How to wear summer dresses in fall | Summer to fall transition | J. Crew Denim jacket, leather jacket, suede jacket, cardigan, sandals, ballet flats, tory burch belt, Talbots reversible belt, Bloomingdale's Aqua navy lace dress, petite fashion style blog reviews

How to Wear Summer Dresses in Fall

This is the first post in a 3-Part Series on How to Transition Summer Pieces to Fall. Please see Part II on Summer Pants & Part III on Summer Florals (password protected for email subscribers – sign-up today!)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to get more mileage out of my wardrobe. You know I love KonMari Philosophy and lean towards a capsule-wardrobe mentality. Therefore, I needed my favorite summer dresses to transition into fall weather.

I know many of you probably have the same problem so here I share my thoughts on how to transition summer dresses into the fall season!

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How to wear summer dresses in fall | Summer to fall transition | J. Crew Denim jacket, leather jacket, suede jacket, cardigan, sandals, ballet flats, tory burch belt, Talbots reversible belt, Bloomingdale's Aqua navy lace dress, petite fashion style blog reviews

Outfit: Bloomindale’s Aqua Lace Dress XS (review here); J. Crew Denim Jacket XX-Small (review here); Target Lakitia Sandals 5.5 (review here); Daniel Wellington Petite Watch c/o

1. Add a Jacket

This is my favorite way to transition a summer dress into fall weather. My personal favorite is adding a denim jacket to the dress. It’s still lightweight but pulls the outfit together for fall.

An alternative option is a leather jacket. Leather jackets are very versatile but I personally have difficulty finding ones that I truly love. My most recent find was from J. Crew and I reviewed it in this post. Other leather jacket recommendations are from LOFT, Nordstrom or Bloomingdale’s.

A third option is a suede jacket. I’ll be honest and tell you I don’t own a suede jacket. Not that I don’t like them, but I also haven’t found one I truly love. A camel color would be great for fall transitions. Here are my recommendations.

A fourth option is a cardigan. I recommend wearing a darker color for fall and light and bright colors for summer. This a simple change for summer to fall.

How to wear summer dresses in fall | Summer to fall transition | J. Crew Denim jacket, leather jacket, suede jacket, cardigan, sandals, ballet flats, tory burch belt, Talbots reversible belt, Bloomingdale's Aqua navy lace dress, petite fashion style blog reviews

2. Change your Shoes

I find changing shoes can drastically change the feel and look of an outfit. In summer, I love pairing dresses with sandals, block heels or wedges (my 4 favorites are discussed here). When transitioning to fall, I love wearing ballet flats with summer dresses.

Two alternative options are fall ankle booties or tall boots. See my recommendation for my favorite pair in this blog post and what socks to wear ballet flats & booties/boots in this post (coming soon).

How to wear summer dresses in fall | Summer to fall transition | J. Crew Denim jacket, leather jacket, suede jacket, cardigan, sandals, ballet flats, tory burch belt, Talbots reversible belt, Bloomingdale's Aqua navy lace dress, petite fashion style blog reviews

3. Add different Accessories

An accessory that can be easily added is a belt. I recommend adding a belt to your natural waist when transitioning to fall. Of course it depends on what kind of dress we are styling – the navy lace dress in these photos does not pair well with a belt but a shift dress would definitely be an option for adding belts. Two of my favorite belts are discussed in this post and this post.

How to wear summer dresses in fall | Summer to fall transition | J. Crew Denim jacket, leather jacket, suede jacket, cardigan, sandals, ballet flats, tory burch belt, Talbots reversible belt, Bloomingdale's Aqua navy lace dress, petite fashion style blog reviews

How to wear summer dresses in fall | Summer to fall transition | J. Crew Denim jacket, leather jacket, suede jacket, cardigan, sandals, ballet flats, tory burch belt, Talbots reversible belt, Bloomingdale's Aqua navy lace dress, petite fashion style blog reviews

What are your favorite ways to transition a summer dress to fall? Let me know in the comments please!  

Continuing reading Part II on Summer Pants & Part III on Summer Florals (password protected for email subscribers – sign-up today!)