The i know what you’re thinking. Why should you care about fashion at a time like this? The country is in mourning. We are heading into a bleak winter with an untried prime minister. Fall water cooler talk will be about energy bills, not edges. Nobody in their right mind has any bandwidth to worry about trends.
But let me put it another way. Can you do with cheering? Might you need to think carefully about how to stay warm as the weather gets colder? As we collectively crash to earth, suddenly plunged from summer into deep darkness, wouldn’t it perhaps be the worst idea to remember that there are actually some nice things about fall?
What power does it have to cheer you up, keep you warm, help reframe the change of season in a way that can put a spring in your step? Fashion, that’s what. This September, the new season isn’t about eye-catching trends and not missing out – it’s about smartly chosen pieces that you’ll wear for years and classic looks that you can you already have them in your wardrobe. Here’s a quick guide to the mood-boosting, thermostat-boosting, wallet-friendly fashion of the new season.
Call it dopamine dressing, call it boring: the rise of dressing to boost your mood has been a major shift in the way we think about clothes. It’s no longer about being a slave to fashion, but the other way around, with clothes that work hard to support and cheer you up. Color is the most powerful tool in feelgood fashion. If you want to understand its technique, scientific studies suggest that color can well regulate your mood. Longer wavelength reds, oranges and yellows send a message to your brain to be sociable and lively; blue and green, colors with shorter wavelengths, will guide you to calmness. But really, the right color to wear is the one that makes you smile when you look at it – simple as that. Barbie pink is the It color of the season, after a wall-to-wall pink show at Paris Fashion Week Valentino showed it off in the most elegant and sophisticated new lights. But Gemma Hyde, head of design at Whistles, argues that she relies on traditional rich autumn shades as these will look stylish year after year. “Rich jewel tones—vibrant greens, warm chocolates, bold heathers and tomato oranges—create joyful pieces that will be loved in our wardrobes for seasons to come,” she says.
“Oh, it’s a happy color every time,” says Una Joyce, Reiss’ womenswear director. Reiss is very much adult clothing, which until recently meant a lot of monochrome and neutrals, but this season the store is a rainbow of colors. Highlights include a burnt orange pantsuit styled with a coral silk blouse and apple green separates. Jo Sykes, Jigsaw’s creative director, is digging citrine and electric blue, as well as Schiaparelli pink. At Boden, where loafers have become a new staple shoe from day to dark – stylish with jeans, ideal with tailored trousers, comfortable, what’s not to love? – The brand’s head of womenswear design, Devina O’Neill, suggests “pairing them with a colored sock to make them really pop.”
Color can also help you avoid overstocking charity shops and vintage boutiques. Bins filled with clothes from wildly different eras and styles can be difficult to navigate, but by letting your eye lead you to the colors that speak to you, you can whittle down a manageable shortlist. While you’re picking up your secondhand gear, scan for cowboy boots and varsity jackets. Both are having a high fashion moment. Cowboy boots are everywhere, from the Hermes catwalk to Dua Lipa’s Instagram. Variety jackets, a favorite of the late Virgil Abloh, have an off-duty Princess-Diana vibe that makes them street style. And you’ll find fresher, more original versions of your favorite varsity boots and jackets than any high-end department store.
The cost of living crisis has made flexibility a trend. At this time of year, when the temperature can rise and fall, the best clothing is all about layering. “Our collections are built to last,” says Karen Peacock of independent British brand Albaray, which she founded with two other former Warehouse executives. “Adding a few thoughtful, well-crafted pieces can liven up your look, boost your confidence, and add optimism.” If you’re shopping for a new piece this season, she recommends a sleeveless knit for a fresh kick that can extend the season of a light long-sleeved dress into fall and winter and add comfort to a white shirt. (Albaray has a delicious Fair Isle version for £59.) For the ultimate in versatility, check out British brand Me + Em, where the level of careful attention to detail is second to none. Many of her knits, including the luxurious merino cashmere knit (£150), come with a detachable button placket that converts them from crew necks to cozy funnel necks. And it really works.
Pantsuits are having a moment, as a high-impact look that you’ll wear far more than a party dress. At John Lewis, new fashion design director Queralt Ferrer has it front and center for her first season. (There’s a hot pink, if that’s your vibe; I’ve got my eye on the double-breasted version in a deep forest green – £120 for the jacket, £79 for the wide-leg trousers.) “It works the key elements a lot of the wardrobe” are what works now, says Ferrer. “We were thoughtful about the countless ways our customers could wear each piece during different moments in their lives.” Across the high street, Marks & Spencer agrees that this is a trouser suit moment. “The suit can work for day or night, plus the trousers can be worn with a cardigan and the jacket with jeans – there are so many options,” says womenswear director Maddy Evans.
Boden’s O’Neill suggests investing in a party skirt instead of a party dress this year. Boden’s metallic tiered tulle skirt, £90, will work with an old sweater and your favorite boots on autumn weekends.
This year’s big fashion story has been a subtle shift towards smarter dressing after the ultra-casual vibes of the lockdown era. That’s how we went from tracksuits to pantsuits. Go shopping for a coat and you will clearly see this change in the way stores are selling outerwear. The usual look is often a double layer, with something warm and casual (a hoodie or a quilted jacket) layered under a smarter, lighter coat – a trench or something a little fancy, like a trench coat. pink and brown wool with resin and crystal buttons, from a collection by fashion editor Erica Davies for John Lewis. (That coat costs £280, but if it makes you feel better, you can tell everyone it’s vintage Prada and they’ll believe you.) We tend to assume that the warmer a coat is, the more practical it is, but in the British climate it really isn’t: a coat that works on its own, but can be layered when it gets cold enough, is a useful three-season purchase.
Fears over fuel bills mean heating will be an issue on and off this season. If you’re going out to dinner with friends, say, it might be a good idea to opt for a long-sleeved top instead of a dress if you don’t want to be caught by a thermostat turned down. John Lewis has a great long sleeve fitted Vampire’s Wife T-shirt with an embellished collar and puff sleeves in maroon corduroy. For nights on the sofa, “we know customers will be looking for warm layers,” says M&S head of innerwear Soozie Jenkinson. A pajama set in a velor knit that looks like a jumbo cord but has the marshmallow softness of 360-degree stretch feels like a sound investment.
Longevity in clothes isn’t just about not falling apart – it’s about not falling out of style. Loud parts tend to date faster, so simpler is better. “We’ve done away with a lot of dresses and frocks this season,” says Joyce at Reiss, one of several places that have made the classic silk blouse central to the fall offering. A chic, slip-on blouse in a bright color is a mood lifter that will serve you well now and be an investment for the future. If you’re more of a shirt than a t-shirt, Sykes of Jigsaw recommends a crisp white shirt with deep cuffs, which “gives knits and covers a fresh classic style that oozes texture.” Or it can be layered for warmth. Oh, and you may already have one in your wardrobe. There are many things that you feel upset about. But what you’re wearing definitely doesn’t have to be one of them.
