New Trends. Old Clothes.

It’s getting cooler. You know, dipping below 20 degrees occasionally. The stores are full of new season goodies – boots, coats, long dresses, scarves and the promise of cozy, wintery times.

A new season is always exciting when you love fashion. What will the new trends be? What kind of lovely new things will people be wearing?

I am keen to be in fashion while being out of the buying loop. So I have a little problem – how can I adopt new season trends while not buying anything new?

Is that even possible?

I like to think it is, so here’s my take on how to adopt the new season trends with my old season wardrobe.

Firstly, I have researched the trends as they are coming through and ear-marked the ones I like best. I did this via the internet and magazines, rather than tempting myself by browsing the stores. I have popped what appeals to me into this Pinterest board.

The key trends that I am loving are:

  • autumn’s colour palette
  • the use of highly textured fabrics like velvet
  • metallics
  • soft punk details (think long black tule skirts mixed back with t-shirts)
  • dark romantic dresses with a black forest folkloric twist
  • baroque
  • ruffle details

There are other trends as well – there always seem to be at least ten per season – but these are the ones that I particularly like. There is zero reason to adopt a trend that doesn’t actually appeal to you when there are so many to choose from.

Now that I have my list, I have been shopping my wardrobe and thinking of ways I can twist things to match the new season. I’m pulling out the pieces that work. In addition to looking through my clothes, I am also re-acquainting myself with my scarf, hat and jewellery collection as they will be key in adopting a number of these trends

The autumn pallete is full of shades of blush, purple hues, midnight blues and pops of red. There are plenty more colours hitting Autumn, but these are the ones I LOVE and already have in my wardrobe. For more information about what colours we will be seeing this season, Nikki from Styling You has this great post.

Velvet is big news and those that remember the nineties might be a little concerned. I won’t be adopting velvet in a huge way, but I will add touches. My search through the scarf drawer revealed an old velvet DKNY scarf that I haven’t worn in years. It’s a deep rich teal colour and perfect for this season’s mood. I’m also keen to make myself a turban style head band in velvet. My mother is currently making a velvet cape, I’ll be asking her for the off-cuts.

Metallics are strong again this season, as they have been in seasons past. This means I have a few metallic pieces already in my wardrobe that I am bringing to the forefront. Again, my scarf collection has yielded a pretty silver scarf and my jewellery collection will let me in on the trend.

The juxtaposition of soft and hard through a frothy skirt and a more severe top was seen on the runways. I already have that look covered:

The dark romantic dresses of the season have really stolen my heart. A sort of darker version of Heidi – milk maids in mourning. And I just KNOW that Zara will do this beautifully so I will be avoiding that store to avoid overwhelming temptation. Instead, I’m looking through what I already have in the dark floral, embroidered arena. I do have a few things and I think I will be begging my mother to use her embroidery machine to lift existing dark clothing. I’ll also be layering necklaces in that kind of mood over dark clothing as a cheat.

Baroque style is big this season. Still ornamental but a little brighter and more structured than the dark romance. I have an old gold brocade jacket that will tick all the boxes. Just need to release it from seasonal captivity.

Finally, I have quite a few ruffles in my wardrobe so I’ll be looking to wear those. My wardrobe find for the season has been a skirt I made before the kids were born. It’s got ruffles, wintery colours AND a velvet trim. For the win.

Because we cycle trends so quickly, it’s highly likely you can find what’s in season, in wardrobe. And you know those people that say: “If you wore it the first time, you can’t wear it the next time around”? I reckon they are just trying to sell us more. Wear what you love, keep what you love, take care of it and maybe a new season doesn’t have to mean buying more to stay on trend.

What are your favourite picks from this season’s trends?

20 thoughts on “New Trends. Old Clothes.

    • Robyna says:

      I hard to search hard for the velvet – I never really got into it last time but I think a touch here and there in a vintage nod is quite a cute way to do it.

    • Robyna says:

      It’s a bit of a favourite look. The nice thing about textures being fashion is the they are so easy to incorporate with accessories.

  1. Kez @ Awesomely Unprepared says:

    I love this! I’ve just had to do a big shop for casual mix and match items (I have been on bare bones for a couple of years and never really caught up), but I have also found some ways to keep some of my older wardrobe items alive. I have a gorgeous shift type dress with brilliant purples and blues in it. It was on trend when I first bought it but as things have changed, it started to feel like I was wearing my nightie or a muu muu out (and not in a cool way). I bought a choker and a bomber jacket that goes with everything and suddenly the dress looks AMAZING!
    My tip right now is add a choker. Always add a choker. It completely updates just about anything you own instantly!
    Kez @ Awesomely Unprepared recently posted…100 Happy Days wrap up.My Profile

    • Robyna says:

      Jackets have amazing transformative powers. So glad you could make it live again. Chokers are big news right now. I quite like a little bow around the neck out of ribbon – choker with that feminine feel.

  2. Claria says:

    Velvet dress never goes out of trend. Just manages to grab the attention of others! 😉 Number one trending dress material for me would be velvet!

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