The next three months will showcase the bulk of Fall and Winter 2014 retail. After that, collections are usually picked over and sizes are scarce. If you’re lucky, you might score during end of season sales in December and January. But for the most part, I believe that the best merchandise is available at the start and the peak of a retail season. 

Without further ado, here is my list of suggested must haves for Fall and Winter. The items cut across all body types, lifestyles, budgets, style personas, and age groups. It’s a question of finding the right version of the item that works best for you.

Fluid and Oversized Fits 

This is the most important way in which fashion has changed over the last few years. Wear your clothes a little or a lot looser all over, and move away from head to toe body con silhouettes. Fluid fits are brilliant because they’re roomier than tailored fits, but not as baggy as oversized cuts. Tailored clothing that skims the contour of your body is always in style, but wearing items a little looser than that is definitely more fashionable. Add just enough structure to outfits with fluid and oversized fits so that you don’t feel like your clothing is wearing you. 

Jeans with Movement

If you like to wear jeans, make sure you have an assortment of styles that move as you stride. In other words, add roomier jeans silhouettes to your capsule of skinny and straight leg denim. So think baggy boyfriend jeans, or relaxed skinnies for a slimmer boyfriend jeans look. Or wear flares, culottes and trouser jeans. Harem jeans, roomy denim jumpsuits, and jeans with crossover front flap details are another way to go. And don’t be afraid to wear white jeans year round. 

Current Booties

Booties go down as the most versatile and seasonless footwear style of all time. They can truly be paired with any bottom and any look right now. The best aspects of the bootie are its high comfort level, longevity factor, and weatherproof integrity. So make sure you have a current assortment across a range of styles, patterns and colours. Think heels AND flats. Think of shorter and taller shaft lengths. Refined and chunky soles. Pointy and round toes. Dressy and casual vibes. Hard edge and Softness. Think beyond black footwear and throw in an assortment of neutrals from dark to light. 

If booties are too warm for your climate, wear flat oxfords, loafers, peep-toe booties, slipper flats, d’Orsay flats, flat forms, ankle strap pumps and pointy toe ballet flats. These styles work as well in mild Autumn weather. 

Current Knitwear

Knitwear is still THE top to wear with any bottom, and the massive trend is in its third year. Think knitwear in all sorts of knitting styles, yarn types, yarn gauges, and colours. If you’re a neutral gal, think dark and light neutrals. Chunky knits are as fashionable as fine gauge knits. Make sure you have an assortment in tailored, fluid and oversized fits. Wear fluid and oversized styles with waist welts and high-low hemlines for structure. If you’re more adventurous, add cropped boxy knitwear to your capsule. Or stick to the preppy classic of wearing a sleeveless pullover over a shirt.

Current Toppers

It’s important to wear the right fit of outerwear over roomy knitwear because a highly tailored coat won’t work over a chunky knit or oversized style. Think coats with straighter cuts on the waist like man coats, peacoats, and military coats. Or wear voluminous styles like cocoon coats, swing coats, trapeze styles, and capes. Coats that tie at the waist tend to work best when you wear clothing that defines the waistline. They also look best when they are tied in front, which can be impractical. Make sure your coats are roomy enough to comfortably wear over all Winter layers, which for people like me, means wearing knitwear AND a jacket under a coat. 

Toppers like modern one buttoned blazers tend to work better over fine gauge tailored and fluid knitwear, or shirts, tees, and knitted tops. Moto jackets with a fluid fit are best because you can fit a larger variety of knitwear styles underneath them. Tuxedo jackets, either tailored or fluid, are best over much thinner layers. 

Sporty Luxe

Take advantage of the unstoppable Sporty Luxe Trend by adding bomber jackets, track pants, upscale sweatshirts, haute baseball caps, upscale track pants, utility anoraks, rugby stripes, drawstring details, neoprene, perforated textures, sneakers, and backpacks to your style. Wear these pieces with a dressy companion for a little extra Luxe. 

