When I started creating this post I took a poll on Instagram. I asked you what you wear the most in the fall and then took your top answers and blended them with mine. Although I originally intended for the post to be a capsule wardrobe post, I ultimately decided to focus on casual fall wardrobe staples and share a few ways those staples mix together. You can take these foundational pieces and add in dresses, pants for work, or skirts for even more outfits. If you’re looking at this post from a capsule wardrobe standpoint, there are 17 items and 25+ outfits.
Fall Wardrobe Staples
White Cardigan XS \ Flannel Top XXS \ Flannel Top Option XS \ White Layering Tee XS \ Sneakers TTS \ Black Layering Tee XS \ Red Layering Tee XS \ Distressed Straight Jeans 0 Extra Short \ Straight Jeans Petite 24 \ Black Jeans 0 X-Short \ Leggings XS Short \ Wrap \ Burgundy Tunic Sweater XS \ Green Cowlneck Top XS \ Topcoat Petite 00 \ Topcoat Option XS \ Moto Jacket (dried cedar) XXS \ Moto Jacket Option XXS \ Slim Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Black Lug Boots TTS \ Black Boot Option \ Tan Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Leopard Flats
My Sizing: To help you choose the best size for you, I share my sizing beside each item. I’m 4’10” and around 105lbs.
Flannel Top
I love flannel tops because of the pretty plaids on most of them, but also because of their endless outfit possibilities. They can be buttoned and worn on their own, but they can also be layered over t-shirts, layers added on top of them, and also tied around your waist. If you get one that is long enough you can wear it over leggings as well. I have two flannel tops here, one from Madewell that I’m wearing in XXS and an Amazon alternative that I’m wearing in XS. The Amazon top is “white brown”.
White Cardigan XS \ Flannel Top XXS \ Flannel Top Option XS \ White Layering Tee XS \ Black Layering Tee XS \ Straight Jeans Petite 24 \ Black Jeans 0 X-Short \ Leggings XS Short \ Slim Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Black Lug Boots TTS \ Black Boot Option \ Tan Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Skinny Jeans 0 X-Short \ Western Boots TTS \ Tan Crossbody Bag \ Brown Crossbody Bag
Moto Jacket
A moto jacket is the polish to my casual wardrobe. The same way I grab a blazer when I want to dress up an outfit – I grab a moto jacket to give a casual outfit a little edge. Moto jackets look great with jeans, but also great with dresses and skirts. I found a great leather one at Madewell, but I also found a nice faux leather option on Amazon that I’ll share below as well. I have both a camel (dried cedar on the Madewell site) and a black one. I think it’s a personal preference with the color, if you want both colors maybe go for an inexpensive option in the color you would wear the least. Both jackets run TTS and I wear them both in XXS. The Madewell jacket has snug sleeves at first, but they stretch with wear. The Amazon jacket is a little bit long in the sleeves on me.
Moto Jacket (dried cedar) XXS \ Moto Jacket Option XXS \ Black Layering Tee XS \ Red Layering Tee XS \ Straight Jeans Petite 24 \ Black Jeans 0 X-Short \ Green Cowlneck Top XS \ Slim Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Black Lug Boots TTS \ Black Boot Option \ Leopard Flats \ Tan Cowlneck Sweater XS \ Snakeskin Mules TTS (c/o) \ Black Jeans 0P (c/o) \ Black Crossbody Bag
Cozy Cardigan
I personally love long cardigans. Some could say they’re too long for someone who is short – but I just don’t feel that way about them. I love to be cozy and a long cardigan is like wrapping up in a warm blanket. The one I’m wearing in the post is from Target. It does run a little big, I’m wearing an XS and have the sleeves rolled up.
White Cardigan XS \ White Layering Tee XS \ Black Layering Tee XS \ Red Layering Tee XS \ Straight Jeans Petite 24 \ Black Jeans 0 X-Short \ Leggings XS Short \ Burgundy Tunic Sweater XS \ Green Cowlneck Top XS \ Slim Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Black Lug Boots TTS \ Black Boot Option \ Tan Booties Size Up 1/2 Size
Topcoat
Once the weather cools down we all need a good coat. I have a post planned with options for petite-friendly coats, but today I’m going to focus on one of my favorites to wear – a topcoat. A topcoat adds style to an outfit and also extra warmth! My favorite one in terms of quality and fit is from J.Crew. I’m hoping it will be on sale during the holidays to make it a little more affordable – but I also found an option at Amazon that fits well overall. If you’re comparing the two in quality, there is a big difference, but the Amazon coat is good quality for its price point.
