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I gave myself one rule for this list.
Everything on it has to earn its place between now and November.
Fall Transitional Pieces
That knocked out a lot. No coat that only makes sense in January, nothing I was adding at eleven at night because it was pretty and on a screen.
Just the eight weeks in front of me, which around here means sixty degrees in the morning and eighty by two in the afternoon, and an entire closet that is wrong for both.
Eight weeks is not an arbitrary number, by the way. We head to Florida for the winter, so my real fall is short, and anything that only makes sense in January clearly no longer makes sense for me.
What surprised me is what the list turned into once I laid it all out.
Two cropped jackets. Two pairs of beautifully tailored trousers.
It’s the same outfit ten different ways, and apparently that outfit is a short jacket over a wide leg. I didn’t set out to do that. I just kept saving the same silhouette.
So, iff you’re staring at your own closet wondering what to do with September, that combination is my entire answer.
One more thing before we start. This list runs from a Gap tee to some genuinely expensive pieces, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise or bury it. I will tell you which ones I think are worth it and which ones are pure want.
The two jackets
Cropped is doing something specific here.
A jacket that ends at the waist keeps a wide trouser from swallowing you, and it is the easiest way to make your fall outfits look intentional and put together.
Quilted jacket in Maritime Navy The onion quilting and the stand collar are what got me. Warm enough for a morning that starts at sixty, light enough that you don’t feel like you’re shlepping around a coat at two in the afternoon, which is the whole problem with this season. The elasticated waist is what makes it sit properly over a wide trouser instead of fighting it.Also navy over black is a combination I keep coming back to. It looks more considered than black on black and it is far more forgiving than it sounds.
Cropped bomber in khaki The gathered shoulder and the blouson hem are why this one is on the list instead of the fifty other khaki jackets out there. It has actual shape to it. You can wear it over a tee and it looks like you thought about it. Khaki is the neutral I always forget I need until I put it next to navy and black and remember it makes both of them better.
The two trousers
Barrel Leg Cropped The barrel leg is the thing. It flatters far more people than a straight wide leg does, because the volume sits away from your body instead of hanging off your hips. Black cropped trousers are the workhorse of my fall closet. These go with both jackets, they go with a white tee, and they will still be right in April, which is how I justify the price to myself. Worth it.
Navy pinstripe wide-leg trousers A pinstripe is a print that behaves. It reads as a neutral from three feet away and as a detail up close, which is exactly what I want out of a pattern at this point in my life. Wide leg, high waisted, cropped just above the ankle. Wear them with a flat and they are Saturday. Wear them with a pointed heel and they are dinner out.
The two tops
Cotton Relaxed T-Shirt This is the piece every other thing on this list gets worn over, and it’s the least expensive thing here by a long way.Supima is the part that matters. It is long-staple cotton, and long staple is the difference between a tee that holds its shape and one that goes thin and see-through and slightly grey by November. I have thrown out more white tees than any other item of clothing I own, and it was almost always for that reason So no, I I don’t think a good white tee has to cost a hundred dollars. It has to be the right cotton and the right cut. At this price you can buy two colors instead of agonizing over one, which is the actual luxury
Kit Asymmetric Top The draped asymmetric neck is doing all the work. This is the piece that takes the same trousers you wore on Tuesday and makes them perfect for dinner on Friday, without having to own a separate going-out wardrobe.
The two bags
Signature Travel Tote Personalized with my own initials in the oversized letters, which is either the best or the worst idea I’ve had this year. It holds everything, it weighs nothing, and it survives being thrown in a car. The personalization is what makes it feel a bit special and the brown with cream lettering makes it completely worth it in my book.
Flamenco Purse The soft, gathered shape and the knotted drawstrings are what make this one. It is a bag that looks expensive because of how it is made rather than because of a logo across the front. The chain lets it go over a shoulder or be carried by hand, so it works for dinner and for a day that turns into dinner. Firmly in the want column, but it is the one I would keep for twenty years.
The knit
Zigzag cardigan I’ll be honest – this one breaks my own rule. It’s not practical, it’s not a basic tee, and I really do not need it. But the color story is the entire fall palette in one piece, cream and rust and black with metallic running through it, and a Missoni zigzag is a thing you own for twenty years rather than a season. It’s the piece that makes an outfit instead of completing one, and every list needs one of those or it is just a shopping list. Pure want, and I know it. If you want the look for less, this is the shape to search for. Open V-neck, chevron stripe, cropped enough to hit at the waist over a high-rise trouser.
The boots I said I wasn’t buying
Leather Ankle Boots I had a whole speech ready about how nobody needs a boot in September and every fall list is full of them… Then I saw these. This is the boot that made me reconsider the ankle boot, and black leather is the version that will still look right in five years. They go with every single thing on this list, which is either good planning or an excellent rationalization. I haven’t yet decided.
What I’m actually not buying
A new coat. I have three, and there’s nothing wrong with any of them, plus I spend the worst of the winter somewhere I barely need one. This is a sentence I have to say out loud to myself every September.
Anything in a color I don’t already own three of. That sounds boring. It is also why everything in my closet goes with everything else in my closet, so I’ll take it.
A second version of something I already have. The hardest rule to keep and the one that saves the most money.
How I would actually shop this
If you buy one thing, buy the tee. Everything else on this list is worn over it, and it is the least expensive thing here.
If you buy two, add a cropped jacket. That silhouette is the whole point of the list, and it is the piece that makes the clothes you already own look current instead of last year.
If you want the fun one, the cardigan. No, I cannot justify it either.
Tell me what’s on your list. I want to know what everyone else is buying, and I would particularly like to hear from anyone who has managed to talk themselves out of a boot this month, because I clearly couldn’t.
