Fall Essentials

Fall dressing is three pieces, not one: a layer, a blouse, and a bottom. Get the layer right and the rest is easy — a gilet over a white shirt is a whole outfit, and it is the same shirt you already wear in summer.

Keep the outerwear light. A trench or a corduroy coat does everything a padded one does until it is genuinely cold, and it keeps the shape of what is underneath instead of hiding it. Texture is what makes it read as autumn — corduroy, wool, a thicker knit — not weight.

Stripes are the easiest top to own this season, and a striped long sleeve goes under a gilet, over jeans, and with a satin skirt without you thinking about it. If you want one thing that is not neutral, make it the blouse.

The six shades to buy in: burgundy, chocolate, olive, camel, cream and rust. They all work with each other, which is the point — any two of them are already an outfit.