5 Things Worth Buying When Your Fall Clothes Are Sensible but Boring

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Darling, “it goes with everything” is a useful thing to say about a sweater.

It becomes rather a dreary wardrobe philosophy when it is the nicest thing you can say about every item you own.

Perhaps you’re by the front door in dark jeans and a neutral sweater, having one last look in the mirror before you pick up your keys.

Everything goes together.

You would still like the afternoon to offer something more enjoyable than another outing in clothes whose chief accomplishment is causing no trouble.

I want clothes to be beautiful. I want to enjoy putting them on and like what I see when I pass a mirror. Fashion is a form of self-care, and I see no reason to make a woman defend a lovely purchase as though she were submitting an expense report.

If you’re wondering how to make fall outfits more interesting, begin with the clothes you already enjoy wearing.

There is room for an emerald heart at dinner, or burgundy velvet on an afternoon when the most pressing engagement is buying bread. You can have a little fun getting dressed for the life you’re actually going out into.

These are my five contenders, ma chère. The heart has my attention.

1. A Heart Brooch to Wear on a Sweater or Jacket

The Ettika Emerald Heart Pin has the slightly old-fashioned elegance I like in a brooch: a green heart, a little sparkle, and the possibility of making an ordinary sweater look as though you dressed for the occasion.

Fasten it to an ecru sweater for Thanksgiving and let the table borrow a little atmosphere from an imagined dinner at a country house in Burgundy. Settle into your chair with the green heart near your face, unfold your napkin, and give the person beside you your attention.

You can pass the Thanksgiving rolls while listening to a story that deserves to reach its conclusion.

For the next invitation, move it to a jacket lapel for a wedding or holiday party. There’s even room for it in a Halloween outfit if your costume calls for a conspicuous jewel. A heart this decorative should have a reasonably full social calendar.

“Emerald” refers to the color of the glass crystal; no one needs to summon the family jeweler. If a delicate knit droops or pulls under the pin, try a firmer jacket lapel.

Find your emerald heart brooch.

2. A Wool-Cashmere Sweater With Laced Sleeves

There is something appealing about an ecru sweater with a faintly rebellious sleeve. The color looks perfectly composed; then you notice the lacing and frayed edges.

The Zadig & Voltaire Malty Wool & Cashmere Round Neck Sweater would be lovely with black tailored trousers or dark jeans. The listed blend is 90% wool and 10% cashmere.

For lunch at a café, take off your coat and settle opposite a friend as though this were your usual corner table in Saint-Germain, where nobody expects you to hurry.

Those slightly unruly sleeves can fall around your wrists as you reach for your café crème, lending a little extravagance to a conversation that may chiefly concern somebody’s appalling behavior. A quiet “mais vraiment?” seems appropriate.

Order another coffee if the story warrants it. I’d look forward to wearing a knit like this for a lunch that lasts longer than either of us intended.

3. Burgundy Velvet Loafers to Wear With Jeans or Trousers

Burgundy velvet is a delicious thing to find beneath the hem of an otherwise familiar outfit. It has a richness that makes dark jeans or black trousers look a little more dressed.

The Birdies Starling 20 Loafers bring that color and texture together. I’d keep the sweater simple and let the burgundy velvet show beneath black trousers.

I have very little patience for beautiful loafers that cause blisters. Non, merci. I would like to admire the shoes while walking normally in them.

Once the fit is right, wear them on a dry afternoon and borrow the anticipation of a matinee at the Palais Garnier. Walk from the car with a little burgundy showing beneath your trousers, imagining you have an excellent seat waiting for you.

Your actual destination can be the local bakery: go inside, choose a baguette, and take your time over the pastry counter. A pastry would make very agreeable refreshments for your imaginary interval.

4. A Suede Belt to Give a Loose Outfit More Shape

With straight-leg jeans and a loose, fine-knit sweater, fasten a belt over the untucked sweater at the waist. Let the knit fall with a little ease above it, keeping the buckle visible. You can keep the sweater loose through the sleeves and shoulders while giving the waist a little definition.

The Free People Cannon Suede Belt interests me for the suede texture and a buckle worth showing. Over a pale knit, the suede and buckle would be easy to appreciate.

At a listed 2.6 inches wide, this is a belt I’d wear over the knit. Check the size chart for where you’ll fasten it, allowing for the sweater underneath.

5. A Small Leather Bag for Your Everyday Essentials

A small, neatly shaped bag can be particularly satisfying in coat weather. Your sweater disappears beneath the coat, while the bag stays at your side, part of the outfit you get to take out into the afternoon.

The MAISON de SABRÉ Leather Mini Saddle Bag appeals to me for its tailored shape and substantial-looking strap. The listing describes full-grain leather with a detachable, adjustable jacquard strap, which would add a detail of its own against a simple coat.

Check that your phone and wallet fit, with room to retrieve your keys without dismantling the contents at your front door.

Adjust the strap over your coat for a visit to a bookshop. Let your local shop stand in for a little librairie in the Latin Quarter, where you have come to find interesting company for the afternoon.

The bag can stay at your side while you read a first page, put the book back, and try another. You’re allowed to be quite particular about who gets to come home with you.

Choose the Detail You’ll Enjoy Wearing

What would you be pleased to put on tomorrow? That’s where I would begin.

My eye keeps returning to the emerald heart pin. I can picture fastening it to a sweater for Thanksgiving, then moving it to a jacket for the next holiday invitation.

Your favorite may be the velvet, or that sweater with sleeves worth noticing. Let your own taste have some authority, ma chère. You live in these clothes, and the pleasure of wearing them is a perfectly good reason to choose them.

For more ways to feel gorgeous in clothes you can actually live in, try the Vamp Romantic outfit formula. For help putting your wardrobe together, you can also build dependable outfit combinations.

With beautiful clothes and no further justification,
The Glamtorious Mrs.