A Princess's Guide to Autumn: Ep.2. Fashion

There was a time in my life where I would look at my wardrobe sadly as soon as autumn rolled around. Going into the colder months made me feel like there was no place for my favourite pieces, pastel colours, fun patterns etc. To me, these are the things that make me feel like I'm dressed like a Princess and though this is just my personal taste, considering the general aesthetics found under #Princesscore would suggest that there are many Princesses who feel the same way. I've been seeing a lot of really cute videos on tiktok doing the trend of styling the 4 seasons, and one thing I've noticed is that autumn often receives a completely different style to every other season, mostly if not totally breaking from the aesthetic that the poster has gone for in their other outfits. I assume that a lot of these people just enjoy the opportunity to shake things up around autumn, but what if there's some that simply are unsure of how to style the cute and (usually) pink fashions they love the rest of the year, just like I had once upon a time? 

In my opinion, it doesn't make sense to have a totally different wardrobe for just one month of the year. There should be significant crossover between your: summer/spring wardrobe, your autumn/winter wardrobe, and your spring/autumn wardrobe (though this might not be totally true depending on what kind of climate you live in). I'm hoping this guide can give you some ideas for how to bring some pieces you might otherwise associate with winter and spring into autumn. I'm also going to recommend some pieces that I think are totally darling that would work to help tie your outfits to that autumnal vibe.

Colour Schemes

 

Pink is an all year colour. Pink is forever. Do not, I repeat DO NOT, put your pink wardrobe away for autumn (unless you want to but I cannot fathom why that would be). Pink also goes with just about every other colour! It is so so versatile. My main suggestion for a pink autumnal outfit is to pair pink with brown and cream, lean into the neopolitian ice cream vibe, it's so cute! This picture from the shop 'Cherie Lou' serves as totally adorable colour inspiration for this vibe. These kind of clothes totally give 'princess', but can be harder to come by and more expensive, so if this is your vibe you could try some fun DIY's to add this fun vibe to you wardrobe. Nicole Leilani on youtube has the cutest videos about her upcycling secondhand clothes, and she has one specifically for the neopolitian ice cream vibe too, which I've linked just below!

I've also put together a few outfit ideas of my own with some simpler pieces that might fit your vibe better, and would be easier to come across second hand or in shops where you won't have to worry about international shipping fees (which is often a concern for me).  

The cream and brown really ground the pink in the aesthetics of autumn, and make it look really seasonal instead of too spring-like. For any of these outfits you could just swap the colours around from piece to piece. The combos also work well with lighter/tan browns and white instead of cream. Also, for princesses from a colder climate, some tights will make a lot of difference to any of the skirt/dress outfits I share here. When it's really cold I put a pair of thermal tights that match my skin tone under my cuter tights. If you wear a pair of safety shorts over both pairs, it'll help keep them in place. 

I've also styled some other pink colour combos, adding in the brown and white tones as accessories to bring them into the autumnal vibe. I went for green and yellow, as they are also colours you see a lot of in autumn, both in the shops and in nature.

I think you could probably do something similar with almost any colour. I wear a lot of blues as well as pink and don't intend to stop over autumn!

Staple Pieces

Here I wanted to list off some staple clothing pieces that I think are perfect for any Princess's autumn wardrobe, so here goes! 

Peacoat - A peacoat in brown, tan, pink or cream is the perfect addition to your wardrobe in autumn if you're often in need of a jacket at this time of year. They're cute yet elegant, incredibly princessy! They're really easy to find second hand on sites like Vinted in a range of colours and styles. I just bought one myself! I decided to go with a pretty tan one I found for £7 (bargain) and I adore it. 

Cable knit sweater - There's something about cable knit that just screams autumn to me. There's been a lot of really cute fitted and baby doll henley style ones on Hollister recently and from last year that you find kicking around on Vinted. A baggy one would also look really cute, especially paired with jeans and a pair of boots. Personally I'd go with pink or cream/white for this piece. 

 

 

 

 A cute pair of jeans/tousers - now I know that many of us don't like jeans, but I live in a rainy country and personally I cannot stand getting wet legs through my tights in skirts, so some days really necessitate a pair of jeans. Personally I really like jeans, I love flares a lot. This year I'm planning on picking up a pair of straight leg jeans I can tuck into long boots too. My favourite pair of jeans have pink embroidery on the back pockets. You could also DIY add some lace to the waistline or make a lace belt to add a super princessy vibe to them. If you don't like wearing denim jeans, you could achieve this with other styles of trousers too! 

