Fall Fashionista

Fun accessories, fabulous color and a little something new are all it takes to upcycle your favorite pieces into a fresh new look for fall.

By Taylor Cunningham
Photography by Nena Earl

As the kid’s head back to school and the temperatures begin to dip, the time has come to cue brisk mornings and hot beverages. The change in weather also brings a change in wardrobe; from pastel shorts and flowing tops to warmer layered pieces in shades inspired by the season.

While fall fashion is all about being snug and sassy, it’s also important to make sure you can transition your clothing from work to play. Versatile pieces are the basis of a strong wardrobe, and can be easily combined with trendy seasonal accessories to create a dynamic and adaptable look.

Local stylist Ashley Barkley worked with EM and Eagle boutique Mimi Marie to create three fashionable fall looks; day, business casual, and evening, using clothing from Eagle’s high fashion boutique Mimi Marie. The same pair of versatile sand-colored pants created the base for all three outfits, and quick adjustments to make-up, accessories and blouse smoothed the transitions between work and play.

These pants are a closet staple and an easy go-to for any look, night or day. Pairing an adaptable piece of clothing with different accessories and tops helps to keep clothing costs down and makes getting dressed (more) simple.

Renu Medispa’s Hillary Bonine touches up Nicole’s look

Hillary Bonine, assistant director of Renu Medispa in Eagle, created the make-up looks to go with each outfit. For the day look, she created a fresh-faced make-up look that played off of the colors of fall leaves: copper, bronze, gold and camel. Bonine was able to carry the same base of make-up into the business casual and night looks with only subtle changes to the eye shadow and lip color, ideal for the woman on the go.

Our model, Nicole Christensen Pettinger, certainly is a woman on the go. Even though Pettinger is a mother to three, she is also working to establish a non-profit for Idaho kids that focus’ on exposure to art and music. She also sings with the
Boise’s Chandler’s Jazz Trio, and creates watercolor and charcoal art on canvas – so she has to be able to easily dress for a number of different environments quickly and easily.

For a casual day look, stylist Ashley Barkley aimed to create something that was cute and easy to wear. It’s perfect for a day spent shopping or for enjoying brunch with friends. To create this look, Barkley paired the sand colored pants with an olive colored tank top. The stripes on the tank top make it fun and the olive color is in vogue for fall.

The simple combination of the pants and tank leaves a lot of room to play with accessories. The Mona Lisa card case adds character to the look ¬– fun vintage-esque pieces are always in style. The black medallion ring paired with the gold and black Celtic cuff give the outfit edge, and the braided cognac-colored belt adds more depth to the look.

The fresh faced, wearable day make-up look that Bonine created complements her outfit without overshadowing her natural beauty.

The goal of our business casual look was to create something professional yet full of personality. The same sand pants from the first look are taken from shopping with friends to the office with a few adjustments from Barkley.

The change from her striped tank top to this collared shawl jacket makes the outfit work appropriate, but its tailored fit combined with the lace print camisole keeps the look feminine. The suede olive and tan handbag is big enough to carry the essentials for work but it is chic enough to take anywhere.

For the work place, it’s important to keep accessories simple. But simplicity doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice style. The skull detailing on the pearl drop earrings gives them a subtle edge, and the gold infinity necklace and pearl bangle set brings the look together.

Make-up should be pretty yet put together. To take her makeup look from casual to business casual, Bonine added a deep plum liner to her lips. According to Bonine, deep plum lips are going to be big for fall.

For the night look, the same pants from the other two looks remain, and the highlight of this outfit is the layered armored necklace. Its gold, bronze and copper shades of chain metal embody the colors of fall. Paired with the floral print tasseled tunic, it creates a dramatic, flowing silhouette appropriate for eveningwear.

The tribal print bangle set combined with the open bejeweled bangle give the outfit a hint of couture, but keeps it from being too serious. A beaded band daisy ring brings attention to the dark paisley patterned clutch and ties the look together.

For the make-up, Bonine added dark plum eye shadows to the first look to create a smoky eye. Plum eye shadows are neutral enough to go with the sand and metallic tones of this look, but look “regal” Bonine said. To keep her makeup pretty without becoming too showy, her lip color is back to the original shimmering nude from the first look.

Stylist Ashley Barkley and Nicole consider the fabulous finds at Mimi Marie — Stylist Ashley Barkley and Nicole consider
the fabulous finds at Mimi Marie

According to Barkley, this fall we can expect to see slightly shorter heels (think 3-inch), oxfords, open toed ankle boots, and over the knee boots. Olive green, (such as the first tank top shown), burnt orange, deep plum, navy, fuchsia and sand colors will be staples, and they all look especially great paired with or as colored leather, which is making a reappearance.

Pants will be especially fun this season. The patterned styles are with us for another season, to be joined by cargo-style, two-toned color blocked pants and not-your- average shades of denim.

As weather continues to cool off pea coats, long jackets, blazers and motorcycle vests will become outfit staples. Blazers are one of Barkley’s favorite staple pieces because they add professionalism to an otherwise delicate piece such as a dress or camisole.

You can feel free to mix and match your patterns as floral, dark paisley, and plaid carry into the fall season; just be sure to add some chunky gold accessories to create balance between blazers and paisley pants.

Most importantly, wear clothes and accessories that make you comfortable. Barkley looks at trends as a guideline; something that you can tweak to fit with your own personality. In her work as a professional stylist, she seeks to build confidence in clients that is based on their positive self-image. “Stay true to yourself, dress how you feel, and make it you,” said Barkley.

Fashionista-web-4