How to get the Americanized fall look

Its fall season and as a somewhat newbie, I am learning to dress for the weather and also be fashionable at the same time. It can be quite difficult crossing over from the African way of dressing to the American way. There is a certain distinction between how Africans dress and American way of dressing. I can always spot a fellow JJC African just by the way he/she dressed. And I'm talking about the normal jeans/top attire.


Anyway, I realized that it took me a while to dress warm during fall and at the same time look fashionable. Yeah I don't want to always look like a JJC, afterall I have been here for almost a year. Its always better to blend in than to stand out in a bad way.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

Go for the skinny or straight cut jeans/trousers: Because of the cold weather, it is always advisable to wear clothing that would hold on tighter to your body. This is because you don't want to leave any room for the cold air to touch your skin. I have seen a lot of people wear boot legged trousers and I must confess it doesn't look cool at all, especially for fall.  You can also consider leggings, they go nicely with boots.

The darker the better: During fall the atmosphere is dark and grey, and fortunately or unfortunately you have to dress to match that. Okay that's not the main reason to wear darker colours but at least that is what I tell myself. Actually dark colours can retain more heat than brighter colours, and since you need all the heat you can get, its better to go in for these dark colours.I also find dark colours very chic and sophisticated. You don't have to go all black but keep an eye out for other shades such as grey, plum. burgundy, etc.

Dress in layers: I dont expect you to wear only one piece of clothing during fall, but its better let them show in layers.It adds more edge to you attire and it definetly gives you a slimmer silhouette(I think!)