My Fall Colours

I’ve been wishing and hoping, as the old song goes, for fall. And it looks like my wishes just might be coming true. Last night we had a spectacular thunderstorm, and high winds. And I awoke this morning to find the stultifying humidity gone, replaced by cool temperatures and a wonderfully fresh September breeze that has me reaching for my jeans and sweaters. Ahhh. That’s much better.
Paug Lake in the Ottawa Valley 2014
Fall’s dark reds and deep blues. Taken on our last fall camping trip in 2014.
Hubby is away fishing this week, and while I’ve been cleaning, and shopping, and picking and processing tomatoes… we are inundated with tomatoes… I’ve also been thinking about fall colours. Luscious burgundies, and cool blues, and crisp whites. Like the image below from this week’s Net-a-porter.com’s magazine The Edit.
Image from netaporter.com magazine The Edit
Elie Saab jacket and blouse, and Stella McCartney pants in net-a-porter.com’s magazine The Edit


Or this gorgeous Vanessa Bruno suit that I first saw in a post on Tish Jett’s blog A Femme d’un Certain Age. It seems that deep reds, and wine, and burgundy are everywhere this season. Lucky me. I have several burgundy pieces from past seasons. I’ve always loved that colour.

Vanessa Bruno velvet suit
Vanessa Bruno suit can be found here.

And I adore burgundy with navy, and fresh white tees or sweaters. Like this outfit from Midwestern Miss on Tumblr.

Midwestern Miss on Tumblr
Midwestern Miss on Tumblr
And while I’ve been thinking about fall colours, I’ve also been thinking that part of simplifying one’s closet should be choosing a colour palette for the season. Last year I was all about grey. Having purchased my grey Vince coat sweater at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale in July, I made sure that whatever I bought after that worked with the sweater, to get maximum wear from it, and thus lower my “CPW”… or “cost per wear” as Stacy and Clinton used to say on What Not to Wear. And this season, well, I’m all about navy. Or to be more specific… navy, and burgundy, and white. Because I simply love that combination. But also because I bought a navy Veronica Beard suit at Nordstrom in July.
I’m wearing the navy pants here. With my navy and white striped Alexander Wang tee, my Stan Smith Adidas, and my Marc Jacobs burgundy bag, all from last year. I bought the burgundy scarf at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale this past July. Navy with white is always lovely, if a bit tame. But add burgundy and it becomes rich and yummy, and well… almost edible. Don’t ask me to explain that last bit of weirdness.
Veronica Beard pants, Alexander Wang tee, Nordstrom scarf, Stan Smith Adidas, Marc Jacobs bag

I’m wearing the Veronica Beard jacket with the matching pants below. Same scarf and bag. The jacket has a really cool grey hoodie attached. Well, part of a grey hoodie… more like a dickie… just the front part and the hood… and it zips out if I want to wear the jacket with something else underneath. I simply added a white cami here.

Veronica Beard jacket and pants, Nordstrom scarf, Stan Smith Adidas, Marc Jacobs bag
I’ve already worn the pants several times with a tee and my loafers, or with sandals and a light tunic. And I know I’ll get a ton of wear from the jacket this fall…with or without the hoodie. With the matching pants, or with blue jeans, or my burgundy jeans from last year. It’s quite sporty, with a snap closure instead of buttons and zippered pockets. Sigh. This outfit is pure me. Narrow pants, a trim jacket, overall sporty and still a bit classic. Just the kind of look I want: comfortable, casual, no longer working but still hoping to look as if I’m not ready for the rocking chair just yet.
Now, I must run. Enough talk about my fall colours. My tomatoes have probably cooled enough to package them. And the wind has blown down a pile of apples from our tree this afternoon, so I have to go pick them up before the chipmunks get them. Hubby has a love-hate relationship with the chipmunks. He thinks they are adorable, but they are hell on the windfall apples. They scamper over, take one bite, and then move on to the next apple. It drives Hubby mad. He keeps picking them up and raging, “One bite. One. What the bleep, bleep is that?”
Our backyard apple tree.
Fall is here. Our apples are looking and tasting wonderful.
So, what about you, friends? Have you chosen a fall colour palette?   Oh… and by the way…anyone need any tomatoes? Or apples? Anyone?

Subscribe:

Would you like to have new posts automatically delivered to you? Sign up below, and when new content appears on the website, we’ll send the story to you via email. 

* indicates required
Sue Burpee
High Heels in the Wilderness is for women like me. Women who love clothes. And books. Who dream of travelling to amazing places. Who want to explore their own lives, and their own potential, now that they aren't twenty (or even forty) anymore.

Subscribe:

Would you like to have new posts automatically delivered to you? Sign up below, and when new content appears on the website, we’ll send the story to you via email. 

* indicates required

Let's get social

Instagram Pinterest Youtube Facebook-f

From the archives

life

Loose Talk … The Trouble With Twitter… Among Other Things

June 8, 2014 6 Comments

I wrote a blog post a week or so ago about a great book that …

fashion

Fifties Girl

February 17, 2016 26 Comments

I finally saw the movie Carol a week or so ago. My friend, Elizabeth, and …

life

Off He Goes Into The Wild Green Yonder

June 6, 2020 44 Comments

Hubby is heading off into the wild green yonder this week. Continuing a love affair with the wilderness that has lasted six decades.

