Fall Preperation

…and clean your room! (Just kidding)

First things first – In order to make room for fall/winter clothing, we have to put away our summer clothes (if you’re lucky enough to own this many clothes – if you’re like me, you rotate / get rid of your clothes so often that making room in the wardrobe is not a problem). Note: this is a great time to purge your wardrobe.

It’s actually quite simple to store old clothes – skip the vacuum-sealed bags and mothballs. Removing all the air from the container can cause clothes to dry out – becoming brittle and rough. And we’ve all smelled mothballs before – just gross.

To properly store your clothes, it’s simple: 1) thoroughly wash and dry everything, 2) store them in plastic containers and bins, 3) toss in cedar blocks and chips to keep bugs and pests away, and 4) add in a few dryer sheets to each bin for freshness. Store the bins away from sunlight (causes fading) and humidity (attributes to mildew growth).

For more tips on storing your clothes, check out these links.

One of my favorite things about the fall are the colors that represent it. The last few months we pushed brightening up the color palette in your wardrobe, and now it’s time to start shifting in the other direction. The colors that you start seeing out in nature (the greens, reds, oranges, etc.) are what you should mimic in your wardrobe. Or above you’ll see this year’s popular fall colors in fashion.

As your colors get a little darker, this doesn’t mean there isn’t room to be bold still. Colored pants are still in play, and something like Bonobos Travel Jeans are a great option with a neutral colored shirt up top.

While we plan on doing a bigger newsletter on this topic, we figured we’d just quickly highlight a few key items that you should think about adding to your wardrobe this fall…

A puffer vest is a great alternative to a coat/jacket as it gets cooler and deeper into fall. And given the right vest, it looks great when layered with other items like henleys or sweatshirts.

Speaking of sweatshirts, add a crewneck sweatshirt to your list as well. You can’t go wrong with a solid grey sweatshirt. It’s a no brainer item to throw on when you’re pressed for time and in a hurry.

Last item we’ll mention is joggers. It’s an item that’s very laid back and comfortable, yet something that looks good when you’re just lounging around watching a football game with friends. Throw on some sneakers and pair those joggers with the aforementioned items above, and you might be onto something.

Shoes are another major area of adjustment to be made when the temperature drops. When we’re coasting with temps in the 40s, 50s, and low 60s our footwear has to be adjusted to accommodate for the change in weather. It’s time to put away the canvas and lightweight shoes. In the fall, leather should be your go-to shoe material. This is also the time to start picking shoes with darker fall colors as well. I own and love the brown leather pair pictured below – I love to wear them with heavier-weighted, cuffed selvedge jeans.

This is also the time when you want to start choosing “bulkier” shoes and boots to pair with heavier jeans and sweaters. Something to keep in mind when dressing, you want to pay attention to coordinating the weights of your clothing as well. Chunkier sneaks like Adidas Superstars (“shell toes”) or Air Force Ones pair better with heftier jean weights. It’s the same with other chunkier heeled casual shoes like suede oxfords. I think it’s safe to say that this is fairly obvious for boots.