By now, I feel like it is well-known that the old trope about not wearing white once fall’s here has outgrown its utility. White is fantastic no matter what time of year. I do have some rules for wearing it, though, that are different than when I wear summer whites. The first one is that I gravitate to slightly off-white hues—which is especially important when it comes to jeans, which I think look cheap when they’re tight and white. And the second rule is that I always make sure to accessorize with darker colors, like scarves hats, bags, and footwear. Check out how much cooler this woman looks than she would if she were wearing white shoes and socks.

These are a pretty perfect pair of jeans in my book, because they have a nice, slouchy boyfriend cut, and a slightly ecru hue.

Such a cute and useful cotton pullover for throwing on whenever.

A good jumpsuit knows no season. I’d wear this one unbuttoned a bit with a black or mustard yellow tank top peeking out, and later on with a turtleneck.

Just a rather lovely cashmere sweater that isn’t cheap, so here’s a well-priced alternative (that’s not cashmere, alas).

A cool and generously-cut polo shirt. I especially like the length of the sleeves.

I just read something somewhere about how this sherpa jacket from Alex Mill sells out lightning-fast after they restock, so if you’re interested, do not delay.

A good, crisp cotton poplin shirt is almost always a good idea.

A corduroy shirt jacket that’s just so tomboy cool.

A sweet chunky sweater that almost looks hand-knit.

I tried to find a Mac coat as perfect as the one the woman at the top of this post is wearing, and I think this one comes awfully close. The color is closer to gray than white here, but I’m allowing it.

This waffle-stitch sweater has such a cool silhouette, and it’s alpaca, which is always so warm.

Here we have the August 1977 Back to School issue of Seventeen magazine with Jayne Modean—my second favorite Seventeen model after Phoebe Cates—on the cover. I have such seriously acute memories of receiving this in the mailbox at the end of my family’s long dirt driveway in Houston—and poring and obsessing over it for weeks at the tail end of summer vacation. School started in August in Texas, but that didn’t stop us from wearing our new fall tweeds and sweaters on the first day of classes, sweating as gracefully as possible in the 100-degree heat.  It’d be months before it would actually be cool enough to properly wear these clothes, but such was the pull of the Back to School issue.

I still find myself wanting to look like Seventeen’s stylishly preppy covers come fall, and this Alex Mill sweater jacket seems like an excellent place to start.

I also like the idea of this cashmere crewneck, which is such a good heather grey and rings in at just under $150. It also comes in some other good colors.

I’m pretty sure I showed you the white iteration of this shirt jacket recently, but now I’m debating whether to get it in the blue instead.

Such a chic and slouchy houndstooth blazer.

I love the retroish look of this crossbody saddle bag, but it’s kind of pricey, so here’s something similar but cheaper.

Here I am surprising myself by liking brown again—I just think this plaid skirt is great.

I am so intrigued by all the vests I’m seeing lately, and this corduroy specimen is just so cool. Its olive green iteration is maybe even cooler, though.

It seems like everyone I know wants loafers, me included. This pair has a chunky-but-not-too-chunky sole, and is pretty well-priced.

I’d take a seam ripper to that big ugly Acne Studios label and wear the hell out of this fun, multicolored scarf.

Before I had any idea what style even was, I was drawn to the preppy look. I have told you before about my affection for The Official Preppy Handbook, but I was equally influenced by a 1976 Texas Monthly article that ran down the style choices of the University of Texas’s top sororities (I’m pretty sure this is behind a paywall, but Texas Monthly is a publication worth supporting, and a digital subscription will run you just $15 a year). I’ve gone through multiple style evolutions over the years, but I always return to this look, because it’s so clean and snappy, and easy to build a uniform around. One of the most important components of this look is a pair of khaki chinos, and I think these are pretty great.

A button-down in an end-on-end fabric—meaning they use both blue and white thread to make it, which adds dimension.

A slightly shrunken unstructured blazer that looks as easy as it does spiff.

I think this conductor stripe chore jacket is just about the cutest thing ever. I have a kind of fixation on chore jackets and own a few, so I can’t possibly give myself permission to pull the trigger on this one. But I wish I could.

Such a cute striped polo sweater; I also like this one in navy, which looks like it’s not as cropped.

An polo shirt with dramatically oversized dimensions: so slouchy cool.

A denim skirt is a key component of this look for me (I’m mightily inspired by this vintage image of Lauren Hutton in one) and I like how faded-out this one is.

A cute striped tee at a very easy-to-digest price.

This Breton stripe sweater comes in about a zillion colorways, but I’m partial to this classic blue and red (with a fun pop of white on the sleeve)

I really really dig these Gola sneakers—they’re pretty cheap, and cute, and a slightly fresher choice than Tretorns or Stan Smiths.

I always like a woven belt because it provides an effortless pop of color; here’s one that’s cool and cheaper.