What are You Wearing this Fall? Meet the Transitional Dress

As I’ve attempted to pick up some list minute things for my trip to Hawaii on Monday, it’s become strikingly obvious that summer fashion is on its way out  of stores and the season is changing.  My sisters and I always talk about how tough season changes can be on your personal style and wardrobe – especially at work.  Should you wear boots or sandals?  Bare legs or tights?  Is it too early to pull out your favorite scarves and jeans?  Anyone feel me here?

In the case that we do get another few weeks of warm weather, let’s make the most of it and leave legs bare and feet in sandals for as long as possible! Now might be the time to start loading up your fall wardrobe with the help of some stylish yet cheap ladies fashion.  In my quest to figure out what’s cute this fall, I’ve discovered something I call the “Transitional Dress.”

The Transitional Dress

If you work in an office with a reasonably smart dress code then a “transitional dress” will be ideal for this time of year. What’s a transitional dress? Well, it’s a dress that will take you through the change of the seasons. You can wear it with bare legs and pumps while the weather is still warm, then switch to opaque tights and your fav boots when it gets a bit chillier.  It’s also a dress that you can wear to multiple types of functions depending on how you accessorize it.

Anyone else a huge fan of dresses? No pant hemming needed (well for me at least- I’m really short) and much easier to throw on in the morning.

Matalan (a store my friend from London introduced me to) has lots of great “transitional dresses” which are ideal for the office or number of other weekend activities.  Add a great blazer or cardigan to any of these looks to extend the look!

The above dress is totally my style. The combo of camel and black in this sleeveless ponte dress will suit pretty much all hair and skin tones and will look fantastic with polished black boots later on in the year. In my opinion it’s classic yet with the addition of a belt, jewelry and/or boots it can look more trendy. For now wear it with simple black pumps and a chunky gold bracelet for a simple and sophisticated look.

This gorgeous peter pan dress is the perfect shade for autumn and with its cute collar detail and skinny black belt, it hardly needs any accessorising at all. Keep things simple with some jet earrings and some black wedge sandals with purple toes to match! Later on you can have some fun with this dress and make a bold statement with clashing colored tights. The look might not be quite right for
the office but at the weekend anything goes, right?

And finally, to add a little bit of retro with a modern twist to your work wardrobe, go for something like this geo print shift dress, which again will be perfect with sandals or pumps while it’s officially still summer and will look great with killer heels and sheer black tights when the leaves start turning. Team it with a little pink cardigan if you want to add a pop of color.

Anyone else have any cute dresses or fall looks to share?  

I’ve been attempting to Pin favorite looks so if you have a Pinterest board that may inspire those of us looking for cute new fall outfits, please share it with us in the comments section!

Nicole Emerick

Nicole Emerick founded Ms. Career Girl in 2008 to help other ambitious young professional women thrive in a career they love. Ironically, growing MsCareerGirl helped Nicole transition her own career from commercial banker to digital marketer. Today Nicole leads the social media team at a large advertising agency in Chicago. Nicole also served as an adjunct professor at DePaul University where she helped develop the careers of PR, Advertising and Communications students. Tweet with Nicole @_NicoleEmerick.