Brown Accents

Think brown footwear, belts, handbags and leather jackets, because the earthy neutral looks fresh after seasons of grey and black. Personally, I love a dark, rich shade of cognac with an orange glow. But choose any shade of brown to wear as “your black”, just to change things up. Brown is great worn WITH black, grey, ink and shades of white. So don’t think that you have to change the rest of your wardrobe to accommodate the “new” neutral. Wear brown just as you would wear black, and don’t worry too much about matching your neutrals. 

Whites, Pastels and Brights 

Dark neutrals, earth tones, and colours like dark red, forest green and eggplant are typical for cold weather dressing. I vote that you add atypical colours to your Autumn and Fall wardrobe, like summer brights, spring pastels, and light neutrals. As long as the items are cold weather appropriate and in the correct style and fabrication, sport any colour that tickles your fancy. 

Texture, Pattern and Shine

Cold weather clothing is all about gorgeous texture. Think mixed media pieces, tweeds, chunky knitwear, embossed fabrics, waxed denim, faux fur, cracked leather, and sueded fabrications. I’m also throwing in the need for shine to brighten and smarten up a cold grey day. Think patent leather, metallic footwear, belts and knitwear, lurex thread, and sequined trim. And last, cold weather dressing is incomplete without some sort of checked pattern. Think plaid anything: from tartan skirts, jackets, coats, pants and scarves, to flannel shirts, houndstooth toppers, and glen plaid trousers. 

A Wild Card

Add an item to your wardrobe that’s atypical for your style persona and speaks to you in some way. Just for fun. It might be a new silhouette of top or a colour you’ve never worn before. A wool or leather midi skirt in the dead of Winter. It might be a style of shoe or bag you previously disliked but unexpectedly tickles your fancy. Or dye your hair a completely new colour.

Create interesting outfit juxtapositions. Remix hard edge with a soft touch, or wear a soft look from head to toe. Add a good dose of Modern to a Classic look. And above all, have fun with fashion. 

• Twitter is testing mobile e-commerce service, with Burberry being the first fashion brand to jump on board.
• Levi’s is branching out into body-shaping denim with its new Totally Shaping Signature jeans with tummy-slimming panel. 
• Jane Birkin is auctioning off one of her namesake Hermès bags on eBay for the charity Anno’s Africa.
• Uniqlo is bringing back +J: 42 “greatest hits” from the Jil Sander collaboration will hit the stores this month.
• Kate Lanphear becomes the new Editor-in-Chief of men’s magazine Maxim.
• Target is teaming up with TOMS for a limited edition holidays collection that will include, footwear, apparel and home goods.
• This season Hunter wants to trendify the rainboot with the introduction of the high-heeled wellie (rubber and leather versions).

Fun Fashion Fact

The ingredient a perfume is named after isn’t always present in the scent you are buying. I love this quote from Jean-Claude Ellena, parfumeur exclusif for Hermès, from the book The Diary of a Nose: A Year in the Life of a Parfumeur:

“As a perfumer, when I want to evoke a smell, I use signs that — taken separately — have no connection with the thing I’m expressing: there has never been any tea in Bulgari’s Eau parfumée au thé vert, mango in Un Jardin sur le Nil by Hermès, or flint in Terre d’Hermès, yet the public ‘feels’ they are there. To cite Jean Giono, ‘all the work of expression takes place in the reader’s mind; from that he derives his pleasure and the satisfaction, gratification and joy it gives him’. Although perfumers are traditionally compared to musical composers, I have always felt like a writer of smells.”

This ensemble was inspired by a very positive reaction to the denim skirts fringe trend. There are countless ways to style a denim pencil skirt, but I’m kickstarting your creative process by suggesting three easy outfit combinations. They all combine trendy and classic pieces, refreshing the look of the skirt. I’ve used mostly neutrals with a hint of colour, but feel free to choose a palette that is more to your taste. 

Choose a denim pencil skirt in any wash and colour. I’ve used a basic faded denim pencil in the outfit on the left, a new look quilted denim pencil skirt from J.Crew in the centre, and a black waxed denim pencil skirt on the right. 

