An Autumn Love Story
A few weeks ago an anonymous reader wrote to me and asked me for some tips on what to wear to an autumn wedding that has a dress code of cocktail wear. She has looked online but only been offered ‘boring frocks of a single colour’, and since she has only been to spring and summer weddings, she felt a bit stuck for ideas. And, she also wondered, were clogs an appropriate choice of footwear?
I thought this was a great concept for a story, and I am actually going to an autumn wedding this weekend myself, although only to the ceremony. (Apologies this story has taken a while to put together and publish, I’d love to have been able to respond personally. If you do write in – and I would love to hear from you – please do include your email address so I can reply quickly!)
Firstly, the clogs. This may be a matter of personal choice. A higher-end fancier pair might be fine, but I tend to think clogs are fairly casual shoes. I love them myself, but I would probably prefer to wear something a little more glamorous. Something with a heel, maybe a shiny finish (patent leather, metallic details), or a bow perhaps, and a splash of colour (depending on the frock). Something festive. The shoe should also be appropriate to the venue – you might be uncomfortable in stilettos at a garden party or on a beach, for example.
If you want to get away from a plain-coloured frock, your best bet would be to go for a print, or colourful separates. If you a really keen on a colour that evokes the season, go for warmer tones, but do make sure whatever is closest to your face suits your complexion. Don’t be afraid to mix up the colours and go for an unexpected combination either, such as plum with turquoise, olive and violet as I’ve done here. (Although I might have gone a little overboard with the number of accessories.)
The clothes I am wearing in these pictures all came out of my existing closet (I might even wear one of these outfits on Saturday!), and are all in warm shades of pink, burnt orange, plum and olive.
Of the separates, the burnt orange skirt by Hannii (a now-defunct Melbourne label) tones in with a silk floral blouse by David Lawrence. There is actually no orange in the wrap blouse, but rather warm shades of pink and olive. The olive green hat is actually a bandeau with a silk organza bow and veil, and the beaded bag adds a little lightness to the outfit. I’m also wearing pink pearl bead earrings and a pearl ring by Autore. The pink shoes are by Nude.
The mauve velvet skirt by Warehouse is closer to pink than is apparent, and is teamed with a warm pink silk blouse by Forever New, another charity store purchase. I actually hunted down the skirt on eBay a few years ago because I was looking for a dressy skirt to wear to evening parties in autumn and winter – there seemed to be a real dearth of colourful party clothes for the cooler seasons in Melbourne at the time. The russet and plum hat is vintage 50s, and the bag is by Glomesh. The pearl chandelier earrings came from jewellery boutique Portobello Lane (also now sadly defunct), and the ring as before; the red shoes with their laser cut details are by Marchez Vous.
Ruffles seem like the perfect decorative touch for a wedding! The purple ruffled silk dress is by Rebecca Taylor (almost the same colour as the skirt), and I recently bought it in a charity store for $12. It is missing a belt however, and is a little big for me, so I’ve cinched at the waist with a scarf that has been in my collection for a very long time. It’s appliquéd with little circles all over, some of which pick up the violet tone of the taffeta bag by No. 7 (also a charity store find). My turquoise accessories include a vintage feathered bandeau, a chalcedony pendant on a silver chain, a turquoise ring (souvenir from Barcelona) and patent Tiffany blue heels by Nude (I just can’t resist that colour, aka robin’s egg blue).
The printed dress is by Cue, and I actually wore to an autumn wedding a couple of years ago. The day was quite warm and I didn’t even need my white faux fur shawl that I had brought with me. I’ve teamed it here with the same pair of warm pink heels seen above, although I originally wore it with black patent slingbacks.
All of these outfits may seem a little skimpy at first glance, but it’s easy to add some warmth with a pair of tights and a decorative jacket. If your clothes are on simpler lines, you can wear patterned or lacy stockings, but don’t overwhelm your look with too much detail. Don’t spoil a pretty outfit with a worn out workaday coat. A wedding is the time to break out a fancy jacket or coat – velvet is perfect for autumn. I adore jackets and coats and have a ridiculously vast collection, many of them vintage. Lucky I live in capricious Melbourne – there are plenty of opportunities to wear them!
Don’t forget your accessories can add interest and vibrancy to your outfit too. A wedding is the perfect time to have fun with a hat of some sort, especially if you are not accustomed to wearing them, or feel conspicuous or shy. No one will ever question a hat at a wedding! I am wearing a selection of three in these pictures. All of them are vintage 1950s, and two are made from feathers. (Feathers always seem so well-suited to autumn to me for some reason – perhaps because their fluffiness evokes cosy warmth.)
Your accessories don’t need to all match one another, or even exactly match your frock – why not try a contrasting colour or texture?
Most importantly: make sure your dress (and your heel height) will be comfortable for dancing in! I just loved swishing around in that 50s inspired Cue dress, with the big bow at the back of the neck – I think I was one of the last to leave the dancefloor at that family wedding of mine.
Enjoy the big day!