Looking for Fall: 2018 Outfit Inspirations

I know it's not quite Fall.  In fact, it's quite hot outdoors at the moment with a dry hot breeze and thunder sounding.   The lawn is looking very 'end of year'-ish and while leaves are drifting off the trees as though it were autumn, it's misery out there.  Great for drying clothes, not so much for putting on sweaters and ankle boots!

However, someone (Mable?  Perhaps...I can't find the comment and it might well have been someone else), someone asked me specifically about posting outfits.    And you (whoever you are wave so we can see you note: it was Marian who nicely messaged me a reminder. ) said you'd put together an outfit with black and white and grabbed an orange purse to go with it.  You said you felt like you were showing off for Halloween much too soon.  Personally I think orange is a great color to accent black and white but just for future reference look at some of these combinations...Now the photos may look a bit odd.  That's because they are not mine and I have cropped them to insure the privacy of whomever they do belong to.

Do you see how all of these colors work with black and white?  Because you're pairing two neutrals you can use just about any color you'd like with that outfit!   It's extremely versatile and with just a switch of shoes or cardigan or purse you can have a whole new look in a matter of seconds.

Red or orange is a classic with black and white, so I think you did well.  Of the above photos,  I am especially liking that yellow sweater with the bright Kelly green necklace and shoes.  That one just wows me.  The coral jacket works incredibly well because she chose to accessorize with the red purse.  Using a black or white purse would have seemed a little too match-y, but staying on that same side of the color wheel and picking the color next to orange works very well.  The outfit immediately above uses a royal blue.  She went with a royal blue slacks which I think is a bit much since the purse and necklace are already that color but it's a nice combination just the same.   

So maybe you do grab your orange purse but look in your drawer and choose a necklace or bangle in a coordinating pop of color, or wear colorful shoes or a sweater to add a second pop of color to bring that outfit up a notch.  I'm definitely taking note of these things because I happen to have a black and white print top in my wardrobe and while it's nice for summer, I'd love to get more mileage from it and wear it through the cooler months as well.  She might have chosen white slacks or black slacks just as well.

I was asked to share my fall outfits and I've tried...Because I can only find time to do this most days either very early or very late and the lighting in my room doesn't work at all well with the colors I'm trying to share, they will not photograph well.  As I get frustrated with the photos,  inspiration flees fast away.  So I thought I'd share one or three outfits I'd found on Pinterest and tell you why they inspired me and how I'll use them with what I have in the closet.   Again the photos may look a bit odd, because I've cropped them.  They are not my photos and I don't want to use items I can't credit properly especially if they might have been private at one time.  I'm almost certain all three of the photos below came from a plus sized blog, but I couldn't find a link at the time I was typing this up.

I have a taupe cardigan, blue jeans and white t-shirt.  The addition of the scarf and dark leather purse (strap over her shoulder) brings the outfit together.  I can pull off something similar to this look quite easily.

When I'm looking for inspiration I never allow  the pieces to blind me to how it might work for me.  I generally look for inspiration in how color is used. 

 I do not have a mustard blazer.  What I do have is a mustard shirt and a teal cardigan.  This is a color combination I hadn't thought to use before.  I like it a lot!  Note that she has paired these colors with blue jeans.  I think leopard flats or tennis shoes would look awesome with these colors.  I cannot find a single leopard shoe that looks comfortable and  comes in my size.  Just as well since I'm on a sort of spending freeze, sigh.

I hadn't thought of pairing the berry with the mustard shirt, but I got that idea looking at this gold sweater.  Isn't that another pretty combination?  I'm pretty sure  that berry would pair just as well with the teal shirt or cardigan I have in my closet and I have a scarf somewhere in my closet that has that berry color in it, as well as a pretty pair of drop earrings.   I even have a cranberry colored pair of flats that I could pair with an outfit that incorporated either mustard or teal. Ah!  This opens several possibilities for combinations of apparel from my closet.

And last, I have a pale yellow shirt with a white gauze inset in the back.  I didn't wear it all summer long because I was worried about it raining and showing off everything underneath.  But for the Fall of the year I can wear a camisole under and  I could easily top that shirt with my jeans jacket and wear my white jeans with it.  I think if I use my tiger eye necklace with it, I'd have a very nice looking combination.  It could also go well with brown pants, even with the jeans jacket and again, leopard shoes would look awesome but alas on those.

Now here's one more inspiration for  a black and white outfit that I stumbled upon as I was looking at the above photos.  I hadn't thought of this combination at all, but it's so pretty!

Not at all typical combination of colors but it really works well together I think.  

I hope you find these photos helpful.   I urge you to consider the contents of your own closet,  then go look for inspiration photos that will help you stretch that wardrobe right into fall.  You can use Pinterest, a store site or any source at all.  You don't even have to look at clothes!  One of the prettiest combinations I've seen this week was a photo of a table setting that combined colors I'd never imagined putting together for autumn: a medium blue with copper and amber.  Even dishes can translate into wardrobe pieces if you happen to have those colors in your wardrobe.

Now I happen to have a blue shirt, brown pants, copper earrings...I think those would pair nicely into an outfit.  Even denim or chambray might replace the blue and be paired with copper...More ideas!!

Have fun.  Do the unexpected.  You'll stand out in the nicest way possible.  And I promise, as I do come up with some combinations for fall and a lovely sunny day so I can photograph them, I will share a few of my outfits for the season.