5 Fall styles; veganized

Well, it seems that the pumpkin spiced lattes were around for 3 days before swiftly being taken away and replaced with gingerbread lattes (I’m not complaining – any sugary coffee drink goes down well with me), but how is it already November!? One good thing is that the Fall fashion is officially here and not going anywhere until possibly late January/February! I love the clothes this time of year; big coats, scarves and winter boots, but it can be hard to find your favourite styles in vegan options.

As a fashion graduate I’ve never lost the habit of keeping up-to-date with the season's styles, even if I don’t buy into them, it’s good to know what’s on trend throughout the year. I’ve done a round up of the top Fall trends this year and done my homework on sourcing vegan pieces that will keep you turning heads this season.

Cowboy

Believe it or not, the cowboy theme is huge this year for Fall, which is odd as it’s usually associated with spring/summer styles. Think prairie dresses, cute neckerchiefs, and cowboy boots. Will’s Vegan Shoes & Accessories Co are always my go-to for vegan shoes, they carry a wide range of styles and always have the cutest boots in stock year-round. These Western boots in this gorgeous chestnut brown colour are no exception; perfect paired with neutral tones and oversized knits.

Animal print

This can sometimes be a divisive topic amongst vegans as some argue that we shouldn’t wear anything that even resembles animal skin, but I believe that we are allowed to take inspiration from nature and as long as we never use an animal in the process, there’s no harm in replicating their stripes, spots or scales. (Interested to know what you guys think about this too!) Animal print is actually one of the biggest Fall trends of 2018 and has moved away from the ‘tacky’ label it had received previously, just keep the rest of your outfit pared-down and opt for flats. I’m in love with the Tammy faux fur jacket from Jakke, most people go for the zebra or tiger prints, but why not stand out with a cute cow print. Another animal print Queen is Reformation, check out their snakeskin print skirts!

Checks

I have a sort of love/hate relationship with checks I’ll be honest, but I was interested to see how the different types of checks (plaid, Prince of Wales heritage, tartan, etc) are being used this season. There’s often a lot of wool material involved with checks, so I was so pleased to see People Tree have this beautiful pair of Reiko Check Trousers made from 100% organic cotton. These are great for office wear and can be transformed easily into eveningwear with a blouse and heeled courts.

Tweed

This was particularly tricky to find a vegan alternative for, as tweed is traditionally made from wool. I found this double-breasted overcoat in brown tweed from Brave Gentleman and the outer fabric is EU-Ecolabel certified, 100% mechanically-recycled cotton/poly blend that has been diverted from a waste-stream in Brazil. I really love this brand and would encourage any male (or female) readers to give their website a look and see what they’re about, I included this piece in this list as I think you could get away with calling this an oversized coat as a woman.

Gloss

Not all trends will be good ones, unfortunately, and the gloss and the high-shine trend is one that conjures up feelings of nausea for me, with flashbacks of the dreaded ‘wetlook’ leggings. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find these Darcelle “Skin Free Skin leather” leggings by Stella McCartney – annoyingly made from polyester, why Stella, why? There’s also a huge price tag on these leggings so you may want to try and find a pair second hand if you can.

Enjoy the season’s styles and rest in the knowledge that everything you like can be veganized :)