Must-Have Neutrals

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Neutral investment pieces are key to effortless fall dressing but how to ensure a classic silhouette in a neutral hue isn’t drab? Texture! Whether it’s a cream cashmere sweater or a camel coat, the secret to building a timeless wardrobe is ensuring you have go-to staple pieces in the nicest fabrics and tailoring that make sense for your budget. Materials with a little extra texture or luster are especially key to making fall staples stand out whether it’s a wool, suede, knit or leather. 

A perfect example is this J.Crew Frances Lady Jacket. Even though it’s a wool blend, the boucle fabric and beautiful trim and button details elevate this piece to look even more luxurious than it’s price point.  I cannot say enough good things about this jacket! The quality is beautiful, the color is the perfect camel hue, and with braided and fringed trim at the edges I thought the trim might be a little bulky, but it’s very nicely done and not bulky at all. The jacket is offered in three colors (camel, light blue and cream with black trim) all of which are super versatile and would undoubtedly be a fixtures in your fall wardrobe. The jacket runs true to size as you want lady jackets to fit through the shoulders then the body should be swingy. In my experience bestsellers like this won’t go on sale until the very end of the season, so based on how much I expect to wear it this fall I new I wanted to add it to my wardrobe right away. While there are a myriad of ways to wear a lady jacket, I loved pairing it with a sleek sweater dress and chocolate-y brown accessories like suede pumps and a smart handbag for a dinner out. 

In the spirit of adding fabulous neutral staples to your wardrobe, I rounded up my favorites from J.Crew’s new arrivals and they are so good! Each gorgeous piece featured is a classic neutral staple with a little something special about it…

• Of course I love the J.Crew Frances Jacket with this Chloe sweater dress (less expensive option here). If you want a lady jacket with fewer frills, this camel boucle jacket is a nice, modern version. 
• Chunky gold earrings are trending this fall and I love the soft shape of these. 
• J.Crew just brought out the best Collection pieces I’ve seen in a long time, especially their coats. I just ordered this topcoat (love that it has blacks and browns in the weave – will go with everything!), and also think this black and white gingham trench and this camel topcoat with a sateen contrast collar are so chic. (I have a navy and black version from 10 years ago ago and its still so chic!)
• I rarely buy J.Crew’s shoes because I often feel like they’re a little too clunky, but I got these suede boots in toffee and have been wearing them all over England. They are so comfortable, leg elongating, and look much more expensive then their price tag. Now I’m tempted to try other suede boots like these knee high boots in ganache or black for pairing with dresses and skirts this season. 
• I bought this cashmere cable knit last year and it’s such a closet staple (and much less expensive than similar sweaters I own from Ralph Lauren.) 
• I wanted this Barbour collaboration jacket but it sold out so quickly! Worth keeping an eye on the page for returns if you love it too. 
• The plaid on this relaxed blazer is fabulous – the perfect effortless piece to add polish to anything, even a pair of sweats like the model! (Though I’d pair with a cashmere sweatshirt personally.) 
• This leather jacket is a bit “cooler” than I usually go for but the texture looks so beautiful. I’d wear it with a cream turtleneck and cream high waisted trousers. 

 

OUTFIT DETAILS:

Chloe tie neck sweater dress

J.crew camel lady jacket

Monica Rich Kosann Viv Locket c/o (silver version here)

Mark Cross grace box bag in acorn

Sarah Flint espresso suede perfect pumps 85mm c/o

9mm Pearl Earrings

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SHOPPING LIST: 

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