I know that fall is a far off thing, still, for many of you; in Alberta, fall is often a state of mind as much as a season – it’s not unknown to have a first snow in late September. But with school about to start around these parts, I’m gonna go ahead and talk about fall fashion inspo because, even 25 years later, my mental calendar still says “school = fall”.

I mentioned in a previous post that my fall avatar is the Historian. Here is a non-exhaustive list of ideas and “vibes” that are influencing my interpretation of the Historian for Fall 2022:

• Diana Bishop / A Discovery of Witches (of course)
• English countryside cottagecore (with a dash of Sloane Ranger)
• 90s Ralph Lauren (think Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy)
• Autumnal colours – burgundy, camel, brown, olive/chartreuse, black, darker blues, plum and dark purple
• Texture: velvet, corduroy, wool
• All the layering!

Silhouette-wise, I am mostly going to stick with my tried-and-true maxi and midi dresses and skirts, along with high-waisted cropped pants … but! … I am also going to experiment with 2 new things: (1) mini skirts, and (2) bootcut flares.

I have 2 specific mini skirts in mind, which I put away this summer (one thrifted, one from the clothing swap); both have a colour palette and style that perfectly line up with my fall aesthetic – plaid wools in darker colours. My plan is to wear then with very opaque tights and either heeled Oxford-style shoes or boots of some sort. I’m still working out the details.

As far as flares go, I don’t have anything answering that description in my closet … yet. I did have a pair of dark wash J Brand flared jeans, but ended up selling them (which I now regret, of course). I am planning to start looking for something similar at the thrifts – either jeans or corduroys. I want something that’s basically a bootcut with a modest amount of flare, not the 70s style ones. It’s not a cut I’ve seen a lot in thrift stores recently, so it remains to be seen if I am able to find something.

I’ve got a bunch of photos saved on my phone for inspiration so let’s have a look, shall we:

Have you started to think about your fall wardrobe and/or style? What is inspiring you these days?

Details: Pilcro tank top, Tahari shirt, H&M pants, Holt Renfrew belt, Rafael Alfandary necklace, Chelsea Crew shoes, Tommy Hilfiger bag (all thrifted)

Thoughts: This outfit was inspired by a photo from Ralph Lauren: In His Own Fashion and specifically an outfit that Papa Ralph himself wore. I really like how this layering formula (tank top under a shirt) works with these high-waisted, loose pants (which happen to be my most versatile pair of pants, hands down). It’s classic but it feels fresh too. I will definitely be experimenting with this “look” again.

Details: Anna Sui top (thrifted), Lucca Couture skirt (Poshmark), Suttles & Seawinds vest (thrifted), Esprit belt (thrifted), Rafael Alfandary necklace (secondhand)

Thoughts: I love this skirt so much, and really leaned into its cottagecore vibe with this outfit. The vest was a lucky thrift find; I love anything patchwork so, of course, it speaks to me. I think it’s a piece that will transition easily to fall.

Details: Erika dress (thrifted), Atlantic Pacific x Halogen skirt (Poshmark), vintage belt (thrifted), Barbara Barbieri shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: I call this “bubblegum princess”! This colour combo of turquoise, pink, and purple is what my childhood dreams were made of. I know it’s a bit over-the-top, but hey — one of the perks of WFH is that you can be as over-the-top as you like. I decided to add the tulle skirt under this dress because the dress, on its own, is a bit too short for my liking and its cut/style can feel a bit dowdy. The tulle makes it a lot more fun and funky, imo. The nice thing about dresses with buttons all down the front is that they can be worn closed, fully open, or somewhere in between, which creates lots of potential for layering (and, in turn, changing up the look of the dress).

Details: Re/Done tee (thrifted), Rachel Comey skirt (Poshmark), Anne Klein belt (thrifted), Barbara Barbieri shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: I haven’t worn a graphic tee in a while, so it seemed like a good time to fix that. Of course, I had to pick my favourite graphic tee to get back into the game. I’ve always said it goes with pretty much anything, and here is another example.

