How to manage shopping out of season

It remains one of the mysteries most baffling to the average shopper. It can also be annoying, seem ridiculous and potentially add up to some very expensive mistakes.

Yes, we're talking about the fact that every year, just as your legs are finally tanned, you'll find that most of the cooler clothes in-store have been replaced with long, warm winter coats, woolly jumpers and thick tweed trousers.

The same thing happens every summer - just as you've finished paying off your ski trip, the swimwear stores announce the arrival of next summer's bikinis.

Why does this happen?

Does the fashion industry actually want us to sweat our way through to June?

Perhaps most importantly, what can you do about it?

Most fashion devotees probably know by now that the fashion industry works almost a year or more ahead of them - while you're wearing summer, designers are already buying next summer's, and possibly even next winter's, fabrics and thinking about what to do with them.

The main reason is because that's about how long it takes for a manufacturer to get a frock on the hanger - from sourcing fabric to sewing on the buttons.

Zambesi creative director Tulia Wilson has an even more concise explanation as to why your winter must-haves arrive in the shops just as you've lost enough weight to get into your bikini.

It happens for three reasons. First, to keep in line with international schedules.

"The international fashion calendar is governed by the largest operators in the business, and this dictates the dates for the high profile fashion weeks [like London and Paris]."

Independent local operators interested in taking their wares to the world - such as Zambesi - must fit in with this international timetable, which works a season ahead of New Zealand anyway.

The second reason is that a designer label "must start selling stock as soon as production is complete in order to recoup the costs of manufacturing."

The third reason is that the clothes go into the stores earlier than the weather to fulfil customer demand for new products. And here's the tricky bit, and possibly the key to the whole mystery.

"If you consider that almost three months of the year we are on sale, then we have four-and-a-half months each season to sell stock. And if each season is six months long and the public want to own a new piece of clothing before the weather dictates it, then this is why we start putting the next collection into store part way through a season."

Once you've worked out the maths, the next step is to figure out what to do about all that.

Happily, the answer is not quite as difficult as deciphering the way the fashion industry works.

The answer is, quite simply, cross-seasonal dressing.

Every winter collection will contain a couple of pieces with crossover potential. You may already have a few handy little pieces.

These sorts of garments will fit in with up-to-date looks, extend the trend-life of your warm-weather wardrobe and allow you to keep wearing your favourite summer frocks even as it starts getting colder.

Once you have your crossover garments sorted, probably the main thing to do is take some advice from trampers. No, don't go wearing your sandals with socks. Think, instead, of layering a little so you can add or remove items as the weather changes.

Choose your fabrics carefully, selecting merino and other fine wools.

And think about more fitted garments. You don't want to look like you've gained a few kilos, you just want to layer your clothes.

Then, if you really feel the urge to move away from the simple idea of a cardigan over a summer dress or a merino singlet under a very transparent blouse, you could also get a little rock'n'roll with your layering.

Try unexpected combinations - a T-shirt under a strappy summer dress or a striped long-sleeved top under a more glamorous evening look.

This was definitely favoured by stylists on the runways at New Zealand Fashion Week and overseas. Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Cybele and Helen Cherry all did it very nicely. 

Potential crossover hits

* Vests and waistcoats

* Cardigans - either ladylike or punk rock-nerd.

* Fine or merino wool under transparent Victorian or pretty blouses.

* Turtlenecks and skivvies - yes, they're back, but fitted and modern.

* Cropped, tailored jackets in light fabrics.

* Any fitted fine wool garment with a difference, as at Cybele and Helen Cherry.

* Summer dresses that have turned down the boho aspect, and can be layered-up and, if you have enough thermals at your disposal, you can wear them with boots and stockings in winter.

* Tailored shorts - not quite as trendy as they were last year but still very handy.