Building Your Wardrobe: Fall

Wednesday, October 10, 2012



You may or may not have started shopping yet, and either way that's fine, but since we are in Fall, I wanted to start with Fall clothes and what you will need.  Remember - look for your core colors, secondary colors, and keep record of what you already have in your closet.

Preparing Your Fall Wardrobe

For Fall you will want to pull all of your heavy weight sweaters and tops out from storage. 
You want to make sure you have:
Dark turtleneck
White/Cream Blouse
Cardigans
Jackets
A nice, dark winter coat
Printed Black dress (houndstooth, etc. some sort of pattern on it)
Dark denim jeans
Dark short skirts
Dark pencil skirts
And a full skirt if you wear things like that.  I personally don’t wear any kind of flare on my bottom half. 

These items will be things you will wear most, to help tone down an outfit.  Sure color blocking is fun, but for the Fall and Winter it’s always good to tone it down with a dark piece in your core color. 

You will still use your secondary colors so be sure you have the following in your closet from your secondary colors:
Solid cardigans
Solid blouses
Pants
Sweater dresses
Patterned skirt or shorts
Printed blouses
Printed tees
Dark jacket
Jeans

Also – pick up some tights that are black with designs on them, like ones that have a lacier look to them.  It offsets the black you might wear in your outfit and lets just a tiny hue of skin show!

When it comes to shoes – now is the time to embrace the boots! 
Make sure you have:
knee high boots
flats
booties
riding boots

There is NOTHING worse than getting dressed and realizing you can’t wear an outfit because you don’t have the appropriate shoes.  Fall and winter are tough because you can’t wear your open toed shoes from the Summer.

I also suggest you embrace the idea of wearing a scarf in the Fall because it’s a great way to keep warm, and a great accessory to brighten up your outfit. 

So how are you going to wear all of this stuff?
Well… I will summarize it for you. 

When dressing for work:
You start with a core color item (blazer, pants, etc.) and you use your add ons for it. 
For instance – you can wear a solid top in your secondary colors, like a pink shirt and then you just pair it with a black skirt and pink tights.  Finish it off with some riding boots to offset the whole skirt thing and you have yourself an outfit!
Skirt/boot/blazer look



Another idea is wearing a printed black dress over colored tights with a black blazer over top.  You can even wear a belt in the same color as your tights.  See?  Most of us don’t think to wear non-winter styles during the cooler months but all you need to do is add some tights and a blazer and you can make it work. 
Printed Dress


Flower print dress
$35 - fashionunion.com


Urban Outfitters opaque tight
urbanoutfitters.com


Blink stiletto heels
$32 - republic.co.uk


KG Kurt Geiger skinny belt
$6.41 - kurtgeiger.com



Now that you have all these outfit ideas in mind, you can think of what works for you, jot down ideas, and make sure you get the Fall add ons that go with that look! I always try to have 6 outfit ideas in my closet that I know for sure will work for the office.  That way I never think to myself (what If I don’t have a different outfit for each day this week?!

For Weekend outfits (or casual office attire):
Try to make your outfits follow this simple guideline – Wear it in 3’s.  Like jeans, a simple top, and a cardigan or a skirt, a blouse and a scarf.

For weekend outfits try a skirt with tights and then an interesting and unique jacket over a brightly colored top. 
Casual Fall Look


Scoop neck top
tillys.com


Miss Selfridge tux jacket
missselfridge.com


Miso short mini skirt
$32 - republic.co.uk


Opaque tight
topshop.com


High heels
delias.com



Tights can also be worn under shorts and can give your office outfit a great weekend look.  Plus, you get to utilize clothes from other seasons, which saves you money in the long run.  Sweater dresses can also be worn over tights.

Layering is a great idea in Fall because it is practical in that it keeps you warm, but it can help your simple colors get spiced up just by adding a colored blazer or cardigan.

You can also wear a printed blouse under a jacket with black skinny jeans and flat boots. Heck, you can throw a scarf on there and look totally polished!

Fall Evening Outfits:
These are pretty easy. 
Sweater dresses always look great with tights and heels and it’s okay if your heels are higher and your dress is shorter than it is for the office.  
Sweater Dress for Fall


Cable knit dress
macys.com


Long sleeve blue dress
sheinside.com


J by Jasper Conran black hosiery
$19 - debenhams.com


Low heels
tillys.com




Your homework for the next couple days is to set out and photograph (even with your phone) some outfits to wear to work and on the weekends.  Test them out, get familiar with your wardrobe and then you’ll get braver as the weeks go on.
Definitely tweet me your outfits and share them on the Ask Away Facebook page!! 

Check back at the end of this week and I’ll show you how to transition easily from Fall to Winter. 

And if you need outfit ideas - check out my Outfit of the Day posts!



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