My favorite thing about Fall in Southern California are the Indian Summers.  Indian Summers are a periods of unusually warm, dry weather that occur in Autumn.  They are usually brought on by strong winds from the East called Santa Ana winds.  I know I probably sound crazy, but I live in Southern California for a reason – I love me some hot weather!  By far the best thing about Indian Summers though, are the sunsets.  The combination of the autumn sunlight and wind that blows away all the nasty LA smog gives way to the most spectacular sunsets of the year.  The sky is filled with shadows and a spectrum of colors that extend miles over the ocean.

The warm brown, yellow, and red hues of the sun, rather than the leaves, inspire my outfit choices during this time.  Because it’s so hot and I can’t incorporate jackets and coats into my wardrobe, it’s a lot harder to rock a traditional “fall” outfit during this transitional period. It’s definitely a delicate balance but I’ve learned how to layer and mix pieces with my summer looks to pull off the in-between seasons look.  

Swap your white jeans for a black denim skirt, sandals for booties, add a hat, and boom!  A nude/brown top adds just the right balance of Summer+Fall. And because it’s too hot to wear leather and suede jackets yet, I try to incorporate those textures into my footwear instead.

I feel like Summer goes by so fast I don’t have enough opportunities to wear some of my dresses.  I am obsessed with this dress from Sabo Skirt and currently loving the puff sleeve trend.  I bought it for trip to Greece & Italy this summer and I didn’t even get to wear it so I was determined to incorporate it into my fall wardrobe.  When I had the idea to pair it with my black knee-high boots I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but I actually ended up liking the dress better with them than the nude heels I was going to originally wear them with! I swapped out the white fabric belt wrap that came with it for a thick black, high wasted belt to amp up the Fall vibe.  I have another white dress in my closet that I am dying to do the same thing with.

I love black and white for the Fall.  I don’t usually do the combo in the Spring because I am so sick of wearing black and excited to embrace bright colors again, haha!  I love this top I got from Shein.  I was eyeing one from For Love and Lemons since Spring, but it was a lot more than I wanted to pay for another crop top.  I found another similar one on Forever21 but I hesitated, and it sold out of my size before I had a chance to grab it.   A month later I snagged this identical one on Shein and am so happy that I did.  Instead of doing an entire black and white outfit, I opted for this burnt red/orangish (I have no idea what this color is called) suede block heel.

I got this tee when I went white water rafting in Idaho this summer.   I got adventurous and jumped off a cliff into a river.  I didn’t have a change of clothes so I had to buy something from the gift store and got this shirt.  I am not usually a big kitschy t-shirt person, but I loved the color combo with my skin/hair tones.   This could totally be a summer outfit but it makes for a fun fall, super casual weekend look too.

I am a huge fan of the olive green and light pink color combo.  It’s such an easy transitional look.  I’ve worn this same outfit in Spring, Summer, and now Fall, but I think I like the look during the beginning of fall best.  It’s subtle and doesn’t scream,  “It’s fall, time to break out the pumpkin spice lattes!”  These are one of my favorite pairs of pants that I’ve worn to both work and STORY in South beach, haha! Crazy because they are actually from The Loft (I KNOW) which has a great selection of petite sizes.   It’s hard to find pants like this without getting them hemmed, but these ones fit like a glove!

Happy Indian Summer Everyone!  Soak up the last bit of sun while you can!

xoxo