It’s knitwear, boots, jacket, and coat weather in Seattle. Autumn is here with a whole lot of wind and rain. It’s hard to believe we had a record-breaking hot and dry Summer when it is cold and stormy outside. If you’re looking to refresh your wardrobe items with a few simple classics or streamlined trends, these items might be of interest. I’ve seen all the items in person, and some of them are on sale.

1. Michael Kors Hooded Belted Walker Coat

This coat runs at least a size big and is well-suited to a curvy figure with a larger bust. The tie at the waist is not bulky. The coat looks best tied at the waist, but does not look like a bathrobe. There is a good amount of room for layering. It’s warm, well-made, and with a detachable hood. Versatile in a casual yet dressier way. The orange is not orange at all! It’s a rich shade of cinnamon for earth tone lovers.

2. BB Dakota X Steve Madden Jet Set Faux Suede Moto

Rich, comfortable, versatile, but not machine washable. The hardware in a subtle metallic is a fab match with the richness of the earth tone. It works well with jeans, pants, skirts and dresses. Nice fluidly tailored fit. My client combined it with a column of pearl grey, and silver loafers, and looked super cute.

3. COS Slim-Fit Roll-Neck Jumper

This is not what I would call slim-fitting, because there is some ease and fluidity on the upper torso. But it is streamlined, and the welt creates ample structure on the lower midsection. It blousons a bit, and looks great with skirts and higher rise bottoms. But it looks as good pulled down lower on the hips. A clever silhouette that works for a shorter and longer torso. The brown is cool-toned, which is a rare find. I’ve ordered the navy.

4. M&S Collection Crew Neck Jumper

The SOFTEST pullover of the year because it’s made of a viscose polyamide. It’s more fitted than you might expect so size up if you want a more fluid fit than what you see on the model. The silhouette looks good with skirts and can work well on petites. Pretty sleeves and interesting colours. The cerise was more purple than what I was looking for, so I returned mine. But I liked the slightly ‘70s vibe and loved the feel of the fabric. Machine washable.

5. Banana Republic Seamless Merino Turtleneck Sweater In Responsible Wool

If you’re looking for a simple and classic turtleneck in a fluidly tailored fit, try this one. It layers well under dresses, tops and toppers, and looks lovely worn on its own. It’s made of responsible wool, although I don’t exactly know what that means. That said, Banana Republic is generally doing a much better job of manufacturing sustainably and ethically. The red is on its way to me.

6. Everlane Utility Barrel Pants

These have worked well on a slew of clients across a range of body types. Some have straighter body types, while others are curvier. The rise isn’t that high. They mould to the body and are quite forgiving. A little architectural and lantern-pants-lite. They are not as dramatic as Everlane’s Arc jeans, which I have in denim. Worked on a few petite clients too.

Mustard is probably the least popular of the earth tones with my clientele and friends because it’s a brownish yellow that can make you look ill or washed out. Yet some people — like my late Mum — did absolutely rock mustard. In fact, my Mum wore mustard to our wedding because it was one of her best colours. Mustards come in all sorts of tones and shades. Some are more brown, some more yellow, and some more green. Mustard can also be lovely in a pattern.

If you bat for Team Mustard, here are some ways to wear the rich earthy colour with pants and jeans. By all means substitute the pants for skirts if that’s more your thing.

1. Mustard Top and Earthy Suit

Add a mustard layering top like a tank, tee, blouse, shirt or pullover to an earthy pants suit. Finish off the look with sneakers, boots, or loafers that match. Here, the mushroom plaid is in the same colour family as the mustard top. The white sneakers crisp up the palette. Brown and tan footwear would work well too.

2. Mustard Topper with Neutrals

Combine a pair of black bottoms with a cream and black patterned top. Add black or cream footwear that works with the bottoms. Top things off with a mustard coat or jacket. Here, the black buttons of the coat pick up the black in the outfit. I do like the hint of red in the pattern of the top, but that’s not essential.

