Listen up ladies, you might have heard about “revenge travel” (if you haven’t it’s the intense desire to get travelling again despite the pandemic), but now there is also revenge shopping.
Now we don’t necessarily recommend either in the spirit of wise decision making, but on the other hand, forewarned is forearmed and in the spirit of empowerment, here is your guide to this upcoming Fall season “must-have essentials” for every woman and don’t worry – you don’t need an Amex black card to get these. (But it wouldn’t hurt).
MUST-HAVE #1: Relaxed denim.
We all love a good pair of weekend sweats and now that the winds are changing, you’ll want something to get all comfy and warm in. With a good pair of relaxed denim jeans, you can dress up with strappy sandals, a wrap-around white shirt and a multicoloured pashmina. Accessorize with oversized earrings and a natural fibre bag.
MUST-HAVE #2: The tailored blazer.
Get in teal or blue to cool it down, or in light brown and olive for warmer tones. Pair with denim or straight cut slacks with ankle-high boots (in brown suede) and wrap up with a scarf and big lens sunglasses for daytime or lose the shades at night but add an awesome ¾ coat.
MUST-HAVE #3: The sweater.
This Fall choose cashmere or 100% wool, choose either a full sleeve for nighttime or a half sleeve for daytime. Either or you can dress up with a coat or wrap to keep those layers full and interesting, or if it’s not too cold yet, on its own with some faded straight length jeans, white heels and an oversized bag. The great thing about finding the style and type of sweater that works for you is that you can buy a few in different colors and fabrics and use them to accentuate the parts you like the best or hide the bits you don’t by playing with sizing. They go well denim, slacks or printed wide hem skirts and will dress up gorgeously with knee-high boots.
MUST-HAVE #4: The silky blouse.
Yes ladies you heard right. This Fall we prepare to welcome back the return of real clothes. The silk blouse in neutral tones can be paired effortlessly with a tailored blazer, printed slacks in plaid and neutral heels. If you want to add an extra super-feminine touch, throw in a small, light pink bag and you’re kicking those work vibes.
MUST-HAVE #5: A pair of symmetrical booties.
Get these in light browns and natural tones and you can dress up last years denim. No really. This year it’s all about recycling what you have and making it work all over again.
MUST-HAVE #6: The little black dress.
Ok, so this one is cheating a little because it makes it onto every list, but with very good reason. You simply can’t go wrong. Choose natural-fibre fabrics and go for charcoal blacks instead of midnight blacks and you’ll have a “shade of black” that you can rock from daytime in to nighttime by simply changing your shoes, scarf, coat and handbag. Voilà.
MUST-HAVE #7: The wrap dress.
Ladies, you must have known this was coming. The wrap dress is God’s gift to all of us who don’t look like Heidi Klum. Knee-high boots, a 100% wool long scarf, denim jacket and medium-sized handbag will complete your daytime work look.
MUST-HAVE #8: A pair of flats.
Get them vintage-inspired for this fall and you can dress them up or down with a knee-high skirt or straight cut denim.
MUST-HAVE #9: The button-up shirt.
You want to play with dots (small ones, but not “pinprick” small) and keep the background white or beige. It pairs fabulously with just about anything on the bottom and if you add in some layers in the form of a long wrap around pashmina, you can transition into nighttime easily.
MUST-HAVE #10: A good pair of awesome fitting, black pants.
A real no-brainer and you could recycle a pair you already have. Play around with the length of it based on what shoes you’re going for. To accentuate a good pair of ankle-high boots, you want to fold up a line or two. Put on a leather belt with a vintage buckle, silky blouse and scarf and you’ll be turning heads alright.
With these ten base items in your closet this Fall, you’ll have a solid foundation to build on, and that’s what it’s really all about this year – building and layers. You want rich fabrics layered on easy to wear and breathable shirts and blouses so that you can take something off when it gets a tinge on the warm side.
But you also want to be free to play with some vintage accessories this year. Think jewelled clutches and hints of prints and colour on trousers and scarves. Now, remember there are a few rules when it comes to mixing matching but above all things – do you.
Have a look at Memma for some inspiration and for some advice on styling it up, but pay attention to color and form for a great seasonal look.
The winds of change are finally blowing and with the change of season comes to a change of pace and as we transition from long lazy days to windy cooler ones it’s a great time of year to see just why the Fall is the best season for fashion.
We all want to shrug off this past year and there’s no better time to do it, but we also want to make better decisions too. So as we all prepare to start heading into the last few months of this year, remember to resist the urge to take up those “holiday season” credit card offers with the “0%” APRs – you know you’re going to regret it next year.
This Fall it’s all about recycling existing garments and maybe adding a few new accessories or bags, feel free to play with last years basics and then dress them up with this year’s colors and textures but whatever you decide to do, remember the one rule that never goes out of fashion: Confidence. Fall 2021…bring it!