Last few outfits from my September no-repeats challenge:

1: black skirt leggings, blue ombre 3/4 sleeve pullover, amber jewelry.

2: olive chinos, blue ombre 3/4 sleeve pullover, gold ballet shoes. I decided I am not ready to turn those loafer mules from my last round of outfits into outside shoes, but it occurred to me I could get a very similar effect with my gold ballet flats. Why have I not been wearing these all month??

3: experimenting with Brooklyn’s suggestion to layer 3 necklaces rather than 2. More on this later.

4: olive fleece midaxi skirt, orchid lightweight cashmere sweatshirt

5: same outfit how I actually wore it for much of the day, with a cardi over top. Outside temps were fairly mild this day but it was actually quite chilly in the house because we hadn’t turned the heat on yet! But, this layering opportunity made me realize something: I used to wear layered knitwear quite a lot, typically a fine-gauge pullover and a chunkier cardigan as here. Then I felt kind of over that look. I think I might be coming back around to it now? We’ll see how things shake out as the cold season sets in.

6: Another 3-necklace experiment. To be honest, I think I will often prefer just two necklaces, both for comfort reasons and because I prefer a more pared-back look for my usual work-from-home lifestyle. But I’ll continue to experiment with layering more pieces for outings. A fun challenge!

7: It’s fair isle sock season, people!

Some overall thoughts:

*I met my goal of avoiding exact outfit repeats for the whole month. Yay! I don’t have a huge capsule for this transitional season but it’s surprisingly versatile.

*Jeans or chinos + a 3/4-sleeve pullover sweater emerge as probably my most common outfit formula. I like this formula but sometimes it feels a little plain. What makes a similar pants +pullover formula work for me in cold seasons is deliberate use of accessories/jewelry. I did manage to put on at least one accessory (per my stated goal) most days, but often it did not feel very deliberate. I kind of kept wearing the jewelry pieces that I had been wearing most often in summer. Next year, I think I’ll try pairing these autumn transitional outfits more deliberately with jewelry that has a fall vibe — you can see I kind of cottoned on to this towards the end of the month when I got out the amber jewelry.

*Jeans or chinos + sleeveless/cap-sleeve top + cardigan is another outfit formula I like for transitional weather but I lack very many top options to carry it out. These sorts of tops are actually a longtime HEWI for me, so the quest continues.

*And, I’ve got to remember to make use of my olive and blue/black plaid midaxi skirts too!

*I really enjoyed milking the olive + teal and olive + rose/orchid/ballet pink color combinations, going forward I’ll remember them as signatures for this time of year.

*Still need to cogitate and experiment a bit more with footwear. Loafer mules definitely have promise. But don’t forget about the ballet flats I already own!

All in all a very useful experiment -- I learned a lot not just from my own efforts but from the thoughts and suggestions all of you shared. Thanks to all!

Onwards to fall, about which I have some ideas…but that’s a separate post.