After yesterday’s post on the transitional piece, Nicole and I have one more fall favourite to tackle: the cool weather accessory. And here, truly, the possibilities are endless. Fall is all about accessories; the temperature is cold enough to justify everything from tights to hats to gloves, but not so cold that style has to completely cede way to practicality. (Rarely do the two meet, at least in my neck of the north.)

For me, though, it’s all about the scarf. I’m not someone who is instinctively drawn to them; I don’t like feeling all bundled up around the neck, but … I love what they bring to an outfit. Namely, colour.

This should not come as a surprise. I’m a colour addict. As much as I have been working on classing up my sartorial predilections (fewer obnoxiously loud prints, for starters), colour is one thing I just can’t quit. The brighter, the better. Scarves offer an easy way to inject a dash of colour into any outfit. What colour? I usually take one of two approaches: pick an accent colour in the same family, or a contrasting one.

Here’s a casual outfit that illustrates the first approach. Yes, it’s the same outfit as yesterday. Yes, I’m that lazy. It’s a cute outfit. Don’t hate me.

And here is a work outfit that illustrates the second approach.

Bright orange and teal are an audacious pairing, but the two neutrals in the mix (black and white) make it look less absurd. I think the kids call this colour-blocking.

When it comes to picking fall scarves, I usually go for lightweight, smooth cotton fabrics and generous yardage – basically, my ideal scarf is one of those fake pashmina thingies you can find in a dozen stores at every mall for under $20. The extra length allows for creative tying techniques (on which, um, I’m still working), and the extra width brings the coziness factor. That type of fabric is also easy to dress up or down, so it can pull double duty at the office and after hours.

What is Nicole’s pick for a cool weather accessory? Click over here to find out. And thanks for checking out our little series – hope you enjoyed it, and maybe picked up some inspiration for your fall style.

Yesterday, Nicole and I showed you our individual takes on the lightweight fall jacket. Today, it’s time for another fall favourite: the transitional piece. The possibilities are endless considerable, but it all comes down to dresses for me. I love and wear dresses a lot, and I always try to stretch our their “season” as long as possible. For this post, I chose a dress that is a true wardrobe workhorse: my colourful shirt dress.

Yes, it’s loud. And it’s pretty memorable. You probably can’t wear it (or something like it) every day without people eventually immediately noticing. But you can still wear it often, for different occasions, and – yes – different seasons. It’s very easy to dress up, or down, and even easier to accessorize. Here is how I wore it this summer:

And this is how I would wear it to work, now, with temperatures still relatively mild. (Obviously, a shirt dress won’t be work-appropriate in very conservative offices, but it can pass muster everywhere else.) A solid-colour cardigan adds warmth and, in this case, helps to “tone down” the colourful print. I chose flats over heels, because the dress is about an inch or so too short for heels (based on my office and my personal comfort level).

Come October (or November, if you don’t live in the frozen north like me), it will be time to turn up the layering another notch – throw on a sweater, tights, and a scarf, and you’ve got a hella cute date night outfit. (I wouldn’t wear this to work because, with the addition of the sweater, the dress rides up a few crucial inches. Even with tights added into the mix, it would still be on the short side for me.)

Now, I’m not going to tell you that you can wear a cotton dress all year round. Not if you live in a city whose motto might as well be “Winter is coming. Very soon. Oh look, it’s here.” But you can get a lot of wear out of a cute summer dress even after the geese fly south.

Curious to see Nicole’s take on the transitional piece? Well, head on over to her blog right now! And don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the last post in our series. Here’s a hint: it’s all about the details.

The fashion industry loves fall. So many new things to sell! So many must-have items, so many must-buy lists. Rather than hit you with our highly curated highlights of the J. Crew catalog, Nicole and I wanted to do something a little bit different. We decided to take 3 perennial “fall favourites”, and show you how we each put our own spin on them.

If you’re not already familiar with Nicole’s blog, then you need to get clicking right now, since you’re missing out not only on some seriously adorable, vintage-inspired style, but also on some engaging, intelligent discussion of feminist issues. #fangirl4life I am forever impressed with Nicole’s poise, and her passion for social activism (not to mention her awesome skirt collection) – and even more so when I remember that she’s a whole decade younger than me. My 24-year old self is retroactively embarrassed for being a complete slacker by comparison.

I thought it would be fun if Nicole and I collaborated on a post, because both our styles and lifestyles are so different. I live in Antarctica Edmonton; she lives in sunny Austin. I am an ancient with two kids; she’s … not. We both work, but in very different fields, with very different dress codes. Variety, we got it. Ever wondered how those perennial fall favourites can be interpreted to suit different life/style needs? We’re here to help.

The first key piece we decided to tackle was the “fall jacket”. With that generic starting point in mind, my thoughts immediately flew to the trench. It doesn’t get more classic than that, right? Well … the thing is, a trench doesn’t really lend itself to creative-but-practical styling. (I’m not about to tell you to wear it as a skirt, or a scarf, or whatever.) You put it on, the end. Also, I hate my current trench, and I’m not putting it on the blog again unless I absolutely must.

Next, I thought about my field jacket. I love my field jacket. I wore it all spring long, and will happily wear it again this fall. Except that, now that I’m back at work, I can only wear it on weekends. It’s no longer as versatile for my lifestyle as it was during my mat leave.

Which brought me, finally, to my tweed jacket. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get a ton of use out of it when I bought it, but it’s been a pleasant surprise in that regard. It goes with everything. Dresses. Skirts. Pants. Speaking of which, here’s how I would wear it to work:

And here is how I’d wear it on the weekend:

You will be seeing a lot more of this jacket as I dive back into the corporate world this fall.

Come back tomorrow to see how I would style another key piece for fall, and don’t forget to check out Nicole’s take on the fall jacket.