5 Pieces to Spice Up Your Fall Closet

(That You'll Still Want in a Year)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about not chasing trends. So I'm aware of what it looks like to show up today with a list of five things to buy.

Hear me out.

Stepping back from trend-chasing never meant buying nothing. It meant I stopped buying the thing that's everywhere in September and dead by November. There's a difference between adding one piece that makes everything else in your closet feel new and replacing your closet every season because the internet told you to.

And honestly, the statement pieces are usually the ones that get me.

The basics? I wear them to death. The interesting stuff? Sometimes it hangs there with the tag on, quietly making me feel bad every time I open my closet.

So this fall, I'm running the October Test on the fun stuff, too.

If you've been here a few weeks, you know the rule. Before I buy anything for a season that hasn't started yet, I ask myself: Will I still reach for this when the weather actually turns?

And more importantly, will I still want it a year from now?

Most spice fails that test. These five are the ones I think have a chance.

Missed the original October Test? Read my Aritzia Workwear Haul: 5 Outfits I'll Still Want to Wear This Fall.

Fair warning: these all come out of the fall trends I talked about back in August. Not because I want to be right, but because that post was the forecast. This is the part where you actually have to put it on.

Catch up on 5 Fall 2026 Trends I'm Actually Wearing (And 3 I'm Not).

Fair warning: these all come out of the fall trends I talked about back in August. Not because I want to be right, but because that post was the forecast. This is the part where you actually have to put it on.

Catch up on 5 Fall 2026 Trends I'm Actually Wearing (And 3 I'm Not).

One Purple Piece. One.

Purple is having a moment this fall, from soft lilac all the way through deep aubergine.

And I can already see how this could go wrong for me.

I buy one purple thing. I love it. Suddenly I'm convinced I need purple pants, a purple sweater, and a purple bag.

No. We're not doing that.

The move is one piece.

A knit or a trouser. Not both.

Aubergine is especially good because it sits next to black, brown, cream, and denim the way a neutral does. It reads as a color, but it behaves like a basic.

That's the whole reason it works.

Why It Survives

It's not loud just for the sake of being loud. A beautiful aubergine knit will still look like a considered choice next fall, even if purple isn't the color everyone is talking about anymore.

October Test: Passes. This is probably the one I'd buy first.

How I'd wear it: An aubergine knit with my favorite straight-leg denim, a brown belt, and a pointed flat. Or, for work, with black trousers and a simple gold earring.

The Triangle Scarf

Cheapest spice on this list. Possibly the one that changes the most.

A scarf isn't a commitment. It doesn't have to fit, it barely takes up closet space, and it can turn an outfit you've worn forty times into one you haven't.

A white tee and jeans? Add a scarf.

A simple black sweater? Add a scarf.

A bag you've carried every day for three years? Tie a scarf around the handle.

Suddenly it feels different.

And here in Montana, it's actually functional. Our mornings are cold and our afternoons aren't, so a little layer you can take off and stuff in your bag makes sense.

Why It Survives

Nothing about a scarf ages. It's the accessory equivalent of a low-risk bet.

October Test: Passes.

How I'd wear it: A small printed silk scarf tied loosely at the neck with a white tee, straight-leg denim, and a blazer. Or tied onto my everyday bag when I don't feel like wearing it.

One placement. That's enough.

Lace Somewhere It Doesn't Belong

This is the one I probably would've skipped a year ago.

The romantic thing happening this fall is lace, ruffles, and all those delicate details that can get very costume-y very quickly.

But the version I actually like?

Lace somewhere it doesn't belong.

A lace-trim camisole under a blazer. A little bit of something delicate against something structured.

That's the contrast that makes it work.

Not lace on lace on lace.

Just a little bit.

Why It Survives

Because it's a texture, not a whole new silhouette. You can wear the same lace-trim top with trousers now, denim next spring, and under a cardigan a year from now.

October Test: Passes, with a caveat.

This is the one I'd probably buy at the lowest price point because it's the most tied to a specific moment. I don't need to make a major investment in a trend I'm still testing.

How I'd wear it: A lace-trim camisole under a single-breasted blazer with wide-leg trousers and a pointed flat. The lace is the interesting part. Everything else stays simple.

A Loud Shoe

The best place to be loud is the furthest place from your face.

I said what I said.

A shoe with a real color, a real texture, or hardware you'd notice from across a room can do something a loud top can't. It makes the outfit interesting while everything else stays completely yours.

Jeans and a black knit with a boring boot is an outfit you've worn a hundred times.

Jeans and a black knit with a shoe that has an opinion?

Different outfit entirely.

And you didn't have to change anything else.

Why It Survives

Because you're not asking it to work with everything. You're asking it to rescue the outfits you're bored of.

And those aren't going anywhere.

October Test: Passes.

How I'd wear it: A simple black knit, straight-leg jeans, and a pointed shoe in a rich color or interesting texture. Or with tailored trousers when I want my work outfit to feel a little less predictable.

A Bag in a Color

The one that requires you to change nothing.

Everyone has the black bag.

The black bag is correct.

But a bag in a real color—burgundy, warm brown, aubergine if you want to be efficient about it—is the easiest way to make your usual outfits feel new without changing a single other thing you own.

You can carry it with jeans.

With workwear.

With a dress.

With the same coat you've worn for three winters.

And unlike a trendy top, you don't have to worry about whether it fits differently next year.

Why It Survives

A well-made bag can stay in your rotation for years. The key is choosing a color and shape you genuinely love, not just the one everyone is carrying this month.

October Test: Passes.

How I'd wear it: A burgundy or deep brown bag with an all-black outfit. Or with cream, denim, and a simple knit. Let the bag do the work.

What I'd Skip

If I only did four of these, the lace would probably be the one to go.

Not because it's wrong. Not because I don't think it's pretty.

Because it's the most specific to right now, and specific-to-right-now is exactly what the October Test is designed to catch.

I can appreciate a trend without needing to own it.

And I can love the way something looks on someone else without convincing myself it belongs in my closet.Exactly the energy I want heading into the weekend.

The Point

Five pieces isn't a shopping list.

It's five different ways to make what you already own feel a little more interesting.

And you probably don't need all five.

Maybe you need a scarf. Maybe you've been looking for a great bag. Maybe the purple knit is the one thing that makes your black trousers feel new again.

The test isn't whether something is trendy.

It's whether you'll still want it in a year.

And the honest answer is that most spice doesn't make it.

These are the ones I think have a chance.

In a couple of weeks, I'm styling the Aritzia pieces I bought back in August for actual fall weather, and a few of these little additions might show up.

We'll see how they hold.

Because the best fall wardrobe isn't the one with the most new things. It's the one you're excited to get dressed in.