Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission – learn more
It’s hard to think about autumn clothes after a sizzling hot August but that’s the way it goes. The new season clothes are already in the stores, and the very good news is these are clothes we can wear now and right through into winter.
Fashion is no longer the roller coaster ride it was and – with a few notable exceptions – the fashion seasons flow into each other. A jacket you bought back in March (the little brown suede jacket), you’ll still be wearing come October. That trouser suit you splashed out on last autumn is good-to-go for this one too, with different footwear or a change of top. We’re not talking about radical shifts any more, now it’s all about moving on the looks that already work for us – adding and subtracting as the weather changes, tweaking the details, fabrics and colours.
Here’s my pick of clothes and accessories in store now that you can wear tomorrow, right through to December. It’s a bit too early for fake fur coats, thick sweaters and boots, but not for this lot. Who said nothing gets any easier?
The little leather jacket
The big buy for Spring 2025 was a Parisian Girl short tan suede jacket to wear with everything from white jeans to a sweater and skirt and guess what? The brown suede jacket is still the hero piece for autumn and shaping up to be the single most powerful piece in your wardrobe. Wear it now with flowing wide leg trousers; in a month or so over a knitted top with an A line skirt, and then on into winter over a polo neck and trousers or a nippy co-ord.
I was going to pass on this jacket on the basis that it seemed like a nonessential purchase, but au contraire. Now it’s clear the LLJ (little leather jacket) has eight months of the year staying power and will add sophistication and a certain Left Bank swagger to everything you wear it with. It makes me want to tie a little knotted scarf at my throat (and that, too, is very autumn 2025). It doesn’t have to be tan suede and cropped on the hip with a little collar – there are plenty of bomber jacket and biker styles out there – but this style is the prettiest and most versatile in my view. The faux suede version from Zara is great value (£49.99, zara.com) and Marks & Spencer’s lightweight style (£59, marksandspencer.com) is a close runner up.
Note: If the idea of a short tan suede coat appeals, then Zara has done that too – a dead ringer for the one that appeared on the autumn/winter Prada catwalk (£169).
Switch to: wearing leather jackets.
Tailored trousers
Let’s not say wide-leg any more, but these are not narrow but straight-legged and roomy. And they may be darted in front, mid or high-waisted. Zara collection has just the pair (£49.99, zara.com) and H&M does a good slouchy everyday pair in brown, the colour that straddles summer and autumn (£27.99, 2.hm.com). Your jeans are likewise still ‘relaxed’, fitted on the hips, straight legged with room to spare and the horseshoe or barrel leg style is going strong. The ones your daughter’s wearing are ‘balloons’.
Switch to: straight and wide all the way, not bell-bottom flared.
The everyday waistcoat
A lot of summer trousers came with matching fitted waistcoats, but now the waistcoat look is really gathering momentum. If you have Michelle Obama arms, then a buttoned-up round-neck, or shallow V-neck waistcoat with nothing underneath, plus tailored trousers, is the new chic trouser suit. Otherwise wear it with a T shirt or a light shirt, nothing too blousy or highwayman. Nobody’s Child has a good waistcoat in burnt orange (£75, nobodyschild.com) and the matching trousers (£85).
Switch to: slim and tailored on top and forget the frilly blouse.
The striped top
This basic wardrobe element used to be your go-to for a summer holiday in Cornwall, but now its acquired a new cachet. You can wear the cotton varieties this month, with ivory/ecru trousers and a leather jacket, and the more luxey wool styles later on with those tailored mannish pants or under a trouser suit. Every high street store does them, but the best are from M&S and Cos.
Switch to: wearing your striped top with tailoring and in a colour that isn’t navy.
The chic T dress
Not to be confused with a Tea Dress, this is the smooth, cleaner more modern looking version. Flatteringly slightly ruched on the torso, midi length, with short but not too short draped sleeves this shape is sticking around and beginning to feel like a classic. Zara has done a suede version in olive green for autumn – beyond most of our pockets (£349) – but it’s the style that looks like it could have walked straight off the catwalk.
Switch to: sleek and plain not florals.
Animal print
It has been a long time since leopard print shed its slightly racy, tacky image and became the elegant black and tan print that you might wear with your beige trench coat. Now a bit of leopard tailoring is a standard way of adding interest to a stealth wealth muted palette and it’s still going strong for autumn. But if you feel like a change, the new animal print on the block is a play on zebra – monochrome, clean and sharp, and modern. An animal print pencil skirt (£59.99, zara.com) sounds wild now, but with a black sweater or red twinset come winter…
Switch to: animal prints, stripes, checks and spots.
The below the knee skirt
It might be A line, it could be narrower and more in the pencil range, but it’s never clingy, it’s ladylike and it feels a bit different because of the way you wear it as of now (with kitten heels or flats and a neat top). Mango’s subtly striped sky blue midi skirt (£59.99, johnlewis.com) is a good place to start.
Switch to: skirts below the knee not mid calf – but longer hemlines are sticking around.
A belt
Narrow, leather and smart to wear with trousers or jeans or to cinch the waist of a soft structureless jacket. The addition of a sleek leather belt can shift a look 25 degrees towards polished and pulled together, and that’s what we’re aiming for. M&S has a great selection starting at £15.
Switch to: belting your blue or ivory jeans.
Polished flats
Loafers and brogues made a strong appearance on the autumn/winter catwalks, along with low-heeled pointy sling backs and the message is that smooth, flat (or not high), polished and elegant is still the fashion forward choice. Zara’s pointed shiny black flats (£35.99) or kitten heel pumps in the season’s go-with-everything chocolate (£50) will hit the spot. If you don’t already have the fashion crowd’s favourite shoe of spring, M&S’s black soft loafer (£55) is still around for autumn. Naturally.
Switch to: sleeker and smarter footwear.