34 thoughts on “My Fall Colours”

  2. Libby Wilkie

    I would love some of your tomatoes!!! I have a new recipe for tomato marmalade that I want to try. Still hot and humid here! The new colors are fabulous, but somehow I can't begin to think about fall…

    1. sueburpee

      Tomato marmalade sound really interesting…is that like a chutney? I agree it's hard to think of fall when it's hot and humid… hope it cools where you are soon.

  3. Anonymous

    The last few days has seen the tip over into our Autumn -cooler , damper mornings & that certain change in the light . I've just packed away my summer stuff , now the weather man tells me that a little late heatwave is on the way & tomorrow is to be our hottest September day for fifty five years at 27 degrees . I don't suppose that sounds hot to you but I shall be 'mafted' , as we say here . You look great & I love that suit , very unusual . I'm curious about the fabric , is it a stretchy jersey or crepe ? Must get that burgundy bag out that I bought last year & try it with my white shoes
    Wendy in York

    1. sueburpee

      You are so right about the change in light, Wendy. Sun lower in the sky, and setting earlier. Barbequing in the semi-darkness some evenings now. The suit is stretchy but much stiffer than jersey… the tag says it's nylon and elastane. If I'm pressed I'd say the fabric is kind of "athleisure"…although I hate that term. And speaking of words…"mafted'…what a great word! Good luck with your heat wave:) 27 is lots hot enough for me…especially if there's humidity with it. I'd much prefer a breezy 22.

  4. Rosie

    Looking forward to Autumn and it's warm colours here too! Although we're predicted temps of around 30 degrees for the next few days!! My boots and trench coat got an outing on Saturday …it'll be back to white jeans and sandals today …:) still, lovely to wake up to sunshine and blue skies.
    Another versatile purchase Sue!! I really like the suit, especially the jacket. As you say, it ll mix and match so well, creating lots of outfits.
    Enjoy your apples and tomatoes …I'd happily relieve you of some if I were nearer.
    Have a good week, competing with the chipmunks for the apples, sounds fun!
    Rosie

    1. sueburpee

      Thanks, Rosie. I hear from Wendy that you are in for some hot temperatures over there. I packed away all my sandals except one pair… which will probably trigger hot temps here.

  5. Anonymous

    Looking forward to Autumn here, near Paris, too! Love how the addition of the burgundy scarf lifts the breton and pants outfit. Great combinations!
    Sue

  6. Unknown

    We are in the Midwest and got that cool blast just before you — in time for a lovely weekend. I love fall! And your color palette looks fabulous. You wear clothes well. I'm not the biggest fan of burgundy (looks awful on me) but it's a nice pop for navy and white. Maybe I'll try some away from my face.
    As for apples, they're the best. We have a record crop this year, I think, and I'll be eating them daily and baking with them, and maybe even make some applesauce and pie. Yum.
    Chipmunks. Ugh. We fight them all year….they dig under the porch and sidewalks, etc. I won't tell you how we fight them. It's too gruesome for a happy fall morning.
    –Hope

    1. sueburpee

      Oh, me too. Love fall, I mean. I've been luxuriating in being comfortable outdoors for the first time in a while. Walking, cycling… picking vegetables …cooler temps makes everything more enjoyable in my view. I haven't done anything with our apples yet… better start soon, though.

    1. sueburpee

      Thanks, Stacey. You just gave me an idea. I have a charcoal and burgundy plaid shirt from several years ago. I'll bet it will look great with my suit. Hmmm.

  11. materfamilias

    I'm absolutely smitten with the way you've paired burgundy with navy and white, and wondering about a bag and a scarf. . . .I also love olive with navy and white. The switchover to fall is going to be very odd for me this year: having just barely unpacked from our move after having most of my wardrobe in storage for the last three months, I'm packing my carry-on very soon for 2.5 months away. . . This might not work!

  12. Anonymous

    Lovely combinations! I love the bag. Always loved navy and burgundy (and,once upon a time in Italy,they always had black for AW and navy for SS in stores. Period. But,I love how they pair navy and this special cognac/brown colour)
    So,I have blue trousers (even suit!) and burgundy turtle neck (and waterfall cardi).
    Considering velvet for the season,there are warm shade of brovn trousers and,separately worn (with black or grey) black and golden tops-all shopping in my closet! Isn't it great?
    The Childrens Act is superb,thank you
    Dottoressa

    1. sueburpee

      So glad you are enjoying the book, Dottoressa. I love that cognac colour as well… I almost wrote flavour there… which actually works too! Don't you love it when you look at a trend and then rummage in your closet to find just the right pieces?

  14. Anonymous

    Meant to say earlier I'm enjoying working my way through Enzo McLeod series thanks to your blog where I discovered Peter May. Amused by a line in the latest "she was still a handsome woman for all her forty odd years". Oh dear! Iris

    1. sueburpee

      Ha. As old as that, eh? I love reading descriptions of characters, especially in mystery novels when a detective describes their first impression of someone. The descriptions are not always kind to women of a certain age. Always makes me wonder how they would describe me… carefully made up? neatly pressed clothing designed for a much younger woman? Best to stop right there, I think:)

Comments are closed.

Let's keep in touch.

 Join me at any of the sites below to continue the conversation.

Facebook-f Pinterest Instagram Youtube

© 2022 High Heels in the Wilderness | Privacy Policy