Fall into winter: Making your summer closet work past Labor Day
by Susan Wagner

I love when stylists talk about your "fall wardrobe," blithely assuming both that fall will begin promptly on the Tuesday after Labor Day and that you have a COMPLETELY SEPARATE set of clothes for the period in between the last day of summer and the first day of winter. So what's a girl to do if the weather stays warm until Thanksgiving and she has only the clothes in her closet to get her through all FOUR seasons?

Simple: mix and match and layer, layer, layer.

Let's start with summer pieces you can NOT wear into fall: all things linen must be stored away after Labor Day, as must anything seersucker. That's it! Everything else in your closet is fair game. Which does NOT mean that you can actually WEAR all of your summer staples once the weather turns cool; it just means that you are not required to have a separate wardrobe for each season.

How do you know if a piece -- a skirt, say -- can transition from summer to fall? Think about how the piece is made: cold weather clothes tend to be more structured. In some cases, this structure is a function of fabric (corduroy, for example, is NOT a flowy fabric) but in other cases, it is a function of cut and style. A cotton voile skirt in a very structured A line or pleated cut can be worn past the last day of summer because the light weight of the skirt will be balanced by the cut of the garment.

Pair your structured summer pieces with lighter weight winter wear -- a thinner sweater, say, with the cotton voile skirt. The pieces need to balance each other; your light cotton skirt will be overwhelmed by a chunky fisherman sweater, but it can easily hold it's own with a cashmere cardigan or tee.

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Lands' End cashmere tee, available in 18 colors, in regular, petite, and plus sizes XS - XL, for $89.50

Think also about how you can layer your summer wear, either under or over more weather-appropriate pieces. Pair a colorful silk or cotton tank with a corduroy or tweed jacket; wear a flowy peasant blouse over a long-sleeved tee. Wear your slim silk skirt with tights and boots, or your favorite sun dress with a merino wool cardigan.

Layering extends the life of your summer clothes, but it also gives you options, particularly in climates where the days start and end cold but warm up in the middle. Layers are also a way to dress up the most casual outfit -- jeans and a tee take on a whole new life when you add a blazer and some great shoes.

Finally, don't forget to change your bag: for fall, think about a bag in a richer color or heavier fabric. But don't default to black; how about a great jewel tone tote? Or a tweed? Or suede! Again, this simple change will dress up even the most utilitarian outfit.

Fall is on everyone's mind these days:

Smart Mama reminds us to organize the closet for fall.

Runway Daily makes my week by recommending flat boots for fall.

And Headmistress, Zookeeper reminds us that our fall wardrobes could look like this.

Susan Wagner writes about fashion at Friday Style and The Working Closet, and about everything else at Friday Playdate. She is hoping that the unseasonably nice weather will hold out for just one more week, until her sons' soccer season is over. Please.

Submitted by Susan Wagner (view blog) on Tue, 10/23/2007 - 5:18pm

Comments

 

Impeccable timing

Seriously, every time I need something from you, especially a clothing question, you're right there. It's amazing.

I've been facing this dilemma since a few weeks ago when I bought these really cute dresses while in Santa Monica. When I got back to the east coast I realized that this particular store had different items of clothing for each coast so now I have two really adorable summer-ish dresses when I live in Upstate NY. I was thinking cardigans as you suggested or a trapeze-esque type blazer? I'll take pictures to show you. But dude, major dilemma.

I've been losing sleep over what to wear the next day. That's a problem.

Heather B.
Personal Blog: No Pasa Nada
BlogHer CE: Business, Career & Personal Finance

Submitted by HeatherB on Tue, 10/23/2007 - 17:34
 

I am ALWAYS here for you, HeatherB

And for the REST of you, too!

Dresses are actually prime transition pieces, because you can layer over or under them. Add a blazer or a cardigan, or a crew neck sweater even. Or -- OR!-- a long sleeved tee or turtleneck or blouse.

InStyle magazine has a piece right now on layering strapless summer dresses over tees, which both proves my point and makes me wonder what on earth the InStyle people are thinking.

Friday Style | The Working Closet | Friday Playdate

Submitted by Susan Wagner on Tue, 10/23/2007 - 18:00
 

No linen?

That is precisely the opposite of how I was taught! I always have heavy linen in black, brown, loden to carry me through autumn. They'd be far too warm in summer. We are not presently suffering from too warm temperatures in Italy, but nasty, gray slies and rain and cold, so I've jumped ahead into wool skirts, sweaters, tweed jackets and tights. If things get back to normal, the fall stuff can creep out.

http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/

Submitted by Judith in Umbria on Wed, 10/24/2007 - 00:58
 

global warming, linen, and the rules of
fashion

While I am going to stand by the No Linen After Labor Day dictum, I do realize that as the world gets warmer, some style rules are beginning to seem silly. You have two choices when it comes to summer wear after Labor Day: keep dressing for the weather (which, until recently, was summery nearly the entire way across the continental United States) or dress for the season (pair a light sweater with cotton chinos rather than linen pants).

I like the idea of having a very small part of the wardrobe that is seasonal -- I have a couple of linen skirts that I only wear from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They are summery and festive and always make me feel like I'm on vacation. I also have a great cashmere scarf that I don't usually break out until late October, because it feels wintery to me, even though it's lightweight.

While the best strategy is to have pieces that work for many seasons, it's okay to have some pieces that are seasonal. And when you abide by the larger rules of fashion -- no linen after Labor Day, no white at a wedding, no visible underwear -- you will look chic and stylish without much effort.

So I say no to linen this late in the year. Get out the wool trousers. Please.

Friday Style | The Working Closet | Friday Playdate

Submitted by Susan Wagner on Thu, 10/25/2007 - 02:48
 

Should I wear Boots or Tights with a Heavy
Dressy Silk Skirt ?

Hi - I am new to the whole "tights with dressy skirts" as I normally wear one piece dresses or dressy pants for Fall & Winter formal events. Casually, I wear tights with my skirts, but like I said, that's casual wear.

I have a dinner event to go to next week. I found a dressy Cream & Taupe Tweed Blazer Jacket which also has fine silver threading throughout, to pair with a heavy Silk Taupe coloured A-line skirt which hits slightly below the knee. I really like ithe jacket and skirt because I'm very thin and the colours flatter me. I recently purchased Cream coloured stiff-like suede knee length boots but they're a bit wide for my legs. (I'm still searching for a slouchy tight-fitting style) I also think the wide boots look a little weird with dressy silk or is it just me? I am debating whether I should wear tights with nice high-heeled leather mary-jane shoes instead? (I found the shoes in both Cream and Taupe) The problem is, I never wore tights with dressier skirts because I've always been a little self conscious of my skinny leg shape (with the barely-there calves) so I need help!

Should I wear Taupe coloured tights with Cream coloured shoes, or Cream coloured tights with Taupe shoes? Should the tights be patterned or solid? Should I stick with the cream coloured boots instead? (I'm also thinking of having the boots tailored to fit more snug around the leg area - so they wont be too wide...just incase I don't find the slouchy style boot in Cream) I know these are a lot of questions but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

~Dee

Submitted by ClassyDeeIsMe on Tue, 10/30/2007 - 17:21