 

A cute cardigan - This is a great way to incorporate spring/summery tops into your autumn wardrobe. It makes the outfit look and literally feel cosier. You could go for a light dainty cardigan, a fitted wool cardigan or an oversized chunky knit. Pearl buttons, lace or bow appliqués would all add that extra princessy vibe, and can easily be DIY'd. Personally I'd go with a white cardigan if you only want to get one, it'll be very versatile. 

 

 

 

A long skirt - If you really cannot stand to wear jeans or trousers, or would like to have another option for colder and wetter days, a long skirt is also a great staple princess piece for autumn, as you can easily hide a pair of thick tights underneath if you need extra warmth. Don't put your tiered skirts away for autumn, try pairing them with a cute jumper, or add a scarf and a nice jacket to your favourite spring long skirt outfit. Long denim skirts are also a good option. I just found the cutest one in a charity shop, with white lace around the hem and pockets, which I think will be seeing an awful lot of wear this autumn. 

 

 

 

Patterns

Stripes and polka dots are all year patterns and are almost a given for this section so I'll get those out of the way! Everyone loves polka dots right now especially so there's a lot of options out there. For more autumnal specific patterns I would suggest plaid/tartan and fawn print as my favourite two options for autumn. I loved the fawn print trend last year and it looks like it'll be back once again, wearing the print makes me feel like I'm embodying one of my favourite animals (as a side note I would only ever wear animal print and never real animal skin or fur, though I don't think you can get these kind of clothes/prints from real deerskin anyway. I'm not sure but I wouldn't be interested anyway). Even if the trend dies back, I'm planning on still wearing my fawn print coat, as it makes me feel like an ethereal woodland princess, which is ideal.

 

Pink plaid, especially with brown, black or white stripes, is such an ideal pattern for a princess autumnal outfit. It leans into the preppy academic or back-to-school vibe that absolutely perfect for this time of year. You could wear this print as a top, a cute pleated skirt, or on a scarf. One day I'd love to own this pink Burberry scarf, but at this point in my life I cannot imagine being able to justify £200-400 on a scarf and am more than happy with something. that looks similar. You can almost definitely find real cashmere pink tartan scarves for a fraction of the price, just without the designer label. 

 

Deer print (kinda) + plaid! what a dream!

Accessories  

I really think accessorising is the easiest way to make an outfit fit a particular season. For autumn, I have a few suggestions. Brown leather (fake or real. I only buy real if it's secondhand, but that's a personal choice) is a great option of autumnal accessories. A pair of brown leather boots and a cute brown handbag would make wonderful addition to your autumn wardrobe and are so easy to find secondhand. I have a pair of longer brown boots with white fake fur trim and I love them, they're also great for winter. You could add a lace bow to your handbag, or a fluffy bag charm to add an extra something for a brown leather handbag. This also goes for cream leather, or brown/cream suede which would also work wonderfully for this vibe. 

I also love the idea of lacy socks for autumn, and just lace in general. You could wear cute lace socks with some autumnal brown leather ballet flats, or find longer ones that would just peek over the top of a pair of boots. They could either be totally lace or with a lace trim. 

For jewellery I think that vintage jewellery is perfect for autumn, especially gold jewellery, but silver is great too. Jewellery with porcelain or cameo settings and intricate designs in the metal scream autumnal princess to me. Pearls also really work for this.

We've talked a bit about scarves already, a cashmere scarf is an ideal autumn accessory. If it's not cold enough for that, a lighter scarf, or even a lace scarf would look so nice and add an autumnal feel to any outfit. For hats I love knitted beanies where the knit is a bit wide and baker boy hats in cashmere or corduroy. If you aren't ready for hats yet, i think a lace headband would be lovely and be a great DIY. If you want some gloves too, i recommend fingerless knit/crochet gloves. Bonus points if they have lace or a cute button on them somewhere. 

back to colours for a sec - notice how pink yet autumnal this accessories moodboard is? it's so easy to have a pink autumn I promise.

Final thoughts

Obviously this all corresponds to my personal view of a princessy style. For me, pink and girly with pops of lace, bows and pretty jewellery constitutes a 'princess off duty' kind of look. Let me know what you like to style for princessy and autumnal outfits. I didn't get to everything I would have liked to, there are several ways to style dresses and florals for autumn as well that I was going to touch on but I wanted to avoid getting too niche in case the post ended up too long. Please let me know if you'd like any further styling tips or anything. Also, I've seen a few princessy girls who are blue rather than pink, like Erika instead of Annelise. 

If that applies to you, replace my obsession with pink with blue (maybe adding pops of pink here and there) and you should be able to get a princessy vibe too. Maybe I'll do a post for the non-pink princess gals. Let me know if that'd interest you! Thank you for reading!

Until next time, live happily ever after!

xoxo