a (faux) fall capsule wardrobe for moms
This week, I hopped on Instagram to have you help me decide what to publish! It was neck and neck for a while, but in the end, you wanted to know what’s in my faux fall capsule wardrobe.
I wish the weather was cooling off but there’s no sign of that happening for another few weeks, which means we have no choice but to channel autumn while being practical.
As much as I enjoyed my summer wardrobe staples, I couldn’t shake the desire to switch things up a bit!
I leaned into texture, color, and pattern to make it feel fall-like and honestly, I’m excited to put these pieces together!
I have a lot of clothes in limbo1 at the moment—I tell you this so you know that there are more than 29 items in my dresser and closet. I’m honing my minimalism skills again after a six-year hiatus, so I’m giving myself tons of space to find what works for me. For now, that means keeping dresses I probably won’t wear handy, just in case.
Here’s a look at my curated closet for a California Autumn, which includes:
12 tops
2 dresses
7 bottoms
2 jackets
6 shoes
I’m relying heavily on color and texture to bring the fall vibes. I stuck with shades of brown because it’s the color I want to wear most right now, and added pops of pale yellow and denim blue for a little variety.
I added waffled, quilted, and knit pieces to bring in the cozy textures of autumn.
The end result is a capsule that’s earthy and relaxed—I couldn’t be happier with it!
tees + sweaters
I included three sleeveless tops purely based on the tanks I reached for most in the summer and I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed they were each a different texture!
I added my trusty linen button-up shirt as well as a sweater top to my short-sleeved picks to balance out the t-shirts. I live in tees, so I added this yellow one to my cart to round out the Dead Leaves color story I’m going for.
Last but not least: the long sleeves. I again just picked my favorites, like the striped and waffle tees I couldn’t stop wearing last winter. This year’s addition to my sweater collection is a roll-neck one that is the perfect weight for layering. I’d had a creamy white sweater on my wish list for years and I finally found one!
dresses + skirts
I picked two dresses and one skirt for this capsule.
Gingham in the fall is like florals in spring. My gingham skirt was a bit of an online impulse purchase last year and it took some effort to find how I like to wear it. It turned out to be my go-to skirt this summer and I know I’ll wear it tons through the rest of fall.
I added two new dresses to my wardrobe in the last couple of months; a denim puff-sleeve smock and a linen maxi dress. My struggle with dresses is they feel too dressed up for my life of caring for three kids.
The maxi dress was an Amazon-return-turned-browsing-the-clearance-rack find and the only thing that’s wrong with it is that it’s white, so I can’t wear it to the weddings I have coming up!
But I’m obsessed with the skirt of this dress. It’s not tiered, which is hard to find these days, and it has a beautiful fullness and drape to it that makes me want to make a skirt.
Yes, like sew one. Even though I have never done that!
I couldn’t find the exact dress I bought when sourcing photos for my graphic, but that led me to this sweet maxi dress—I’m seriously considering getting in black for the aforementioned weddings.
pants + shorts
Ah, my bread and butter of clothes.
shorts
I have to admit that I have three denim shorts in constant rotation but I couldn’t bring myself to show three pairs of denim shorts in the graphic!
At the risk of referencing The Devil Wears Prada again, they are so different. One is a pull-on short (pictured above), one is a slightly baggy, rolled cuff mom short, and the third is a snug fit, classic jean short.
My other picks were my pale yellow and beige linen shorts. The yellow shorts from Zara aren’t holding up well (not surprising) so I’m on the lookout for higher quality ones. I may even try to dye an old pair of white shorts.
Look at me being so crafty!
pants
There was no way I could pull a capsule together without including my wide-leg linen pants. They are constantly sold out and I’m worried that this exact style won’t be coming back, so if you have a favorite wide-leg linen pant, drop it in the comments, please!
denim
I may be a denim girly, but I refuse to wear jeans when it’s 90 degrees out. While I wait for the weather to cool off, I’ll be rotating between my dark-wash straight-leg jeans and my medium-wash wide-leg denim.
shoes
The shoes that get the most wear these days are slip-ons. They strike the balance of being practical (being able to throw them quickly on as we head out the door) and stylish.
While I don’t think slide sandals are very autumnal, they are a part of my rotation right now. My Birkenstock sandals have been a closet staple since I got them, and I’m looking forward to wearing my Birkenstock Boston clogs with socks to channel more cozy vibes.
I thought having two pairs of clogs would be too many, but the fact that they’re made of different materials and drastically different colors has turned out to be handy!
The J. Crew sneakers my friend sent me a few years ago are some of the most comfortable shoes I own! I recently ran them through the wash and they came out like new. The high-top sneakers I have aren’t sold anymore, but these ones are going on my shortlist for this year.3
I own a pair of Chelsea boots I like, but I’d like to find some that feel a little more casual, preferably with a rubber sole. I haven’t decided if I want to take the plunge and get some Blundstones yet, but these caught my eye as something in between Blundstones and the boots I have.
I’m also considering getting some lug sole loafers to wear with more casual outfits, but those are more of a nice-to-have than a true closet gap.
I realize I have a lot of shoes for someone who parades herself around as a minimalist.
For me, shoes are the accessories I play with the most. I don’t buy lots of jewelry or sunglasses—I wear the same glasses and earrings until they break or I lose them, so shoes are my way of taking an outfit I’ve worn before and making it just new enough that I don’t get bored.
There we go! The 29 pieces that make up the core of my faux fall wardrobe.
Thank you for voting on what you wanted to read this week! Please, please, please leave any questions or topic requests in the comments!
And tell me which colors help you channel autumn in your wardrobe. I like to refer to my favorite fall colors as the colors of dying or dead leaves because I think it’s funny.
links
Many of my clothes are years old, but I’ve done my best to link the most similar items I could find. It should go without saying, but there is no pressure to buy anything. 27 of the 29 items in this capsule are things I already own, so I encourage you to shop your closet! If you are shopping, I hope you consider supporting my work by using my links!
