Try these 5 neutral outfit combos to transition your look from summer to fall without adding bulk.
Each season’s wardrobe is about mimicking nature through color, texture, and pattern. We are each part of nature, so the desire to reflect this environmental shift through fashion and style ties our humanity to our self-expression.
Here in Texas though, we rely less on the weather to tell us that it’s fall and more on the calendar, social media, and what’s in stores.
It’s still time to ring in fall though. So today, I’m getting creative in my own closet to show you five different fall outfit formulas you can use right now. That’s right — no bulk, no heavy layering. Just color, texture, and pattern to usher you into autumn with confidence in your style and pep in your step.
Once you’ve taken in the tips, I would love to hear from you! Leave me a comment below and share which look you’re looking forward to trying in your own closet.
Lots of love and joy!
Raquel
Pattern on pattern.
Snakeskin is one trendiest prints right now. It’s a fierce print to represent a fierce animal, and it makes you look fierce when you’re wearing it. It often comes in warm neutrals too, which are some of fall’s most prominent hues.
If you have a snakeskin pattern in your closet or any warm neutral print, use this as a base to pattern match your way through this outfit.
First, identify what types of neutral are in that primary print. If it’s brown, what brown is it? Cognac? Caramel? Mocha? Honey?
Once you’ve got the colors in the first print, simply link it to another print with a similar color scheme. My snakeskin dress has mocha, black, and cream in it, so I can link it to my mocha and black kimono-style jacket.
You don’t have to link all the warm colors in the first print to another, just one or two.
For mine, I didn’t link the cream to another color, only the mocha.
the full look
kimono-style jacket // snakeskin dress // black stacked heels
the details
black headband // black coconut shell necklace
Bring out the leather.
Leather will be everywhere this fall and winter. Get a head start on the trend by creating an outfit using a leather piece that’s not outerwear.
For my look, I added a leather skirt to avoid a heavy layer, while still bringing the outfit into autumn.
For the top, I’ve tied up one of my favorite graphic tees from Prince Peter Collection.
If you’re strictly a sandals and sneakers gal in the summer, it’s time to break out your boots to finish this look with a cool weather touch.
the full look
graphic tee // leather skirt // construction-style boots
the details
pearl + velvet headband // emerald + gold statement earrings
Respect the palette.
Even if your personal color palette is not the autumn color palette, you can still incorporate some of these dark, warm colors into your outfits. If it’s not your color palette, use an autumn color in pants or shoes. If it is your palette, feel free to use it wherever.
Don’t know your color palette yet? Let’s chat about it here.
The interesting thing about autumn colors is that, while there are bright parts to this season’s palette, there are also lots of dark colors that work well as neutrals.
Rust, terracotta, navy, hunter, olive, and burgundy are a handful of the autumn colors that you can use to ground your look in the way you would with neutrals like black an grey.
So for this outfit, I’m using a hunter green body suit as my homage to autumn and as my neutral.
On bottom, I’ve opted for another neutral that works with almost anything you can throw at it: blue denim.
For my shoe, I’m using a warm neutral sandal to play into the hot weather that’s still hangin’ around.
the full look
hunter green bodysuit // Madewell denim shorts // Seychelles sandals
the details
turquoise cuff // silver bangle // gold coin bracelet // gold coin ring // turquoise studs
Suede on suede.
Cue the Shania Twain.
Growing up in Texas in the 90s, western wear was a huge inspiration for me, and that definitely continues today.
Leather, boots, turquoise, and suede are some of the biggest players in the current and past western genre, and suede is one of the most luxurious.
You probably see it mostly in shoes, so today, I wanted to show you a fun way to try a different combination: a suede set.
These pieces didn’t come together, and in fact, while the jacket is real suede, the skirt is not.
And that’s totally fine.
Mixing and matching from your closet is not always about having an exact match or buying the pieces together. It’s about creating something new by making two strangers into two friends.
Since suede is the warmest material I’m talking about today, I decided to cool the look down slightly by adding a crop top underneath. Depending on the suede pieces you have to pair (i.e., a top and button down, skirt and shoes, shoes and dress, etc…), you can surround the suede with cotton or linen to make the look more breathable and practical.
WFH wear.
Comfy one pieces (i.e., dresses, rompers, and jumpsuits) have sky rocketed in popularity since COVID hit, so while some of the other looks from today’s blog are a bit dressier, it’s important to also transition your most casual stay-at-home wear to fall.
For this look, I went aaaaalmost monochromatic with a few pops of ivory and gold to brighten up the look.
To create a look that’s close to monochrome (you don’t need to go the full way to get the effect), simply pull together all the pieces of an outfit in warm neutrals one by one. You don’t need to get specific with color matching like we did during pattern matching, you have a lot of freedom to play.
Champagne, cream, mocha, caramel, cognac, sand, and honey can all exist in one outfit.
Once you’ve got your base piece (for me, it was the dress), pull the next piece to build. Ask yourself if you like the look along the way. If the answer is “yes,” proceed to adding the next piece until the look is complete. If the answer is “no,” take away the last piece you added and try a different warm neutral.
Most outfits have about 5-10 pieces until complete. That includes jewelry, shoes, and accessories.
Once you’re done with each outfit you create, make sure to snap a picture, so you can easily reference them all fall long.
