Category: Fashion

Every September, I go through the same ritual. The first cool morning hits, I pull my sweaters out of storage, and then I stand in front of my closet with no idea what to wear. It’s not that I don’t have options. My brain just takes a minute to catch up and transition from summer dressing to fall dressing. It’s a process.

This year, I’m skipping the guesswork and leaning on outfit formulas instead. I’ve been saving looks from the most stylish people on my feed, and a few combinations kept coming up: a barn jacket with a simple tee, a flannel thrown over a slip dress, and even capris with heels. Keep scrolling for the 10 fall outfit ideas I’ll be copying on repeat, plus the pieces to re-create each one.

Black Blazer + Black Pants + Striped Tee

A black blazer and a striped tee might be the most reliable outfit formula out there. Swapping jeans for black wide-leg trousers makes it a touch more polished for the office without losing any of the ease. It’s what I’ll be wearing on the days when I have zero time to think.

Sweater + Balloon Pants + Dramatic Jewelry

Balloon pants can be a lot on their own, which is why I like grounding them with a simple knit. From there, this look is all about the jewelry. A pendant necklace was meant to complete this look.

Striped Sweater + Capris + Heels

Capris for fall? I’m fully on board. A striped sweater keeps things casual, and a pair of heels makes the cropped pants look sharp and deliberate.

Layered Tees + Tonal Pants + Suede Bag

This one is all about color and texture. Keeping your pants in the same color family as your layered tees makes the look feel pulled-together, and a suede bag adds instant warmth. Suede is everywhere this season, and a bag is the easiest way to try it without committing to a whole jacket.

Polo Sweater + Classic Jeans + Loafers

The polo sweater is having a real moment, and this is the simplest way to wear it. Tuck it into classic straight-leg jeans, add loafers, and you’ve got a polished, slightly preppy outfit that works just about anywhere. I’ll be wearing this one on repeat.

Baggy Pants + Long Top + Poplin Shirt

Layering a crisp poplin shirt under a longer top is such an easy trick for making a simple outfit look styled. With baggy pants, the proportions feel relaxed and a little unexpected, which is exactly why I love it. Let the collar and cuffs peek out, and you’re done.

Rugby Shirt + Leather Shorts

Leather shorts in fall? Hear me out. Pairing them with a slouchy rugby shirt keeps the look sporty and relaxed instead of too done. Shockingly, you can keep wearing this outfit well into November.

Canadian Tuxedo + Flats

I’ve fully come around to double denim this year. Pairing a denim shirt with matching jeans and a sleek pair of flats keeps it from feeling costumey, and it’s one of those outfits that looks way cooler than the effort it takes.

Flannel + Slip Dress

This is my favorite way to keep wearing slip dresses after Labor Day. A worn-in flannel, buttoned halfway or tossed on open, makes a silky dress feel a little grungier and a lot more fall-appropriate. It gives off major ’90s energy in the best way.

Barn Jacket + Tee + Jeans

If there’s one jacket I’m reaching for first this fall, it’s a barn jacket. Throwing one over a plain tee and your favorite jeans is about as easy as getting dressed gets. I’ll be wearing this pairing on every weekend coffee run until it’s cold enough for a real coat.

Tate McRae has spent the bulk of her career being two people at once. Tate and Tatiana—one born, one built. The one who admits she “hates public speaking so much” while accepting an award: Tate. The one who submerges herself in gallons of liquid gold before 100,000 shrieking fans: Tatiana. The one who writes, “At 22, it’s a little sad … but it’s fun”: Tate—then Tatiana.

It is Tatiana I meet when I pass through the industrial doors of an airy, white-boxed New York studio: eyes drilled into the camera lens, buttery blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders, all limbs in a Miu Miu minidress and towering Louboutin leather pumps. Glossy lips part as her dancer arms wind up the wall like tendrils of ivy. Hairstylist Evanie Frausto orbits the scene, smoothing down flyaways with a boar-bristle brush and zhuzhing her crown just so.

This kind of shape-shifting has a precedent. Beyoncé has Sasha Fierce, David Bowie had Ziggy Stardust, but for McRae, the split isn’t always so clean. Tatiana, she’s said, has become a dominant presence in her life, someone she taps into regularly, sometimes daily, both on and off the stage. Like any freshly turned 23-year-old, she’s still figuring it all out (just under a scrutinizing public spotlight—no pressure), and writing music has always been how she untangles who she is. Her brand-new fragrance, Tate 01 Eau de Parfum, is officially here to fill in the blanks.

