Fall is my favorite time of year. Not only are the leaves the most magnificent colors of any season, the palette of my fall fashion wardrobe has limitless potential. Only in autumn can I get away with wearing the most provocative colors of sunset: deep burnt oranges, canary yellows, and reds that will make your mouth water more than a Chile pepper ever could. I’m not the only one with a thing for fall fashion. Peruse any fashion magazine and you’ll see that industry leaders feel the same way. Sadly for them (and more so their readers), they think fall fashion comes with a mandatory price tag in the triple to quadruple digits. If you are penny pincher like me, fear not – it’s easier and cheaper than you might think to strut down a leaf-strewn sidewalk wearing a fall fashion ensemble fit for the runways.
The first suggestion I have is to hit your closet. Look at all the clothes you have – do not discriminate by season. You’re looking at color. If you have any Earth-tone tanks that you normally save for the summer months, add them to your fall fashion pile. You can pair these with an autumn-colored sweater or jacket. There’s no need to keep them imprisoned all year waiting for only the hot months! Now remember – don’t leave out possibilities from any season. Look at your heaviest winter sweaters and pants. A pair of wool slacks might be something you normally hold onto for those chilliest of winter nights, but wouldn’t you have more fun in them if they were transformed into a knee-length skirt for fall? You can easily make any pair of pants a skirt by cutting them up the inner leg on either side and sewing the cut sides together. This doesn’t require a special pattern, sewing machine, or much money. You’ll just need some thread (we’re talking under $5 here, and less if you can find some at home) – that beats buying a skirt!
Jackets are a must-have in the fall. Don’t even both looking in the trendy shops though. There is no reason to pay top-dollar for something that you can find for the cost of a cup of coffee. Now, thrift shops may seem like an obvious place to look for cheap fall fashion articles of clothing, but you may not have considered looking in the best “department.” Fall is all about getting away with wearing ugly colors, and who knows ugly more than old men? That may sound harsh, but in your fashion-savvy heart you know it to be true. So, while your friends might rack up their credit card debt buying rusty-colored corduroy jackets, you can find the same thing for a fraction of the price. If it’s not girly enough for you, add some shinny buttons or vintage pins (my favorites are the faux-diamond, gaudy brooches from the fifties).
Finally, we come to shoes. This is not any easy thing to come by cheap. For one, nobody wants to wear used shoes, no matter how cute they are. And shoes are not the easiest thing to make yourself, unless you’re a professional or know how to bribe one. So that leaves us with few choices. My suggestion: Target, of course! Buy cheap and decorate as needed. Everyone always seems to forget to accessorize their shoes, but if you want to be fashion forward and remain within your budget, adorning cheap boring shoes is your best bet. Scared? Do you think I’m talking about bows? I’m not, I assure you. There are amazing accessories for your shoes out there if you look beyond the obvious. While I honestly love attaching one oversized button in a bold color to one shoe with super glue, I have also found that adding scrapbooking trinkets will really turn some heads. Thanks to this new fad, everything now comes in miniature. We’re talking tea cups, animals, and even purses (cheesy, yes, but how could to have a purse icon on your shoe that matches the one you’re carrying). And scrapbooking supplies, luckily, are not limited to “cute” items. One of my best fall fashion statements was to add a silver banner strip to the back of a pair of shoes. Wanna know what it says? It had a Harley Davidson logo and the phrase “Born to Be Wild.” I super glued it to the back of a pair of black boots (which I only paid $9.99 for at Target – thank God for the clearance section). Needless to say, the girls gave me compliments and the boys were intrigued.
So, as you can see, fall fashion does not need to cost you much, if anything at all. Just stretch your creativity and look in places you haven’t before. Real fall fashion is not limited to fashion magazines and trendy stores.
