Get Apiece of this: Editors' Blog: Wmagazine.com

I recently stopped by the gorgeous Lower East Side showroom of Maryam Nassir Zadeh—genius rep of several of my favorite labels, including Vena Cava, Rachel Comey, and Bodkin—to check out the spring line of Apiece Apart. It was fortuitous timing, as that very morning I had torn apart my own closet trying to find a simple blouse to wear with a rare spontaneous purchase (navy silk Jil Sander for Uniqlo trousers). The clock ticking, and the pile on my bed growing higher by the second, I couldn't find anything that worked and ended up throwing on one of my boring black jumpers. Thing is, Apiece Apart was made with this very quandry in mind: Starr Hout and Laura Cramer, both 31, ditched their jobs in fashion last year to create a streamlined collection of clothes that would interchangeably work as both individual pieces and outfits.

Hout—looking super chic in a long black silk skirt, blouse and blazer, all from the collection—talked me through the line, for which the pair drew inspiration from artists Ruth Root, Agnes Barley and David Hockney. For spring there's an impressive array of silhouettes, veering from va-va-voom (a bustier bodysuit) to more forgiving ones (palazzo pants) and standards (boyfriend blazer, maxi dress). "We toyed with the premise, 'If I had to wear one color all season, what would it be?'" says Hout; this means the requisite black and taupe—plenty of that in the pile atop my bed—along with dusty rose, tangerine, and a stunning emerald green. With twenty-five silhouettes in three to four colors each, and most pieces under $600, it's a concept with legs: one can pick up a blazer and pleated short for fall, and plan on adding a blouse for spring. The women swear that each season's colors will work well against the previous ones.