3. Mustard with a Column of Cream

Create a column of cream with pants or jeans and a top. Add cream footwear. Throw a mustard topper over the lot. This is a mustard and cream striped gilet, but you can choose anything from a wrap and vest, to a coat and jacket, and keep it solid. Instead, throw in a mustard patterned scarf if that’s more your thing.

4. Mustard with Teal

And last, combine blue jeans with a mustard sweater. You can layer a turtleneck that matches the outfit under the sweater if you like. Add black, brown, grey or cream shoes. Throw a teal topper over the outfit. Delicious with mustard!

I prefer to wear mustard on the bottom as pants or a skirt, which I’ve been doing for at least three seasons. I like to remix the mustard with cream, navy, shocking pink and orange. Do you wear mustard?

Sometimes you wear a particular colour, neutral, silhouette, vibe, or outfit combination, and you know it looks good. It garners compliments from family members, friends, and strangers. But despite that, you don’t like the look because it doesn’t feel like you. It feels off, and doesn’t make you happy. It is someone else’s look.

I have that feeling about pencil and tube skirts, sheath dresses, and solid black items. Sleek, form-fitting skirts and dresses flatter my body type in the traditional sense, but they do not feel like me. I used to wear them about ten years ago, enjoyed them, but have since moved on.

I do not like the constricting feeling and lack of swoosh of very fitted skirts and dresses. I need the versions that move as I move. So it’s A-lines, fit-and-flares, sack silhouettes, and any other style that does not fit too closely to the contour of my body.

Greg says I wear black well, but I don’t enjoy it. Slowly but surely, I started switching out my black for dark blue, and haven’t looked back. I think dark blue looks softer, prettier and more vibrant on me.  It’s a better fashion neutral to combine with the happy colours I like to wear.

Of course, I fully support and enjoy pencil skirts, sheath dresses, and solid black items on those who do like to wear them. There are few things more stylish than someone who is confident, relaxed, unaffected, and authentically happy in their outfit.

Is there something that you know looks good, but is not for you?

19 months into the global pandemic, and things have been tough and tricky at best. Most of us are going through something that is a little or very stressful. Many of us are feeling restless too. But when I’m annoyed or impatient about something, or with someone, I remind myself to be positive and compassionate, and to cut others some slack. Onward we go with hope and peace in our hearts.

On that positive note, today we’re giving ourselves a well-deserved pat on the back for something fashion or style-related. I’ll go first.

First, on this leg of my style journey I am VERY attracted to patterns. They make me happy, and I like to pattern-mix my outfits. As a result, many of my wardrobe additions have been patterned. But I need to hold back on the pattern before my wardrobe becomes a chaotic mess. I have to focus on solids, and sometimes tear myself away from glorious patterns if I’m to maintain a versatile and balanced wardrobe. I’m happy to report that many of my recent purchases have been solid.

Second, I’ve also done a good job of not straying too far from my annual shopping list, despite the fabulous temptations. Apart from rubber rain boots and some dressy attire, I can tick most things off. Dressier ankle boots were not on my shopping list, but I’ve bought two pairs on sale — in cream and burgundy — which fit into my budget. Since I have very fussy feet and a walking lifestyle, it’s hard to plan my footwear purchases. I grab what feels and looks good at the time and I’m grateful for comfortable shoes that go the distance.

Third, I built a burgundy capsule five years ago, which I wore a lot for a couple of years. I remixed it with all sorts of reds, oranges, creams, blue denim, and navy and loved it for Autumn and Winter. For no apparent reason, I went off burgundy, but held onto every burgundy item apart from the boots that I wore into the ground, and a scarf that began to aggravate my skin. This season I’m back into enjoying burgundy, and was delighted to already have a capsule in place. I just added a pair of Merlot boots. I am VERY happy I held onto my stuff, just in case my mood changed. And it did.

Your turn. Share a bit about what you’ve been doing right in your fashion and style life, and give yourself a pat on the back.