“I’m always wearing perfume—before bed, before shows, and before writing sessions. I do think it affects how you approach the song. It’s the same thing as what [clothes] you’re wearing. It affects how you walk into a room, how you feel,” the star shares over Zoom exactly 24 hours earlier. She’s pure Tate then, clad in a gray sweater and baseball cap in her NYC apartment, sipping on a can of Coke. “Creating my own perfume, I wanted to encapsulate the sensual, fresh tones I’ve been wanting to walk into this next year with,” she adds. “I feel like it highlights a different part of my creative expression.”

Music and perfume are two sides of the same creative coin. Both demand some deep introspection; both are born in solitude yet unfold in the hands of millions. “You’re in a constant search of ‘Who am I?’ in these creative outlets,” McRae tells me. “You can write songs with other people in mind. You can reference other people or old music, but at the end of the day, you’re writing to see what sounds the most like yourself. You’re describing yourself—why you’re interesting, why your perspective is different from any other artist. That was similar to [creating fragrance], where I was like, ‘This might be something I enjoy smelling, but this doesn’t feel like me,’ or ‘Maybe this was me last year but doesn’t feel like me anymore.'”

Who is McRae, here and now, in bottle form? Initially, she assumed she’d wind up with some sort of vanilla situation. “I started with smells that I thought I was going to gravitate toward,” she says of working with Givaudan master perfumers Adriana Medina and Antoine Maisondieu. However, she ultimately found herself in a floral-woody cloud of bergamot, clary sage, orange flower, moss, and tonka bean. “As a 23-year-old who wants something for every single day—going to a workout class, going onstage, going to bed—I wanted [to create] something that I’m addicted to. I don’t get sick of this scent ever,” she explains.

Before you roll your eyes at yet another celebrity-founded brand in an oversaturated beauty market, know this: McRae has been itching to check this box since her dance-competition days, and her approach is pop-star nostalgia at its finest. She’s very much aware of the Y2K-era comparisons (namely Britney Spears, an association she once called “flattering and scary”) that cause millennial hearts to soar every time she pays homage with a red carpet look or crushes a highly technical dance break. And what did every icon worth their salt secure in the early aughts? Right—their own perfume.

“Creating a fragrance is the pinnacle of being a pop singer in my head,” McRae says with a grin. Sure, she landed a Grammy nomination, headlined Lollapalooza, performed twice on Saturday Night Live, and scored her first invite to the Met Gala, but the thought of crooning a breathy “Tate by Tate McRae” in a fragrance campaign? Peak stardom. “I remember looking at my idols being like, ‘Well, of course.’ I’ve always dreamed of this day,” she continues, “so it’s been fun gathering my favorite references, which are a lot of ’90s supermodels and timeless bottles, and comparing that to my current brand.” When I ask her to name her favorite pop-girl scent, it’s no surprise to hear that Ariana Grande’s Cloud ranks number one on the list. Despite all the Spears comparisons, McRae has mentioned Grande’s catalog had the greatest impact on her growing up. Indeed, when the star’s “Hate That I Made You Love Me” floats through the speakers during our shoot, McRae and I both can’t help but sing along. We trade a glance—a tug of her lips, a nod to the beat—then she locks back in.

That ’90s, early 2000s influence shines through in the juice itself: Heady and luminous at first spritz, Tate 01 is the kind of perfume I half expect to come with a wash of body shimmer. My secret lab sample, slipped to me like a love note on set, is even labeled “Bombshell,” a code name to prevent leaks and a tribute to its sultry Y2K influences. Despite its unmistakable glamour, however, there’s a softness to it—an intimacy by way of hedione, which evokes a fresh breeze through a carpet of petals, and Iso E Super, a synthetic molecule that reacts with your natural skin chemistry to create a personalized dry-down. Up against creamy, honeyed notes of orange flower, moss, and tonka bean, it produces an emotional contrast similar to that of a Tate McRae track list.

McRae, you see, has perfected the art of the sad banger, or raw, vulnerable lyrics set to syrupy vocals and high-energy dance beats that may very well have you crying in the club. Example: “She’s All I Wanna Be,” in which she belts “She’s got everything that I don’t have. How could I ever compete with that?” to a fast, pop-punk rhythm. It only makes sense that her debut fragrance would reflect some sort of duality. “I wouldn’t describe myself as super girly or super tomboy. I feel like I sit right in the middle. As a dancer, there’s this feminine and sensual vibe, but then I’m also relaxed and sporty. … That was the contrast I was looking for,” she says. In other words, the perfume isn’t Tate or Tatiana. “It’s a mix of both,” she adds. “The person who I created this perfume for is the girl that I would want to walk into a room and smell like and the girl that I would show up onstage as. That girl is right in the middle of Tate and Tatiana.”

