What to wear in fall
To create a trendy fall style there are several options. The easiest and most expensive one is to buy a whole new fall wardrobe. Doing so would be as crazy as it sounds. Even when you are so rich that you could use $100 bills to light your cigarettes. Now let’s get serious and real for the real women like Jane Doe. In plain English, one has to create a look that look modern and on top of things every day. Looking up-to-date with respect to fashion trends, but not over the top trendy, i.e. like a fashion victim is a daily challenge for women over 40. WhY? Because when we look old-fashioned or classic from head-to-toe, we are preceived conservative and at work not on top of things.
However, when we wear trends from head to toe we easily look like trying too hard. Thus, we have to strive a balance act. It’s like walking in heels on a knife. Or squaring the circle.
Add a fashion color of the season/year
This recommendation doesn’t mean just “a” fashion color. It means that out of the suit of colors go for “the” color that flatters you the most. Pair it with your classic wardrobe staples in your palete’s neutral colors and you look up-to-date fashion-wise. Here I use two of the autumn Pantome colors and pair them with pieces I already own awhile. Actually, I own the suede skirt for a quite a while. I even wrote a post how to create 30 looks with a red suede skirt.
Shoes can make or break an outfit
A great way to update your fall wardrobe is to go for a fall trend with your shoes. A classic sheath, LBD, trousers and shirt with the season’s it shoe always go a long way. Well and shoes have to be replaced on a regular basis anyway.
Mix clothes from last season with pieces from this season
Never buy complete outfits. Instead buy items in colors that match with pieces you already own. Never buy a piece when you cannot come up with at least three new outfits with items you already own.
Try an unexpected combination or fabric
The sheath in the photo above is made from scuba material. This screams summer despite this dress is a fall work sheath. However, spinning the summer idea, I added a scuba jacket from summer. The white and gray that is in the floral print of the sheath tie the pieces together. As does the fabric. The cropped cut ends at the waist and emphasizes the shape that the sheath creates on my straight-up-and-down body.
DIY fashion
The skirt in the outfit below is an upcycled men’s shirt. The patch trend is included with a DIY patched shirt using patched collected over time. Pairing these pieces together also picks up falll’s trend on mixing all kind of materials, prints and patterns.
The white leather belt is also “DIY”. You saw the leather before as my white leather pants. They had gotten worn out over time. Thus, I retired them and used the good parts of the leather pants to make a belt.
Jeans are a do when you have a Casual Friday culture at the office
Jeans are an all American classic. You can’t go wrong with a dark pair in a classic straight cut like boyfriend, straight or boot cut. Add a high quality T-shirt – a graphic Tee or silk Tee do the trick and a statement necklace. When temperatures are already below freezing add a blazer. Or up the style with a button-down shirt instead of a T-shirt.
Have a great rain coat
Of course we all hope for a great Indian Summer. The golden, red and brown leaves look so pretty against the steal blue sky and the green meadows. However, climate is what we want to have, weather is what we get. Thus, there will be rainy days. They are less gray with a great trench coat in a statement color of your palette. You can find here what to look for in a trench coat.
Black plus white is An eternal modern look
Like with a LBD you can’t go wrong with black and white in different prints and pattern. The photo below gives you an inspriartion how to wear the black and white trend with mixing prints/pattern for fall. When leather is allowed at the office substituting a blazer with a leather jacket for Casual Friday is a grown-up, but modern looking styling do.
Last but not least
You can never go wrong with a little black dress. #fashionquote Click To Tweet
When you like the free outfit ideas for fall style in this post, and want styling tips for all kind of dressing situation in midlife, buy my book How to Dress for Success in Midlife.
P.S. When you liked any of these looks, please feel free to pin them to your Pinterest board. It’s a great way to share them with your family and friends.
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Photos: G. Kramm
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