The Word On Autumn Dresses

When confronting autumn fashions each year, there are so many categories to consider that it’s difficult to keep track of all the different styles. While spring and summer trends can only cover so much ground—dresses, shirts, skirts, swimwear, and jewellery, for instance—the autumn and winter stretch brings in outerwear, hats, scarves, boots, and a range of other considerations. Frankly, it can all be quite overwhelming!

So rather than writing up yet another post attempting to piece together the top trends, or all the noteworthy styles appearing in catalogues and online, I wanted to narrow the focus of this piece to a particular item all women will want to know about: dresses. So here’s the early word on dresses for the cool weather seasons.

Floaty Dresses & Waistcoats

One of the main concerns that women have when picking out dresses for autumn and winter is warmth. Simply put, pants, jeans, and warm boots can all be more insulating and comfortable once it gets cold out. But this is also why it’s always interesting to see dress styles that specifically address warmth, and Metro did just that in a look ahead at key trends for late-2015. Specifically, the article pointed out the prominence of boho floaty dresses on the runway: light and relatively open by nature, but often accompanied for the autumn by waistcoats up top. Outerwear with a dress can be an iffy prospect at times, so it’s nice to see this look in style.

Sequin Maxi Dresses

As both a general trend and another way to address the issue of staying warm, this style is standing out. Lyst’s collection of dresses for autumn is a helpful place to look for a full display of the season’s dress trends, given that it pulls in examples from designers all across the industry. Within that collection, it’s easy to see notice the presence of shimmering sequin options. The interesting thing is, sequin embellishments tend to make fabrics feel heavier (thus providing a little more insulation), despite the fact that they look light and delicate. Now, this isn’t to suggest a sequin dress can function like a winter coat, but it’s an interesting way to add a little heft without visibly bulking up.

Shades Of Red

Marie Claire’s own rundown of AW15 fashion trends touched on a number of popular ideas—in fact, it contained yet another nod to floaty boho styles. One that makes a particularly strong impression is the presence of red on runways. Red is actually fairly typical this time of year as a brighter alternative to dimmer tones, but rarely has it been so thoroughly represented as now. From maroon and burgundy to crimson, and even some colours straying toward pink, shades of red are a lot of ladies’ go-to colour for autumn dresses.

Velvet Materials

This is another trend mentioned in Marie Claire’s exhibition, and it also gets back to the idea of staying warm in your cool weather dresses. Velvet makes for a fun fabric for autumn dresses in that it’s often warmer, it holds its shape nicely, and it tends to look best in darker, cooler colours like those we so often see this time of year.

Those are only a few examples, but it’s plenty to work with. More than coats, pants, boots, etc., dresses can be tricky to shop for in the autumn and winter, but these ideas can get you off to a good start.

**Contributed by Ella Hughes