That girl, it turns out, is also the subject of her fourth album. “I’m thick in the world-building of it all,” she says when I press her for any updates, eyes drifting to a far-off place she’s keeping firmly under lock, but she reveals that the fragrance was a missing piece of the puzzle. “I now know what the girl smells like, that presence when she walks into a room, which is so interesting to think about. When you’re writing an album, you start to think, How does she dress? What does she smell like? What does she feel like? What’s her aura? What’s her energy? It’s been fun to add a little element that I usually never think about into my songs.”

The Tate 01 campaign—captured in Saint Bart’s by legendary model-turned-photographer Mario Sorrenti—has been integral in shaping this new character. “A big reference of mine is ’90s supermodels: Gisele [Bündchen], Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer. I always look at them as timeless and feminine, and that really came to life when we shot this campaign,” McRae notes. Sorrenti, might I flag, shot Moss for Calvin Klein’s Obsession fragrance back in the ’90s, which would skyrocket both of their careers and define a new era of gritty, unpolished fashion photography. For McRae to collaborate with him on her perfume launch, especially as the new face of Calvin Klein denim, feels like cosmic alignment. Anyone would return feeling inspired. “Getting this aesthetic and painting this world has honestly been a catalyst for how I feel walking into my [songwriting] sessions and the mood-boarding process,” she adds.

As our own shoot wraps in New York, McRae guides me to the hair-and-makeup chair so I can quickly clarify one of my interview questions. “Oh god, what did I say,” she jokes—a flash of Tate through the Tatiana glam, sheepish and a little unsure. We chat for a couple more minutes before it’s time for her next press appointment, and I’m ushered out the door. Over my shoulder, I catch a final glimpse of McRae: gaze trained on her reflection in the vanity mirror, perfectly still as her team flits around her to ready the room for whoever comes next. It’s the kind of snapshot I imagine she’d tack onto her growing mood board. The girl in between, I’d call it. It’s a split second. But worlds have been built in less.

Shop Tate 01 Eau de Parfum

Photographer: Emily Soto
Stylist: Lucy Gatson
Editor in Chief: Kat Collings
Creative Direction: Natalia Sztyk
Hair Stylist: Evanie Frausto
Makeup Artist: Kali Kennedy
Entertainment Director: Jessica Baker

Get ready, everyone. I’m here with an edit of everything I’m loving at this very moment. While I typically just focus on fashion as your executive shopping director here at Who What Wear, I also sprinkled in some lifestyle items I wanted to share as well. But yes, the majority falls within the clothing, shoes, and accessories space.

Preview? You’ll obviously find a range of elevated fall basics, including all of the sweaters, trousers, and jackets I’m into. I certainly wouldn’t leave you having on flats and boots, so you’ll uncover the standouts below—along with gorgeous bags, décor items, and more. Happy shopping, friends.

Paris is an excellent place for people-watching, and an even better one for street style trend-spotting. This week, whilst doing the former, I stumbled upon the latter: a chic autumn layer that’s finding its feet in the French capital.

Putting the trend on my radar, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley stepped out in Paris wrapped in a longline suede trench coat. Opting for a pale beige style with an ever-so-slightly roomy fit, the model let the coat do much of the talking. Cascading below her knee, it brought a polished feel to her look, with glossy leather trousers peeking out beneath and a pair of chic snake-print heels completing the outfit.

Whilst Rosie may be one of the first to catch my eye in the trend this season, she isn’t the only stylish woman to have got the memo. Just a few weeks ago, I spotted Sienna Miller in a strikingly similar suede trench—meaning that it won’t be long until the autumn layer goes mainstream.

Champions of the classic trench coat, both Londoners and Parisians have long held a soft spot for the timeless layer. So, as we move into a new season, these suede iterations feel like an exciting spin on the ubiquitous jacket. Arguably, even more elevated than a classic cotton trench, the rich suede fabrication lends the silhouette a softer, more luxurious feel, making it an especially chic pairing for dresses, skirts and polished separates. Leather trousers, naturally, included.

With Sienna and Rosie already on board, I have a feeling this covetable layer is about to become much more visible in stylish circles. If you want to get ahead of the incoming trend, keep scrolling to shop the suede trench coats I’m recommending below.

Shop Suede Trench Coats:

John Galliano’s Met Gala might be over, but the highly anticipated collaboration with Zara is officially here. After months of waiting, Galliano’s Zara collection has transformed the high street giant’s usual offering of everyday staples into something almost unrecognisable. Archival Zara pieces have been pulled apart, exaggerated and stripped of their original form, before being reconstructed in a way only the couturier could.

