Creating a fall wardrobe you love has never been easier
The Overwhelm is real
“It’s like standing in a batting cage with no bat, and several pitching machines on high speed aimed right at me,” That’s what it can feel like when you go shopping and see all the options. Suddenly you can’t answer the basic question, “What do I like? I don’t remember. I used to know what I like, but that was yesterday before I walked into this store, and now everything I thought I knew is irrelevant.”
Even though shopping and buying new clothes and shoes can be fun, or we’re told as women that we’re supposed to love it, right now it feels overwhelming. I just want someone to tell me what I like, what to buy, and where to put it. There are so many decisions to make when building a wardrobe and putting together outfits. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to love shopping. It’s okay to be a woman and hate to shop. There are a lot of women, despite what you see in movies and magazines, who hate shopping largely because of the overwhelm.
Putting together your seasonal wardrobe can be fun or frustrating, whether you like to shop or not. It’s important to create a cohesive style so your pieces go together and tell your style story. Where do you start? What do you need? How much is enough and when is it too much? What goes together? What about the practicality of it all? It needs to be fashionable and functional or you can’t use it.
It’s not fall yet, but we are all sooo excited to get our fall fashion on. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by putting together your fall wardrobe, I have five tips to help you.
What part of creating your fall wardrobe is a challenge for you? Where are you struggling with your wardrobe?
This article and the video below are taken from the Stunning Style Weekly Style Snack! Join us Wednesdays at 1pm ET on the Stunning Style Facebook page or the FREE Capsule Wardrobes for Classic Style Facebook Group.
Choose Your Color Palette
Because we love all things autumn, we are tempted to wear the traditional fall colors…even if they aren’t our best colors. Our clothing tends to reflect what nature is doing whether it’s color, texture, or pattern, and by choosing the right ones each season, I can feel seasonally on trend without giving up my most flattering color palette.
Each season I choose the colors I’m drawn to and create my color palette that way. What am I craving? Even though brick, mustard and burnt orange are quintessential fall colors, I don’t wear those, or I’ll look like I have a wicked sunburn. But I can wear bold red, orange and marigold.
Color doesn’t just mean your reds, yellows, and blues, think about your neutrals as well, because your preferences for those can change seasonally as well.
As I create the color palette for the Stunning Style Classic Wardrobe Guides each season, I choose the ones that will capture the season, and it’s a great way to embrace the new season in your fall transitional outfits when it’s still too hot for cardis and booties.
Pick Your Patterns and Textures
Just like the right color palette can create a fall mood, patterns are another way to bring fall into your wardrobe. Popular patterns to incorporate this time of year are plaid, tapestry, animal print, patchwork, houndstooth, and camo. Look for flannel, tweed, suede, leather, and corduroy.
Anything that hints at bundling up to keep warm, hunting, gathering, and any other activities that our ancestors participated in (and we now do for recreation) this time of year will bring an autumn vibe to your wardrobe.
Does that mean you can’t wear florals, polka dots, paisley and other prints that aren’t traditional during apple-picking season? Of course not. The only style rule I have is wear what you love, and you can incorporate them into your fall fashion.
Consider The Climate
If you search for fall outfits on Pinterest or Instagram, you’ll find lots of booties, flannel, scarves and jackets, but that weather isn’t here yet for most of us and may not be for a month or more. For some of you, it will never arrive.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of buying what you think you SHOULD wear in the fall, or even what you WANT to wear in the fall, but not buy what you actually NEED in the fall, based on your climate.
As silly as it sounds, it’s easy to build a fall wardrobe based on what you see on social media, but if it doesn’t match your climate, you won’t be able to wear it. When do the temperatures dip where you live?
I’ve been rethinking my fall wardrobe for the last two seasons because we moved to a much warmer and more temperate climate. Fall happens much later here than it does where we lived before, and I have a lot of cool weather fall items that don’t get a lot of love here because it’s too hot!
Maybe it gets much colder much faster where you live and cozy cardis won’t cut it when it’s snowing in September.
