24 Inspiring Fall Outfit Ideas From Fashion Month's Best-Dressed Guests
Fresh from the exceptional street style in New York, London, Milan, and Paris.
Fall outfit ideas are everywhere—all you need to do is look. Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest offer heaps of inspiration, as do concerts and movies. Nora Ephron's entire filmography, especially Billy Crystal's white cable-knit sweater from When Harry Met Sally, would look very smart with crisp denim and your best Mary Janes. But if you want to see the fresh fall trends in action, Fashion Week street style is where you want to look first.
Showgoers put playful spins on preppy staples at New York Fashion Week, like cropped button-down shirts and sharp suits styled with the season's best sneakers. Over on the Milan and Paris sidewalks, novel layering outfits presented fresh possibilities and pairings—think: cardigans converted into scarves and yummy shirt sandwiches made in fall's color trends. If summer is for showing off how great you look without much clothing, fall is for flexing all you can do with your wardrobe—and the street style crew can certainly do a lot.
Ahead, an assortment of fall outfit ideas freshly plucked from outside of the New York, London, Milan, and Paris Fashion Week runways. Keep scrolling to discover our favorite street style looks from the ongoing Spring season and a comprehensive edit of fall's top trending items.
Fall's Hardest-Working Trend
In an ironic twist, English country style is a favorite among the fashion circuit's city-slickers, with the barn jacket trend being a particular standout. This PFW attendee opted to explore the outerwear's farm-ready feel with pintucked, cuffed blue jeans and a cherry red cowboy boots Bella Hadid would adore.
The Season's MVP
In a Cinch
It's one of the fashion set's best-kept secrets: when time is not on your side, and you need a put-together outfit STAT, rely on an age-old all-black outfit formula but add a few fresh accessories to make it look like you put in a lot more effort than you did. A long-sleeve black maxi dress with your best ballet flats and a sculptural belt that doubles as an art piece will do the trick.
Lean on Linen
Breezy linen is not solely for summer, and the textile has well-earned its spot in your autumnal wardrobe as a versatile material that won't weigh an outfit down. Consider a lightweight linen shirt that you can dress up with impressive, artful jewelry.
A Hero Cardi and Baggy Jeans
I doubt you need me to tell you that the best baggy jeans have climbed the ranks to be 2024's top denim trend—you've seen the celebrity street style sightings and read the runway reports. This fall, try a pair of oversized, dark-wash denim teamed with a quality wooly cardigan and simple white T-shirt.
A Sure-Thing Shawl
A cozy cashmere shawl makes for a fresh-feeling departure from the traditional fall outerwear of trenches and top coats. Styling-wise, make a nod to the forever on-trend quiet luxury aesthetic with monochromatic gray knits stacked on top of each other, a color combination both Succession's Shiv Roy and the Olsen twins wholeheartedly endorse.
Creative Color-Blocking
Fall conjures a very vivid and specific color palette of soft browns, natural greens, and spiced oranges. But on the days where you're feeling more rogue, make a more unexpected color choice—like bubble gum pink and brat green, for instance?
Forget a Fashion 'Faux-Pas'
Wearing white after Labor Day is not only accepted in fall 2024, but encouraged as a fresh-feeling departure from the season's standard dark color. An all-white outfit consisting of a slip skirt, V-neck pullover, and as-needed knit tied around the waist is an especially refined option.
Reconsider the Capri Pants Trend
You likely have opinions about the capri pants trend resurgence in 2024—and they might even be negative ones. But as this sharply dressed MFW attendee demonstrates, the slim-fitting cropped bottoms look incredibly chic with a pair of slingback heels and a neutral blazer.
An Easy A
Again, a fool-proof outfit idea for fall is lean into the season's back-to-school spirit. Start with a bright blue button-down and straight-leg denim. Then, slip into a camel trench coat and if you get really into an academic mood, a tie makes for a clever, teacher's pet-approved addition.
Scene-Stealing Leather
The beauty of leather jacket outfits is that you can leave it to the outerwear to the bulk of the style heavy-lifting. As evidenced here, a nipped-in, belted leather trench coat makes a strong impression on its own—though a neatly starched white Oxford shirt and candy apple red ankle-strap heels certainly don't hurt.
Set for the Stables
The 2024 boot trends confirm it: it's time you sign up for horseback riding—or, at the very least, add some equestrian influence to your shoe collection. A fresh pair of knee-high riding boots in a natural leather look smart with a pair of trousers tucked inside. A crisp white turtleneck sweater will top off the ride-ready look.
Driven by the 2024 Olympics, this past summer saw a spike in sporty essentials, including the country club-approved polo shirt. Take a cue from Marie Claire's editor-in-chief, Nikki Ogunnaike, with a luxurious fine-knit style, which pairs well with a pair of front-pleat trousers and a sophisticated, covetable watch.
Back-to-School Spirit
Lean into the inherent academia of autumn with a grown-up school uniform: baggy, barrel-leg jeans, a wooly sweater vest, and a starched white button-down shirt.
The Ladylike Trend
Take a style cue from The Swans—the immaculately dressed socialites from the '60s, like Lee Radziwill and Babe Paley, who are mainstays on mood boards—and recreate a skirt suit with a tweed lady jacket and matching mini.
Ready for Work and a Runway Show
Again, if there's one standout garment to try this season, it's a heavy-duty chore jacket that can be put to work. This NYFW guest chose a camel-colored workwear jacket (not all that dissimilar from a classic Carhartt), teaming it with a sturdy maxi skirt in the same natural shade.
A Cardigan-Cum-Scarf
Last season, sweaters worn over coats were the uncontested front-running street style trend. But this season, the concept has evolved into a new take on not-quite-wearing knitwear. Now, fashion week attendees are wearing their sweaters-as-scarves.
The 'Black Top and White Skirt' Combo
The white skirt outfit of summer 2024—i.e., any combination consisting of a white skirt and black blouse—is one to replicate during the breezier months, too. Start with a long maxi and then try the tailored vest trend for a prepster-adjacent outfit option.
Business Casual, but Make It 2024
Dress down a sharp blazer with relaxed fit, light-wash jeans—and don't forget a touch of shimmer.
Get Wild
When you've grown bored of black and aren't excited by soft ivory, consider the age-old mantra that maximalists have been saying for years: leopard is a neutral.
Shift Into Sports Mode
Similar to the above look, this showgoer spiced up her professional gray-on-gray separates with a super sporty pair of sneakers. It's a textbook case of the "wrong shoe theory" at work.
Tell Me About It, Stud
As far as the fall 2024 denim trends, it's clear that the street style set is partial to denim skirts. This NYFW guest opted for one embellished with rivets and hardware, giving the girlish piece a subtle grunge undertone.
Long Live the Jorts Trend
The 2024 jorts revivial is, admittedly, a rather polarizing trend. But the longline denim style doesn't have to cause chaos—a sophisticated black blouse and a simple flat are all will elevate a pair of jorts.
Anyone Up for a Game of Ruby?
As a follow-up to summer's athletic shorts trend, fall 2024 invites you to give a rugby shirt a go, even if you have no interest in the game. A flirty mini skirt is an unexpected accompaniment to the sporty piece—and yet it works.
Denim All the Way
Denim-on-denim outfits were a common sight in NYFW's street style but this look, in particular, was a Canadian tuxedo chef's kiss. The key element was how this guest contrasted the washes of her trench coat and jeans.
