Transitional dressing: summer to autumn

when "fall" is more of a state of mind than a temperature or season

I was explaining to my kids the other day, that the closer you live to the equator, the milder winters are. So as a girl who was raised in Miami, Florida… I just never really had to learn how to dress for Fall and much less, Winter. We had maybe two “cold” days in the year so on those days… you just froze in a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. I don’t think I owned a coat from 1994 until 2009, when I moved to LA.

With that said, I never moved too far from the equator, having spent my entire life living in places where palm trees thrive and people spend a ton of money to spend their holidays there. Though we do have some semblance of seasons here, in the outskirts of Barcelona, it is still a balmy 27 degrees celcius (that’s 80 f for my American friends) mid-day but the mornings are cool, so I’ll take that as my queue to start transitioning my wardrobe towards fall pieces.

Earlier, I posted a reel on my Instagram with what that’s been looking like for me and I thought I would dissect some of those looks in case you’re struggling to dress yourself now that summer is ending.

KNITS, BLUES and SHOES

My initial instinct for transitional dressing is to take your favorite summer looks and dress them up a bit: add accessories and a knit jumper to the outfit you were wearing two weeks ago. Hence, the outfit below: a pair of linen micro shorts I got on vinted for 5€ that I wore all summer, paired with my new About Arianne ballet slippers, my vintage satchel and a new mohair knit jumper from Le Bon Shoppe (be sure to wear a tank top or t-shirt underneath for when it gets hot).

My style tip here is to go into your closet and find your cotton and wool knits and do a try on, find the ones that fit you best and put those in an easy to reach/see place for when you’re rushing out the door in the morning. A knit will elevate your outfit while keeping it casual! I have a feeling this color is going to be everywhere this season, at least I’ll be wearing it everywhere.

I also traded in my sandals for ballet flats and penny loafers. My favorite shoe-maker by far is About Arianne who makes the most beautiful and comfortable shoes for women, I highly recommend investing in a pair or finding one on vinted or poshmark! I decided to go for a primary (pop of) color that will be easy to wear with as many of my outfits as possible. My loafers are from Hereu but I also recently was gifted a pair from Sezane which are super comfortable and beautiful.

MIDI SKIRTS

The next item which is pretty high on my list of things I’ll be wearing often this season is a mid-length skirt, specifically in denim material. The silky mid-length skirt feels very spring/summer and I’m looking for a more structured fit and something which will hopefully keep me warmer than its flowy counterpart. The dark denim skirt is from Le Bon Shoppe and the cream colored A-line skirt is from Yerse.

My gut here told me to pair these skirts with something more casual to keep these looks “young” and “fun” feeling. I’m always on the hunt for a perfect stripe tee and I found it, this one is Marimekko, found on vinted.

For my look below, I though I would bare my middrift… scandalous I know! You should’ve seen the other parents staring down my belly button at school pickup :)

THE RETURN OF THE JEAN

God am I happy to be wearing jeans again! I own so many pairs of good jeans and I’m telling you, if you’re going to invest time and energy and money into your wardrobe, start there. Get on those resale apps and purchase second hand jeans from the best pantmakers out there, you will not regret it. Every time fall rolls around, it will feel like Christmas.

I am so happy to be wearing these Jesse Kamm cali wide pants again, I’ve paired them with a Le Bon Shoppe vintage fille tee and my About Arianne ballet slippers.

A good barrel leg pair of jeans is SO flattering on most body types. This pair is super cropped, maybe made for shorter people than me but I love them. I got them off vinted a year ago for a cool 20 bucks, I paired them with a Yerse cardigan (which is perfect for this weather), and a pair of About Arianne slides.

ONE FOOT IN FALL, THE OTHER ONE IN SUMMER

Ok, so as a sort of “in conclusion”, if you haven’t put it together… what I’m saying with most of these looks is that we’re keeping warm while keeping cool. Take the below outfit as an example: I’m wearing a pair of shorts but they’re bermudas, I’m wearing a halter top but it’s made of a thick knit cotton. I’ve got one foot in fall and the other one still lingering in summer. The halter by the way is from Le Bon Shoppe, the bermudas are vintage and the kitten heels are About Arianne via vinted.

P.S. GET A TRENCH COAT

I won’t say anything about this outfit other than, get yourself a trench coat, you will not regret it. This one is Sézane and I cannot emphasize how much I love it.