Another must I added to my wardrobe for my new climate is an actual rain jacket – something waterproof with a hood, which I didn’t need before. Walking our girls to and from the bus stop, walking the dog, and running errands that can’t wait until the weather improves require protection from the elements.
Function and fashion are best friends if you want a wardrobe you can actually wear and feel great in, so consider your climate’s unique challenges.
The first month of outfits in the Fall Classic Wardrobe Guide are always transitional outfits to help us feel like we are participating in fall without melting.
Cover Your Basics
Wardrobe staples like a black top don’t make your heart beat fast when you look at them, and most women would rather get a root canal than shop for jeans, but they are the foundation of your wardrobe and your outfits, and absolutely necessary to a functional wardrobe.
The special items in amazing colors and fun prints are what we think of when building a fall wardrobe, but just like beautiful art in your home, it needs walls to hold it up. Your special pieces will become so much more wearable if you have the structure of your basics to support them. They don’t get the glory, attention and compliments your standout pieces do, but they make your standouts…stand out.
Wardrobe staples are most often neutral and solid, although they can be another color that feels neutral to you. Blue is a neutral in my wardrobe. Stripes are my favorite color, as my daughter likes to say, and I buy striped shirts like it’s my job. They feel neutral to me and are a foundation piece in my wardrobe every season of the year.
What do you need in your basics category? Think about your tops, bottoms, shoes, layers (if you even need layers – maybe it’s too hot!) and accessories. In the Stunning Style Society there is an annual member bonus to help you evaluate your wardrobe and see what you have, what you need, and what you can let go of.
Find the Specials
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s talk about the really fun part! Every seasonal wardrobe needs a few special items that make you go all heart-eyes, bring in the fun, and make you feel special when you wear them.
Having a few special items is what brings your wardrobe to life and allows you to really show your personal style, whether it’s through color, pattern, texture, style or all of them. Here is where you get to shine and tell your style story.
You can have as many as you want, but remember, it’s hard to wear too many specials in one outfit, so pair them with your basics to create outfits that feel balanced.
It can be even easier!
If you’re feeling as overwhelmed by hunting down the perfect items, whether it’s foundational basics or a few special items for the season, figuring out how they go with what you have, creating outfits, and putting it all together as I am with furnishing and decorating my house, the Stunning Style Classic Wardrobe Guides are your answer! The doors are currently closed, but you can join the waiting list to be the first to know when the doors open again!
The Guides include 30+ pieces I’ve pulled together from all over the internet, a customized shopping portal so you can easily buy whatever you need, 100 outfit combinations to inspire you, a monthly outfit calendar so you don’t have to choose your outfit for the day, and an incredible Facebook group exclusively for members of the Society where you will get access to me and meet some of the most amazing women.
Each Monday we take a Style Step together, and I walk you through curating your seasonal wardrobe week by week so by the end you’ll have a wardrobe you’ll love to wear and an album of favorite outfits! We start by shopping our closets and continue with steps like creating transitional outfits, how to layer, and more!
Join the waitlist for the Society today and getting dressed will be the easiest thing you do all day!
Make getting dressed fun again!
6 thoughts on “Create a Fall Wardrobe You’ll Love in 5 Easy Steps”
Hi April,
Are the colors in your fall wardrobe more suitable for cool and bright individuals or is there a way to substitute for other types? Thanks
Sharon
Hi,
I am thinking of joining the Stunning Style Society, however, I am weighing the benefits of what you are offering against the time I have to review, read, listen, and apply your tips. It’s very apparent that you continue to evolve with your personal style and I find it attractive.
You’re doing a fabulous job. I also appreciate your transparency and authenticity. It’s great to see the influence of a genuine personality. Welcome to the south. My home is in the Atlanta area, I have natural curly hair, and I understand humidity.
Love your style!!!
Thanks!
Ditto Sharon’s question!!
Fall is absolutely my favorite season! The heat and humidity begin to wane, cool evenings arrive, and I can say hello to my sweaters. It is a season of new beginnings. The colors are beautiful when the leaves change. The list goes on.