Late October I break out the cold-weather clothing. But I feel Fall starts in September. I go by the light.

I'm starting to see a few leaves changing colour here in Alabama already, even though when I passed a local school that has a time/temp/ school billboard announcement it was posting the temp as being 102 degrees F !!!
So chocolate brown linen pants outfit for me today, and probably a sundress for work tomorrow ( the compressor unit is shot on the A/C unit at work. Ugh!)

I'm a teacher, so the first day of school seems like it should be Fall. But here in SouthWestern BC, the weather has traditionally been really nice through most of September. For Fall fashion, my clue is when it starts the incessant rain that we get. I break out the umbrella, boots, and Autumn clothing.

I go by the weather, but I'm old fashioned and still abide some of the " not after Labor Day" rules. So in September, I'll wear lighter weight fabrics but not light/bright colors. Maybe no short sleeve or sleeveless. Then, in October, I might start to wear my wool things, in November I'll start to wear cashmere and turtlenecks, also velvet, and that's how ill dress until March, when I'll put away the darker more winter-y things in my closet and go back to what I wore in September. I live in New England, it's cold through march and then it rains until June! I try to dress for the actual weather, while keeping in mind the calendar.

September is typically one of the warmer months in the SF area (this has been a very very mild summer temp wise so far) so October is when I "feel" like fall. It always drove me nuts as a kid that we had to go back to school during the hottest week of the year.