The former Maison Margiela creative director teamed up with the Spanish fashion retailer to create Re{form}, a genderless collection that defies practically every expectation of what an everyday piece of clothing should be. Shirts are no longer simply shirts, dresses twist and drape around the body, and tailoring takes on entirely new proportions. Even the most familiar wardrobe staples feel theatrical in Galliano’s hands.

While Zara is a brand we ordinarily turn to for clothes that slot seamlessly into our wardrobes, Re{form} asks us to look at those same pieces differently. The collection is made up of dramatic coats, sculptural tailoring, fluid dresses and beautifully deconstructed separates that feel more like fashion objects than straightforward basics. Galliano’s signatures are everywhere. There’s romance and theatrics, but also imperfection: exposed construction, unexpected proportions and the sense that each garment has been tampered with rather than simply designed.

Amongst all the drama, however, there’s also a surprisingly strong line-up of simpler wardrobe staples. Pure-cashmere V-neck jumpers sit alongside knitted waistcoats and T-shirts, offering a considerably more understated way into the collection. Then there’s the cropped graphic tee, tapping into fashion’s renewed appetite for statement T-shirts and arguably one of the collection’s most accessible pieces.

Keep scrolling to see the Zara Re{form} pieces that caught my eye—and sure to sell out asap.

Shop The John Galliano x Zara Collection

I’ll happily report on Alexa Chung’s style wherever she happens to be, but I’ve spent enough time tracking the enduring It girl’s wardrobe to know that her style is at its best when she’s wandering the streets of Paris. And with Paris Fashion Week in full swing, I’ve been paying attention to how she’s dressing for the city at its most stylish.

Today, as she made her way to the Chloé spring/summer 2027 show to take her front-row seat, I couldn’t help but notice that she did so wearing the elegant trouser trend I repeatedly spot on chic dressers in Paris. No, not jeans. Alexa instead opted for a pair of pale-grey pinstripe trousers, styling them with a lace-trimmed camisole in a shimmering champagne-gold hue. Polished but far from prim, her clever pairing retained enough of a party-girl edge to keep things light and fresh.

Whilst jeans would have brought a more casual energy to the look, particularly alongside such a delicate camisole, the pinstripe trousers gave the outfit a more considered feel. They’re tailored, but not corporate, and still easy enough to wear with a T-shirt, knit or simple vest. When you want to look put-together without looking like you’ve tried too hard, pinstripe trousers do a lot of the work for you. Of course, you don’t need to be heading to Paris to make the most of them. As we head further into autumn, I’d argue they’re one of the easiest trouser trends to work into a city wardrobe.

Always one to look to Alexa for styling inspiration, I’ve rounded up the pinstripe trousers I’d be packing below.

Shop Pinstripe Trousers:

However you decide to color your gray hair—be it with a full head of highlights, dye, or nothing at all—is 100% your call. There’s no right way to wear silver tresses, and you should feel empowered to style them however you feel most comfortable. I know, easier said than done, but it bears mentioning before we dive in! That said, the decision to go full gray isn’t so cut-and-dried. Especially for those with color-treated hair, the transition can result in an awkward line of demarcation between the natural gray and previously dyed strands. The solution? Find a colorist well-versed in French blending.

Whether you’re embracing silver or looking for a natural, low-maintenance way to cover up stray grays, this technique is one to have on your radar. Scroll below for every detail worth knowing before your appointment.

What is French blending?

French blending, put simply, is a highlighting technique that helps you transition to gray hair, softly blending silver strands into the surrounding color instead of covering them up completely. The exact term was coined by L’Oréal Professionnel (hence the “French” bit), but it essentially is a specific type of gray blending that’s since been trademarked by the brand. “It’s a more customized, luxury approach to traditional gray coverage,” shares hairstylist and L’Oréal Professionnel ambassador Jacob Khan. “It celebrates the dimension and silver already in the hair while enhancing and blending the overall color.”

Now, that’s not to say you must commit to a full head of platinum. Sure, French blending is A+ for those who want to eventually embrace an all-gray mane, but it’s also great for those looking for low-maintenance color without obvious regrowth. “I think a lot of clients are moving away from the idea that they need to cover every gray hair every three or four weeks. Now, they can blend the color, not cover it,” Khan adds. “By combining lightening techniques with demipermanent and ammonia-free color options, we can create a dimensional, lower-maintenance result without the commitment of completely covering every silver hair.”

What are the benefits?

