How to: Fall Layering

The best part about fall? Layers!!

Biker Jacket: c/o Simply Be, Simply Snuggly Cardigan: c/o Modcloth, Silence + Noise Clea Midi T-Shirt Dress via Urban Outfitters

My absolute favorite thing about fall is layering. Yes, of course it’s for warmth but in my mind you basically just get to wear more clothes. It’s like that wonderful feeling you had getting dressed when you were five years old. You put all of your favorite things on all at once and run out the door.

The thing is, now you don’t actually want to look like a child playing dress up. Layering is fun but in truth it can be a little bit tricky. If you’re small, you don’t want to look devoured by your clothes (unless you’re an Olsen twin – in which case you do because, amazing) and as a bigger chick, I personally don’t want to look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. That’s my personal choice – if you do want to look like him, more power to you and his hat is kinda ~~cute~~.

Here are a few basic things I consider while layering:

1. While I want my entire look to catch your eye, there’s usually one focal point. In this outfit that’s the cardigan. It’s a pop of red, printed and pretty thick.

2. When shopping I always look for cool layering pieces. I found this amazing t-shirt dress at Urban Outfitters while on a poncho mission. It’s an oversized dress for my thin gals but on me it’s more of a bodycon shape. This dress is a size large but I knew it would fit the way I wanted (because I tried it on despite the size on the tag) and I really needed a grey dress to build outfits around.

3. Proportions. Proportions are everything when getting dressed. It’s what makes the unexpected work. Creating great shapes on your body can make things that aren’t supposed to be “flattering” very much so. For example this cardigan hung evenly at the bottom of my hips. I put a thin black belt around it – not to cinch my waist but to hold the cardigan together. I then pulled the sides up a bit so that more of the shape of my hips would show.

I also added this black biker jacket to balance the color proportions. I wanted just a touch of the color and print. The jacket also add structure and a bit of edge on all of the soft knits I have going on – see how the straight line of the bottom of my jacket works with the flared effect the cardigan has from my pulling the sides up?

So there you have it. The devil’s in the details!