By Roxy Rowton
At this time of the year we turn our focus back to the city, back to work or back to school. Wherever we’re headed, there are probably mixed emotions about the end of summer and the return to balancing the everyday routines and busy schedules of family and career. Autumn has come to symbolize more of a forward motion to new opportunities and fresh starts, as well as renewed energy and aspirations. Possibly more so than the calendar date celebrated in January.
As we glance into the rearview mirror and nod farewell to summer adventures and recreation, we can welcome a new season only slightly visible on the horizon. The mercury dips and the sunlight diminishes, but a yearning rises to a homecoming — back to school, back to work and back to the city.
The COVID -19 pandemic may have changed the location of campus to a classroom at home or an office cubicle to a space carved from within a room at home. However, today’s busy woman wants to clothe her family in garments that will take them comfortably and confidently from one activity to another. She knows fashion trends come and go. But families need tried and true garments that bring a much sought-after sense of normalcy and routine. She constructs and selects the family wardrobe from an assortment of fundamental garments that express the individuality of each member of the family, as well as function for daily agendas.
Women:
Draw inspiration from fashion’s rich new offerings to get dressed this season. Now is the right time to build a solid foundation of autumnal essentials. Invest in garments that are made for multi-tasking and warmth. Look for garments that focus attention on designs and fabrics that give movement, comfort and versatility. Why not forge into fall with colors to mix unexpected combinations? Creatively layer the fashion trends and iconic classics for looks that balance work and family agendas.
Men:
Encourage the gentleman of the family to rethink his sartorial uniform. Switch the traditional white shirt for a striped field shirt and ditch the blazer all together to don a half-zip or cashmere cardigan. Dress up denim essentials with stylish accessories such as a classic loafer, canvas slip-on sneaker, a patterned sock or a chronographic watch.
Teens:
Autumn fashion gives a wink and nod to a new collection of comfy-cozy with no shortage of style. Keep it simple with a mix of fashionable loungewear, elevated denim and high-tech gear to reflect your teen’s individuality, social and scholastic interests. Weave style and practicality into their back-to-school wardrobe. Let them mix color combinations, textures, and layers. A little mixing it upcan make a big impression.
Children:
It’s a fast-paced world for children too. Dress them in super soft, comfy, and durable clothes that give them the freedom to move, to play, to explore, and to learn. And when all the colors go together, they can mix, match, and make their own look.
A new season awaits. Make fashion work for your family.
Roxy L. Rowton has spent three decades assisting women transform their wardrobe from a random assortment of garments into a curated collection of functionality and individuality. She shares her expertise in the Fashion Files at Prince William Living and “build a better wardrobe” blog at everydayrefinement.com.
