Seasonal bridging pieces: Summer to Autumn
September 5th, 2007Summer is “officially” over in the northern hemisphere, and with that comes cooler temperatures. Over the next set of posts I’m going to talk about Autumn bridging pieces. These are pieces that increase the ROI of items already in your closet, thereby making your transition from Summer wardrobe to Autumn wardrobe cost effective. In some instances you will have all of the pieces and it’s just a question of putting them together; in other instances you might need to purchase a piece or two.
Here are some of your options:
- Layering up an existing Summer ensemble with a cardigan, which is available in all shapes, sizes and stitch types and is far from boring or frumpy.
- Layering up a Summer dress can end up becoming the most versatile and interesting option in your wardrobe.
- Adding a vest (or “waistcoat”) is a particularly fashionable choice this season and a trendy twist on office wear.
- Re-inventing a Summer ensemble with the appropriate accessories like hose, tights, scarves, hats, handbags and closed shoes can add the perfect Autumn dimension.
We’ll discuss each of these in more detail over the next few days so that you can get the best bang for your fashion buck as temperatures begin to cool. Particularly if your fashion budget is tight, a thoughtful bridging strategy is the way to go.
Tell us about your own bridging strategies in the comments.
September 5th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Good post! I’d add: light jackets over summer shirts and blouses. I’ve really discovered jackets in the past few years and I’m really looking forward to autumn so I can start wearing them again.
September 5th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Any suggestions for thick tights? I want some opaque ribbed tights for my skirts, I usually buy HUE tights but they aren’t nearly opaque enough. I’m thinking something like this: http://soonlee.files.wordpress.....ibchic.jpg
Thanks!
September 5th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Thanks Angie, your posts are always right on time. I’ve just been thinking about how to transition all of my summer day dresses into fall outfits. Cardigans and shrugs seem like the way to go, but I’m not so sure about leggings or tights.
September 5th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Thanks Katherine. I thought long and hard about including jackets as bridging pieces, but decided not to because they make such statements on their own. We’ll be talking about jackets at nauseum this season because they are so very important for Autumn and Winter. I too adore jackets and they make up a large percentage of my wardrobe. Bring on the cooler weather!
September 5th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
I’ll be posting on tights shortly M. I have also found that HUE is not quite opaque enough. I prefer DKNY and buy them a size bigger and longer so that they are less see through on my legs.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t open the link that you sent?
September 5th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Noooo! I’m not recognizing summer as over until 9/23 when autumn officially begins on the calendar. Even so, I’ll likely be applying your tips and sweatering-up during the last throughs of summer. wahhhhh!
September 5th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I really like the look of a cropped vest over a tailored shirt (and wide-leg trousers…yesss!), but like everything else that goes on my top half, I’m not sure if I can pull it off w/ my large chest (I know it sounds like I’m bragging about this cause I always bring it up, but I’m not–I’d sell my soul for a pair of 32 B’s!).
September 6th, 2007 at 5:37 am
You can get opague ribbed solid tights at the supermarket these days! Leggs has both solid and patterned tights. If you’re like me, the more expensive the legwear, the more likely I am to put a hole in it the first day I wear it.
September 6th, 2007 at 7:31 am
Thanks for the info Fran and isn’t that the truth.
I haven’t seen the “leggs” brand for years…..hope that it resurfaces in my parts soon.
September 6th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
In Canada, you can get opaque tights in black, gray, and brown, ribbed or solid, at Real Canadian Superstore locations that have a Joe Fresh Style section. The website is joefreshstyle.com, but there is much more selection in stores.
September 6th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....=517778052
Try getting ribbed tights at the Gap m.
September 7th, 2007 at 6:00 am
thanks everyone! the gap ones look pretty nice.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:50 am
[…] This was the most popular bridging item that I saw people wearing when we lived in France. I was amazed at how the scarf (worn in the same […]