Rio

LBD: I just posted on Instagram a reels with 10 favorite LBDs! Check them out here

Third Pieces

I wrote all about “third pieces” in this post. Here are my recommendations for your spring/summer checklist

Trench: Cropped styles are trending like this. For a classic, there’s this one by J.Crew that I wore on my recent trip to NYC – it also comes in petite. There’s also this soft flowy trench that looks amazing over dresses.

Blazer: You can’t go wrong with the classic Veronica Beard Miller Dickey jacket or Cinq a Sept Khloe in the beautiful soft ivory that’s perfect for spring.

Utility jacket: This $59 one has been a long-time favorite on So Susie. For a fun color, try this pink one and check out this best-selling Rails one that’s perfect for summer nights.

Denim jacket: There’s so many good ones to choose from right now! Like this unique one from Cinq a Sept which I bought in NYC, this one from Ulla Johnson with ruffles which I also just bought, and you can’t go wrong with a classic one like this from Madewell or this oversized one from AG.

Lightweight cardigan: This $79 one was part of the April Nordstrom Drop, Varley makes the cutest tennis-inspired cardigans, and check out this best-selling longer one from Halogen which I’ve owned myself for many years!

Jeans & Skirts

Jeans, linen pants and skirts are the starting point of every outfit, here are the 5 I recommend

Skirt: Can’t say enough good things about this denim skirt, also love this Paige one and this silk one on the board above

Linen pants: This is one of my absolute favorites, you’ll wear it on every warm weather day this season. Look at this one, this J.Crew one or this best-selling one. I have them all and love

White jeans: I shared a lot of white jeans in this post – love a long length like this, or this Mother Hustler I wear all the time

Faded blue jeans: Love this new looser wide leg one, available here in petites. Can’t go wrong with Mother, and this new Veronica Beard cuff one. See this recent denim post

Denim shorts: Love this sweatshirt one, and this best-selling AGOLDE pair

Shoes

Accessories

Thank you for reading xx

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through the links, we may make a commission.

Here’s Your Spring/Summer Checklist: 30 Key Essentials

Here’s Your Spring/Summer Checklist: 30 Key Essentials

The Spring/Summer Checklist

Key Spring & Summer essentials

Tops & Pretty Blouses

Versatile Dresses

Third Pieces

Jeans & Skirts

Shoes

Accessories

You may also like

Absolute Favorites I Highly Recommend: Summer Edition ☀️

The Top 10 Dress Trends To Try This Summer

This Week’s 5: Stylish Summer Denim!