This past Wednesday, September 22, marked the astronomical start of fall, which means it’s time to consider the seasonal change in your wardrobe, too. As the weather cools, I always find there is an awkward moment when your closet has remnants of summer weights and colors, with heavier clothing often out of reach or still put away from the end of last winter. Now is the time to take stock of previous seasons, considering what you want to carry forward into the new season, what you have already purchased, and what you intend to purchase for the new season. This leaves the items you need to replace or renew. Hopefully you’re thinking ahead! With a little bit of planning and help from your Stylist, you can be ready for the cool-down, looking great and feeling good in your fall/winter wardrobe.
New fall palette
Rearranging your wardrobe to get ready for the season doesn’t necessarily mean a complete overhaul—I hope a full Marie Kondo-style wardrobe intervention isn’t necessary! But a few simple minutes spent repositioning things within your closet are well worth the time, and will help you to put everything you need for great outfits within easy reach for fall and winter.
Let’s start with short sleeves—in particular, knits. The long-sleeve knit season has already started in many parts of the country, so put the short sleeves away and add the long-sleeve version of knits in wools and interlock. I’m showing a lot of knit styles in our fall looks, and I like to see the sleeve hem peeking out from under a sportscoat in much the same way as the cuff of a woven dress shirt. Knits make a great modern update to a guy’s wardrobe, especially as the weather transitions between seasons. It’s an easy way to layer that adds a touch of in-the-know for the less traditionally minded. A polo option would be my go-to, with either a zip or one of our new collar options. Why not try the covered placket? It’s a great combination with a sportcoat because it looks clean and tidy, making it perfect for business.
Organizing your closet by color is a very easy way to stay stylish throughout the season. Wearing new fall colors is a nice way to acknowledge the new season without relying on the weight of your fabrics alone to define seasonality. The warmer golden tones of the Fall Collection can be found in shirting, suiting and again in knits. In particular, I relied on the rich burgundy to capture this fall mood, and it shows up across categories. I like the way the burgundy accents with browns and naturals, and it works really smartly with navy and grey. Burgundy also sits nicely with olive, which is a great foliage-inspired color for guys to work into a fall wardrobe. The darker greys are good go-tos this time of year as well, as they suggest an urban edge of city style. Grey in general is a great modern neutral to build back into your wardrobe, and with navy can be relied upon all the way through to next spring.
Pattern and color layering
I have always loved layering as an effortless way to give a man’s wardrobe a lot of style. Combining pieces and layering up not only gives a stronger look, with the play of colors, textures and styles working off each other, but can also offer a very practical way to adapt to changing weather. With a smart selection of key pieces, you can combine them in endless ways to create layered looks—starting with shirts and knits, layering a sweater-style knit over, and finishing with vests, sportcoats and outerwear. If you keep to a tight color palette, layering becomes even simpler. With tonal layers, you can rely less on color combos and focus more on the textures and qualities (such as shine and opacity) of your fabrics. A tone-on-tone approach can be a really stylish and easy way to layer up.
Tonal layering
I personally like to find interesting accents in a shirt or a sportcoat fabric to pick up on, and then add solid color layers that play off of those accents. This is a foolproof way to bring color to an outfit in a stylish way that most guys will look great in. Your Stylist can help you to discover what works for the way you want to look. We each respond differently to styling suggestions, and that is one of the best things about our custom-made clothing here at J.Hilburn: There is something for everyone if you know how to pull it together. The Key Looks section on jhilburn.com puts the season together for you, showing how the Fall Collection works perfectly to transition any man’s wardrobe into the new season.
