Edited by Madison Challis; written by Jessica Hough
As we enter November, the crisp, cold air foreshadows the winter to come and waves goodbye to the haze of leaves still falling from the trees. Yes, the colder seasons are well and truly upon us, but what clothes are upon us? What are we wearing? How are we styling our clothes? And what is trending?
Autumn fashion often stands out in our heads more than any other season. Or at least it does in mine. This transitional golden season is revered by many for its inherent glow of warm tones and its excuse to start layering, giving us a reason to re-watch Gilmore Girls and take long walks wrapped up with a warm drink safely in hand. Whether it’s pumpkin spice that delights you or the excuse for a fun fright, the spooky season captures a lot of hearts. It's an exciting time for fashion, and this year's autumn trends can help us predict what winter has in store.
This autumn saw the continuation of the dominance of the trusted trench coat, both worn on and off the runway. This year, the trench coat has been widely adorned, pushing aside its competitors, the fur, the leather, and the Afghan coat, as this season's most popular choice. The traditional beige or tan coat has been the most popular as usual, but we have seen a shift towards the charcoal grey option. This represents a growing popularity for the latter colour while also representing the popularity of the tan trench, as everyone is now buying a second in a different colour. The trench, while being multifaceted in styling options, seems to be most frequently paired with jeans and a plain knit under. It has marked a move away from eccentric fleeting choices and steps towards simpler paired-down investment items. A style Vogue has labelled ‘plain-speaking chic’. With the start of the academic calendar, we have also seen students living out their dark academia fantasy by strutting around campus with a black trench, a book in hand, and a mysterious expression. The trench can be worn by anyone and will easily carry on over to winter, but as it gets colder, we can expect to see a thicker jacket being worn. Obviously, the trusted puffer jackets will be pulled out, but I also predict to see short-cut thick charcoal grey wool jackets worn as statement pieces and warm jackets that resemble the triangular effect of the poncho but with arms. Both of these pieces capture the spirit of the trench but have that extra warmth needed in winter.
It won't be a great shock to anyone that knitwear is very much in. After all it is no great secret that knitted jumpers are a long-standing essential in any autumn or winter wardrobe. The cable knit jumper is a traditional staple of this time of year, and it joins the trench coat in this move towards simple chic. Apart from the cable knit, we have seen that this year especially there are a lot of fluffy mohair sweaters. Fluffy and comfortable are n! More than anything, the crafting culture is in full form this year and with plenty of information easy to access on Tik Tok and yarn being cheaper than high-end knitwear, people have been picking up their knitting needles and crochet hooks to create their own jumpers, sweater vests, hats, gloves, and scarves.
Speaking of scarves, most notably the oversized colourful Acne scarf, which had previously reigned supreme in the scarf conversation, is slipping out of the trend cycle and is being replaced by the era of the skinny scarf. This and the balaclava we saw last year, we can expect to see a lot more off as the winter months settle in. Both items are much easier to make yourself, making them more accessible, cheaper, and more fun to create. More autumn accessories that will stay around during winter will be the Bottega drop earrings that have dupes everywhere, the large statement lace scrunchies from Good Squish, and the bow details attached to bags and into hair.
Autumn is a season defined by its range of golden and warm tonal colours hazed across the trees and on the pavement. So it makes sense that fashion reflects what we see. Cherry red and burgundy dominated the runway shows we saw. Pops of red in accessories such as bags, scarves, and hats are easy ways to incorporate red into any outfit. Or for our footwear, with cherry red mary jeans jumping off the Pinterest board and onto our feet and burgundy boots being popular. As previously mentioned, charcoal grey is giving red a big challenge as the number one trending colour so it deserves an honourable mention. We have seen a lot of boat-neck charcoal grey jumpers that pair well with a red bag! The great thing about red is how well it carries over to winter easily, as it compliments the holiday season. I expect to see an influx of red plaids against a lovely snowy backdrop.
Image courtesy of Refinery
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