Details: Pilcro top, AG jeans, Cotton Ginny belt, Barbara Barbieri shoes (all thrifted), upcycled jacket from Prairie Trail Goods

Thoughts: I love pieces that I call “outfit makers” — you know, the kind that can instantly elevate an outfit, or make any old things look like, well, a thought-out outfit. This jacket is one of those pieces. Every time I wear it, I feel instantly great. And I get compliments too. It’s extra special because it was made by my friend, who used thrifted and upcycled materials for it.

Details: Farm Rio top (Poshmark), Max&Co skirt (thrifted), BR necklace (thrifted), Lena Bernard necklace (Poshmark), Barbara Barbieri shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: The colourful maximalist side of the Bohemian is not dead yet! Here is a bright, eclectic and fun outfit that feels very 2021 Adina, but in a way that speaks to my current sartorial self too. I love layering these 2 necklaces together (this is not the first, or last, time) and they are a go-to combination whenever I need jewelry that delivers a bright punch of colour. Because this top is so bright and colourful itself, it calls for a statement piece(s).

This summer was an interesting one for me, sartorially speaking. Sometime earlier, I became rather obsessed with Ralph Lauren, a designer that had never really been at the forefront of my fashion interests before. It took me a while to figure out why his work started to resonate with me all of a sudden; it wasn’t until I was perusing Ralph Lauren: In His Own Fashion that the answer came to me. Lauren is not an innovative designer the likes of Issey Miyake, for example. Rather, his genius lies in his ability to tell stories using clothes (and to design clothes that can vividly tell stories). As it happens, within the last few years, I have come to understand and view clothes as tools for story-telling in my own life. My use of the style avatars (which started in around 2018) was a first step down this path; with time, my approach has evolved, but the core practice remains the same. So I admire Lauren because he creates clothes for the same purpose that I wear them.

I also enjoy many of his aesthetic choices.

Over the last couple of years, the Adventurer avatar morphed into the Historian, with its witchy academia influences (thanks, A Discovery of Witches!) and, more recently – as I have been watching a lot of TV shows set in or featuring English countryside – a tweedy, country estate sort of vibe. Lauren’s runway collections offer a lot of inspiration in that respect, no surprise there.

His southwestern-inspired collections, on the other hand, were something of a slow burn. Initially, I thought I wasn’t interested because anything remotely cowboy-adjacent has never really been my bag. But then I had a closer look at the clothes and realized that there were many elements that spoke to me. The quilted/patchwork pieces. Prairie-style maxi dresses. Southwestern textiles and jewelry. [Ever since my trips to California and Arizona back in 2017 and 2018, I’ve wanted to see more and learn more about the American Southwest. For now, through books, but some day hopefully a big road trip.]

Anyway, as will have become obvious by now if you’re been following my recent posts, it was this aspect of Lauren’s aesthetic that became my main style influence this summer. For one thing, once the weather warmed up, a lot of the Historian outfits that I had been wearing became rather impractical. But this sort  southwesten-cottagecore-ish take on the Bohemian – which I’ve also called my “Jo-March-on-the-prairie” aesthetic – seemed well suited to the weather.

And that is what I have stuck with, by and large, all summer. Here and there, I sprinkled in some colour (reminiscent of the old colourful maximalist version of the Bohemian).

It’s probably the first time in a long time that my outfits have been so cohesive. That was not my goal or intent, by the way. It just happened that way; instead of feeling drawn to exploring different themes with my clothes, I experimented with the one. And I enjoyed it very much – much more than I might have expected given how close to a “uniform” this came to be. But I have to say that, coming to the end of August, I am very much looking forward to a change. I am excited to get back to the Historian, and all my lovely wools and plaids. A few of my summer pieces may end up being transitioned to fall, but I think most of them will be laid aside until next year.

Which makes me think that it might be time for my avatars to evolve into a seasonal pattern. Fall and spring are definitely Historian territory. Summer is Bohemian time (whether the old Colourful Maximalist version, or the recent Southwestern Cottagecore version). Which leaves me to wonder: what is winter going to be? Time will tell.