• Low-maintenance: As discussed, French blending minimizes any harsh regrowth, which means you can go longer in between salon appointments. “It is so much more low-maintenance than a traditional root touch-up,” gray-blending specialist Farah Hurdle says of the technique. “People love that they can go longer, and it grows in so gracefully.”
• Customizable: Whether you’re looking to transition to full gray or have scattered silver strands, French blending can effortlessly suit your needs. According to Khan, the service can be customized depending on someone’s previous color and how much they want to alter their natural pigment.
• Healthier for hair: Chemical processing of any kind, including hair color, harms your hair. There’s unfortunately no way around it, but French blending does provide an option with far less damage, given the fact that you’re not completely touching up the roots every three to four weeks. Small wins, right?

How It Works

It’s difficult to provide a general how-to, considering the process is fully customizable for every head of hair, but overall, you can expect a mix of highlights, lowlights, and demipermanent color to strategically lighten or add depth to certain areas. “This can involve foil work, strategic lightening, and toning with the goal of creating a seamless blend between the client’s natural silver and their salon color. The finished result should feel dimensional, glossy, and intentional,” Khan explains.

If you’re just starting out on your French blending journey, Hurdle recommends spacing out your sessions into three appointments eight to 10 weeks apart, especially if you’re opting for a full transition. “Each of these appointments is about four to five hours long,” she adds, and the entire process should take about six to nine months. That may sound like a big undertaking, but remember, you’ll wind up needing fewer touch-ups than you would with traditional gray-hair coverage, so the timing does level out. Also, the commitment level ultimately depends on your starting point and what your base color looks like. “Each client is so unique. Consultations are very important,” she says.

Is French blending the same as gray blending?

Well, not exactly. French blending is a type of gray blending that, according to Hurdle, “uses softer, ashier tones of hair dye to color the hair strands.” Think of gray blending as the umbrella term for the technique that blends your natural grays with highlights and lowlights and French blending as a bespoke subset.

There’s also a slight distinction when it comes to the end goal. See, traditional gray blending is meant for those who want to transition to fully gray hair. French blending, on the other hand, doesn’t require a commitment to going full-on silver. “Instead, we use that silver as part of the finished color,” Khan explains. “You can still add brightness, depth, warmth, or dimension and continue changing your look. For someone who wants more time between appointments but isn’t ready to completely transition to gray, it’s a great middle ground.”

You could theoretically get away with using French blending and gray blending interchangeably in casual conversations, but just know that they do have subtle differences.

The Best Products to Maintain French Blending Results

If you live in, have ever spent time in, or know someone who currently resides in New York City, you know the treacherous journey that is finding an apartment. For someone on the fated “summer schedule”—the purgatory between June and September when the latest crop of college graduates trade their family homes for the West Village, new students pile into flex-walled apartments, and the rest of us struggle to rent the residuals (once you move within this lease cycle, it’s hard to get out)—finding a stable home with less than two weeks’ notice is an uphill battle. TL;DR: I tried to move this summer and failed miserably. The only solution was to stay put and make my space feel entirely new.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I love my current apartment. Between its past life as a roaring twenties hotel and its homey community that feels more or less like a vertical cul-de-sac, I have adored every second living inside of it. It’s just that new neighborhoods with tree-lined walking paths, roomy bedrooms, and updated kitchens call to me, and I intend to follow until I’m led to a quieter street with a little more counter space (if you’re listening, moving gods). I’ve been in my apartment long enough for my doormen to know my daily routine and my elderly neighbors to know about my dating life, yet I’ve never, not once, updated my space since moving in years ago. It was time to give my apartment a good ol’ rom-com-style makeover.

“Refreshing your home can feel like a daunting investment, but it doesn’t have to be,” says Danielle Hurhula, vice president of home merchandising at Quince. In fact, you can look at a home makeover like a closet clean-out—clearing out what no longer fits (whether your style or space) and replacing it with a mix of timeless capsule pieces and Marie Kondo–esque joy-sparking additions. “Fashion and interiors are both forms of self-expression, so the colors, materials, patterns, and ways we layer them naturally overlap, but the biggest difference is timing,” she adds. “Your wardrobe changes seasonally, but interiors have to live with us for much longer. While the influences may be shared, they tend to have more staying power in the home.” Especially in a New York home, where space is sparse and multifunctional items are everything, pieces that can grow with you are a priority.

With a luxury wish list and an editor’s budget, I transformed my space in a matter of weeks. Keep reading to see the home and beauty upgrades that turned my apartment into a hotel-like oasis.

20 Home and Beauty Buys That Upgraded My Space, From $13