by Maria Pierides

Apart from the crucial pumpkin spiced latte, the thing we most look forward to when the autumn season begins is the wardrobe overhaul. As much as we love our playsuits and sandals, there’s nothing more exciting than the lead up to Christmas, wrapping up in our cosy new autumn/winter pieces and exploring the new-season trends in every way we can. The exciting thing about autumn/winter is just how easy it is to translate the new-season trends into our everyday looks just by adding one key item at a time. Adding a simple scarf, for example, can instantly transform a look, and it’s an easy, not to mention cost-effective, way to ensure we are always keeping up with the latest trends and keeping out the chill at the same time. Win, win!

Let’s take a look at this autumn’s must-have accessories to see you through the changing weather and add style points to your wardrobe.

You can’t go anywhere without seeing animal print this season, thanks to Tom Ford, Victoria Beckham, Givenchy and Balenciaga – but you don’t have to go all out. Pay homage to the trend by adding a subtle hint here and there with your well-chosen and expertly tailored accessories. We love the idea of monochrome dressing and adding animal print footwear. Animal print accessories that can work with or without your outfit, such as in bag or scarf form, is another great option.

Everyone’s favourite chic fabric is back, and we couldn’t be happier about it. Oversized tweed coats paired with sleek leather skirts were all the rage at Marc Jacobs, while Miu Miu turned back the clock and landed in the 80s. And thanks to Louis Vuitton’s dreamy tweed jackets showing at Paris Fashion Week, we know where our office wardrobe inspiration is coming from! We are living for tweed dresses, trousers and blazers right now, but also quite like the idea of a tweed bag too. The more tweed, the better!

As self-confessed magpies, we jump for joy whenever sparkles, sequins or anything shiny and reminiscent of a disco ball debuts on the catwalk. And much to our delight, the AW18 catwalk was full of dazzling pieces, with Chanel, Fendi, Prabal Gurung, Tibi and Simone Rocha among the designers to unleash their shiniest garments onto the runways. Giambattista Valli even went as far as dripping his models’ faces in glitter, and although we aren’t recommending that for the office, we can all agree that that’s something to aspire to for those “go big or go home” parties. Party dresses don’t get much better than sparky ones, which is why we have selected not one but two; however, jazzing up an everyday outfit with a rockin’ sparkly blazer is something we can definitely get on board with, as is adding a sparkly clutch bag to that staple evening ensemble. A little black dress teamed with a sparkly clutch is never going to be boring, no matter how many times you wear it!

Does anyone else feel like an extra from Clueless whenever they wear a check mini skirt? We know we can’t be the only ones! Check print has come a really long way over the years, and we can’t fault the new and exciting direction it’s going in thanks to Calvin Klein, Erdem and Versace. Check coats and scarves scream autumn/winter to us, which is why they are never far from our autumn/winter wardrobes. Wrapping up in a check scarf is one of our favourite go-to autumn/winter looks, and for good reason! As check is having a serious style moment right now, we’re also excited to swap our trusty black trousers for check trousers, teamed with a crisp white shirt for a sharp off-duty look, and flipping the look upside down by way of black trousers and an on-trend check shirt. The possibilities are endless!

Millennial pink, hot pink, Barbie pink – it’s all in! Alexander Wang, Valentino and Prabal Gurung showcased some stunning pink pieces on the autumn/winter 2018 catwalks, and we feel positively inspired to start adding pops of pink into our existing wardrobes. Soft scarves and cosy knits are two essential autumn/winter pieces to add style and warmth, as are petite wrap dresses and coats. We might even be bold and try an Elle Woods inspired all-pink ensemble in the office. She who dares…

Image credit: @modern.mrs