Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article

Fashion Blog: Transitioning to Fall

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.

As summer comes to a close and you get ready to head back to school, it’s time to think about your wardrobe for the new school year, which means transitioning your wardrobe from summer to fall. Below are four trends that I think are perfect to help you transition from summer to fall, while still looking fashionable and stylish at the same time.

Plaid or Chambray Shirt– I have always been a big fan of plaid and chambray shirts, as a casual look for day and an easy way to take on menswear. You can find great plaid shirts at Urban Outfitters and chambray shirts at J.Crew, and each year before school, I stock up on a few of them As the summer months come to a close, you can wear these shirts with various types of shorts or a cotton skirt to beat the heat and still look stylish (I typically avoid jean shorts with plaid shirts to avoid looking like I’m going to barn dance. If you want to wear jean shorts with a chambray shirt, make sure the shorts are made of dark denim). Make these shirts work for fall by adding tall boots, jeans, and a cardigan. The plaid shirt below is from Urban Outfitters and the chambray shirt is from J. Crew.

Floral Dress– I am a huge fan of sundresses for every season. Some people joke that I live in dresses, but what’s not to love about them? For summer, wear a floral dress alone or throw on a jean jacket and sandals for a cute and easy outfit. Make this feminine dress work for fall by adding tights, boots, and some sort of jacket. I’m currently loving floral dresses with leather jackets, as an easy way to toughen up this feminine staple. Florals and other types of abstract patterns are also very big for fall, making this transitional piece the perfect easy, stylish, must-have option for back to school.  The floral dress below is from Urban Outfitters.

Army Inspired Jackets– Ever since purchasing my own army-inspired jacket in Rome last spring, I have been completely in love with the trend. It’s so easy to throw on and instantly brings a cool, stylish element to every outfit. I was inspired to purchase my own army jacket, after seeing my roommate Chloe wear hers all around Europe last semester. Chloe did a great job of incorporating the jacket into her outfits with feminine pieces and she always looked great whenever she was wearing it. Since it was warmer in Rome, Chloe typically wore her jacket with pieces I would pair with summer-skirts, flowy tops, dresses and jean shorts. For fall, you can wear the jacket with jeans, but avoid too heavy or masculine pieces, such as really heavy boots, while wearing it.

Chloe in her military-inspired jacket.

 
Scarves-Like most girls, I absolutely love scarves. However, before I went abroad I typically though of scarves as a winter accessory. Not the case. The women of Europe showed me how great scarves can look in any season (including summer) and I have been incorporating them more frequently into my outfits ever since. For summer, pick a scarf in a lightweight material to dress up your favorite sundress or pair of cutoff shorts. For fall, pick a scarf in a heavier material to protect you from the cold and keep you looking fabulous at the same time. The two scarves on the left are perfect for summer and the scarves on the right are perfect for fall. All scarves below are from Asos.com.

 

Emily Cleary is a 22-year-old news-editorial journalism major hoping to work in the fashion industry, whether that be in editorial, marketing, PR or event planning is TBD. With internships at Teen Vogue and StyleChicago.com, it's clear that she is a fashion fanatic. When she's not studying (she's the former VP of her sorority, Delta Delta Delta), writing for various publications or attending meetings for clubs like Business Careers in Entertainment Club, Society of Professional Journalists, The Business of Fashion Club, or for her role as the Assistant Editor of the Arts & Entertainment section of her school's magazine, she's doing something else; you will never find her sitting still. She loves: running (you know those crazy cross-country runners...), attending concerts and music festivals, shopping (of course), hanging out with friends, visiting her family at home, traveling (she studied abroad in London when she was able to travel all over Europe), taking pictures, tweeting, reading stacks and stacks of magazines and newspapers while drinking a Starbuck's caramel light frappacino, blogs and the occasional blogging, eating anything chocolate and conjuring up her next big project. Living just 20 minutes outside of Chicago, she's excited to live there after graduation, but would love to spend some time in New York, LA, London or Paris (she speaks French)!