Here are the components for each ensemble.

Denim Skirt with Sweatshirt & Bomber Jacket

Combine a denim pencil skirt with an upscale sweatshirt and top it off with a bomber jacket. Keep the jacket unzipped to create a vertical line down the front of the body. Finish off the look with booties and a satchel. If bomber jackets aren’t your thing, wear a moto or cropped boxy jacket. I kept the palette black and white for graphic effect. Throw in a pair of patterned booties for extra interest. 

Denim Skirt with Welted Pullover or Blouse

Combine a denim skirt with a fully or partially tucked blouse or button-down shirt. Add a belt if the skirt has belt loops. Or pair the skirt with an interesting welted pullover like a style with a woven collar. Finish off the outfit with tall black boots, booties, peep-toe booties loafers or pumps, and a bag of your choice. By all means throw in patterned footwear if that’s more your cup of tea. Pop a trench coat or moto over the lot for extra insulation. 

Denim Skirt with High-Low Pullover & Trench Coat

Pair a denim skirt with a roomy and fashionable untucked high-low pullover. The higher hemline in front provides structure, which offsets the oversized fit of the pullover. Finish off the outfit with tall boots, booties, peep-toe booties, loafers or pumps. Add a trench coat as a topper, and jewellery, eyewear and watch as desired. 

Sport bare legs with booties and tall boots while the weather is mild. As things cool down, add hosiery to the ensemble. I look forward to seeing your refreshed denim skirt outfits in the forum. 

The Business of Fashion investigates whether the branding revolution that transformed fashion may soon be coming to fine jewellery.

Kelly of Alterations Needed wrote an informative post with fun facts about gold jewellery.

In this older article, jewellery designer Melissa Joy Manning has some good tips on how to wear multiple earrings.

Fab Links from Our Members

Laurinda reports that Imogen Lamport posted a clever technique in her helpful video How to Style a Waterfall Cardigan.

Deb thought this was a good article on how beauty companies try to manipulate women and the general audience. She agrees with the author: “who cares!”

The Wall Street Journal announces the return of the dainty watch. Joy hopes that this is not the case, as she loves her big chunky watches. In other trend news: she also found this New York Times article reporting that gingham will be popular for Spring.

Annagybe and Jezebel wonder if fast fashion is over?

Gigi loves these “street style” pictures taken in 1906 by photographer Edward Linley Sambourne: “It’s amazing to see pictures of women going about their daily lives in garb that is so different from our own. They look all dressed up, but this was just normal everyday wear. I also thought it was amazing to see how tiny their waists are from their corseting.”

Here’s a great article from Slate about why you should dress up for travel. It’s written from a man’s perspective but MsMary says this sentence could have been written by Angie:”When we dress well for travel, we are not only making ourselves look good; we’re also signaling that we are invested in making this shared experience pleasant for everyone around us.”

Aquamarine enjoyed this story about personal shopping services via email.

Bridgette Raes shared a video with 12 universal truths about women and fashion. Marlene says they seem so obvious, but she never really thought about it this way until Bridgette said it.

Free People is doing a Selfie edition of their catalogue featuring “a large variety of models, bloggers, musicians, and artists, and their social media accounts.” Pretty smart social media marketing, according to Angie_T.

Vicki would like to share this article about the Style Thief app, that uses image recognition software to help you track down clothes you admired seeing on someone else.

On Tuesday Apple presented the Apple Watch. Greg thinks Apple has made big moves to go further into fashion and style with this new product. Here is a piece in the NYT assessing it from a fashion point of view. I’m curious to hear if you are interested in sporting wearable tech like this new watch.

Angie has been pinning directional outfits from the 2015 Spring Collections at Fashion Week, and so far her favourite shows have been: Altuzarra, Rebecca Taylor, Opening Ceremony, Derek Lam, Alice + Olivia, Theory, and Michael Kors. Angie adds that she wants this outfit, but promises not to eat soup in it! Last but not least, she’d like you to check out this Yorkie that stole the show at Paris Couture Week.