Travel-Friendly & Work-Friendly Fall Capsule Wardrobe: No Black,

Black is the default neutral for many capsule wardrobes, and I'll admit it's often mine with my capsule wardrobes. But I am often asked to create a capsule wardrobe with no black. This season, with the popularity of chocolate brown, it's a great time to build your wardrobe around that color, find great staples that will work now and years from now. This fall capsule wardrobe is work friendly, travel friendly, and uses brown, not black, as the base color.

Travel-Friendly & Work-Friendly Fall Capsule Wardrobe

Shop the collage: blue jacket (00-20) | blue pants (00-20) | ivory jacket (XXS-XXL & petite) | ivory pants (00-18 & petite) | dotted blouse (0-20/22 & petite) | striped top (XS-3X & petite/tall) | sleeveless shell (XXS-3X) | crewneck sweater (XXS-3X) | belted sweater jacket (XS-XXL) | jeans (00-30 & petite/tall) | ivory belt | brown belt | statement earrings | small earrings | ring | necklace | bag | scarf | glasses | sneakers | loafers | not featured but in outfits below: lip color

I made this capsule wardrobe with many items I personally own and can vouch for. The LOFT Versa jacket and pants? I own (see them on me here). The M.M.LaFleur blazer? I also own (see them on me here in a different color). I own the glasses in a different color, I own pieces from the scarf, bag, shoe, sneaker, and jewelry brands, own the bone-colored belt, the striped top in a different color, the silk blouse in a different print, the belted cardigan… I like to walk the talk and create truly functional capsule wardrobes you can feel confident in.

These are easy-care, travel-friendly fabrics that also look polished, professional, and classic. If you're not at the office, it's easy to switch out the blue suit for a pair of cords and a denim jacket alternative or go athleisure with an elevated knit jacket and matching pants.

30 Sample Outfits:

Not a lot of clothes, but a whole month of looks. To see the thumbnails larger, click on any of the images. Use arrows, click, or swipe to go through the 30 looks and then click anywhere outside the image to return to this screen:

Capsule Wardrobe Styling Tips:

There is no need to be matchy-matchy. You can mix white with cream with bone with beige with tan with camel with brown. In fact, mixing of neutrals looks elevated and chic this season. No need to be super precious; if you feel they are too similar then add difference with texture: a cable knit sweater, a suede jacket, a croco-embossed belt, a tweed jacket, a wool trouser.

Accessory Advice for Fall:

Accessories will take your closet from clothes to outfits.

• A scarf can be tied cowboy style and fill the neckline of a blazer, it can be doubled around the neck and tied to the side for a French-inspired detail, it can even be a replacement for a belt to add interest to a simple top and jeans/pants look.
• A statement earring that is not all metal will feel modern this season; this season instead of having your earrings be a statement by being a pop of color, use architecture and a. similar but not same color and it will feel more elevated and contemporary.
• Same with a bag; consider choosing a color that is not the same but similar color story; choosing a non-black or non-brown bag will be interesting and also more versatile (no need to worry about matching shoes and belt).
• Consider switching up your delicate chains for a bolder necklace this fall. As a grown-ass woman, you don't want it to look obviously fake, but no need for an expensive real option. I personally own quality statement necklaces from Gorjana, Monica Vinader, and Jenny Bird and find the quality good if you treat them well (don't wear in the shower, remove when applying lotion, if you don't wear for a long while store in a plastic bag).
• If you haven't updated your readers or glasses in a while, there is no time better than now. So many online retailers make quality frames and handle prescriptions, even complicated ones, quite well. I own several pairs from Caddis and find the quality stellar and the service fantastic. For budget but prescription precision, I trust Zenni, and you can often find the hot designer frames for less at Glasses USA; it's where I've gotten my Ray-Bans.
• Loafers have been a big thing for a few years now; this season you will see a lot of pinch loafers and boat shoe-inspired styles. A pinch loafer has a more rounded toe box and moccasin stitching that is “pinched” or pulled inward. I'd steer clear of contrast stitching and any finishes to have these loafers be more classic and have more longevity in your closet.
• I regularly recommend Adidas (and shopping directly from the Adidas site) because I find they are trendy without being try-hard, classic enough that they won't look passe in a year or three, and as someone with wider feet, I find they fit better than a lot of the other popular athletic shoe brands offering “lifestyle” sneakers.

In Conclusion…

Not your vibe for color? That's okay, I hope this fall capsule wardrobe gives you some inspiration on how you can take relatively simple wardrobe staples and find elevated sophistication and versatility. That you don't need a lot of clothing to have a lot of style and outfits, and that you don't need to buy into every trend to look on trend this season.