How to Wear a Lightweight Cardigan During Fall

Fall is a great season for style, but it can be confusing. In many areas, there’s a whole month full of cold mornings, warm afternoons and cool evenings.

What do you wear? You don’t want to overheat, but you don’t want to be cold all day either.

One solution is a cardigan. For warmer days, I prefer a lightweight cardigan (as opposed to the heavy, chunky variety).

Photos courtesy of Erin McGoff

These made-to-measure trousers make me look taller because they have a higher rise and no break.

High rise + no break = illusion of height. I swear it’s like magic!

cardigan (similar) | polo | trousers (custom) | sunglasses

You can button it up for a smart, put together look. Or you can keep it unbuttoned for a relaxed, draped sort of feel.

Either way, a lightweight cardigan adds just enough warmth to make your morning commute tolerable.

At the same time, it won’t make you overheat during your afternoon walk to lunch or the coffee shop.

You can wear cardigans in neutral colors to tone down a bold outfit (for example, a grey cardigan over a pink shirt).

Or you can wear a colorful cardigan over a neutral outfit, like I’m doing here.

The cool thing about a somewhat plain or neutral outfit is, you can change the whole vibe by choosing different accessories.

The key is to make sure they work well together. In this case, brown leather is the common element.

belt (vintage) | watch (similar) | bag

The gold metal on the watch and belt are nice together too, even if the bag features silver metal.

This outfit would work just fine with black accents too – black watch, black shoes, black belt (the kind that holds your pants up, not the jiu-jitsu kind).

That would be an especially nice combo for winter. But on a warm autumn day like this, the brown details seem to fit the vibe.

Notice how the nutty brown tones of the acorns really play nicely with the natural patina of the aged watch strap…

…just kidding.

shoes (similar)

Like the belt and watch, I got the shoes secondhand. Get this: I found these Cole Haan loafers (size 7) for $12 at a Goodwill store in Virginia.

It’s rare to find something worth buying in a thrift shop, especially a good pair of shoes in your size. But it’s worth it when you find a steal like this!

The socks are one of my favorite pairs. They’re made by Falke, and I got them as a gift from The Sock Hop.

As you can tell from the smile on my face, I love fall. It’s such an amazing season for style, so layer up and get out there!

Would you wear this outfit? Leave a comment below!