Topcoat Petite 00 \ Topcoat Option XS \ Sneakers TTS \ Black Layering Tee XS \ Straight Jeans Petite 24 \ Black Jeans 0 X-Short \ Leggings XS Short \ Green Cowlneck Top XS \ Slim Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Black Lug Boots TTS \ Black Boot Option \ Tan Cowlneck Sweater XS \ Black Crossbody Bag \ Hiker Boots TTS \ Crewneck Sweater XS
Black Jeans
Black jeans are a big part of my fall wardrobe. I can dress them up for work, but they also look great with some of the trending boot styles like lug boots and combat boots. I’m wearing a pair from American Eagle in this post and recommend sizing up in them. I wear them in 0 X-Short. I’m also wearing a pair from Kohls in one of the outfits that are ultra stretchy and petite-friendly. I’m wearing them in 0P. I had no idea Kohls carried Petites, so I was excited to find those!
Some of these outfits may start to repeat a little bit, but I wanted to point out each staple, but also how they mix and match together.
White Cardigan XS \ Flannel Top XXS \ Flannel Top Option XS \ Black Layering Tee XS \ Red Layering Tee XS \ Black Jeans 0 X-Short \ Wrap \ Burgundy Tunic Sweater XS \ Green Cowlneck Top XS \ Moto Jacket XXS \ Black Lug Boots TTS \ Black Boot Option \ Leopard Flats \ Snakeskin Mules TTS (c/o) \ Black Jeans 0P (c/o) \ Black Crossbody Bag \ Knee High Boots TTS
Leggings
I find myself wanting to wear leggings every chance I get lately. I like leather leggings, but I really love a pair of comfortable classic black leggings with an oversized or long top. My favorite pair is from AE and I wear them in XS short – they go as small as XXS. The pair I like is a little thin, which is why a longer top is important with them. If you’re looking for more ways to wear leggings check out this post.
Leggings XS Short \ White Cardigan XS \ Sneakers TTS \ Black Layering Tee XS \ Wrap \ Burgundy Tunic Sweater XS \ Green Cowlneck Top XS \ Topcoat Petite 00 \ Topcoat Option XS \ Tan Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Hiker Boots TTS \ Knee High Boots TTS
Jeans
My all-time personal favorite pair of jeans to wear are the jeggings from AE. They’re comfortable (not crazy high-rise) and affordable. However, I also have an appreciation for the trendier straight jeans and really like the Stovepipe Jeans from Madewell or Curve Love Straight Jeans from Abercrombie (a blog top seller). I styled each of them throughout this post to give you an idea of how I would wear each one. If you would like more ideas for ways to wear straight jeans, check out this post and this post.
Flannel Top XXS \ Flannel Top Option XS \ Distressed Straight Jeans 0 Extra Short \ Red Layering Tee XS \ Straight Jeans Petite 24 \ Burgundy Tunic Sweater XS \ Green Cowlneck Top XS \ Slim Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Tan Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Leopard Flats \ Skinny Jeans 0 X-Short \ Western Boots TTS \ Tan Crossbody Bag \ Tan Cowlneck Sweater XS \ Crewneck Sweater XS
Chunky Sweaters
Fall wouldn’t be complete without chunky sweaters! I personally love to have a mix of oversized sweaters and a couple with a closer fit for tucking into skirts and wearing to work. I wanted to choose sweaters for this post that would also layer with the other outfits, but it is really just a sprinkling of great sweaters. If you want to see more ideas for petite-friendly sweaters check out this post, this post, and this post.
Straight Jeans Petite 24 \ Black Jeans 0 X-Short \ Burgundy Tunic Sweater XS \ Green Cowlneck Top XS \ Slim Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Black Lug Boots TTS \ Black Boot Option \ Tan Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Leopard Flats \ Skinny Jeans 0 X-Short \ Western Boots TTS \ Tan Cowlneck Sweater XS \ Crewneck Sweater XS
Layering Tops
Last, a good fall wardrobe isn’t complete without a few layering tops. I like mine to be thinner for those warm days when you want to shed layers and I like to have a mix of fitted and relaxed tops. I used a relaxed t-shirt from Target, as well as a closer fitting top from Abercrombie and Pink Lily. I’m wearing all of them in XS.
White Cardigan XS \ Flannel Top XXS \ Flannel Top Option XS \ White Layering Tee XS \ Black Layering Tee XS \ Red Layering Tee XS \ Straight Jeans Petite 24 \ Wrap \ Topcoat Petite 00 \ Topcoat Option XS \ Moto Jacket (dried cedar) XXS \ Moto Jacket Option XXS \ Slim Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Tan Booties Size Up 1/2 Size \ Leopard Flats \ Skinny Jeans 0 X-Short \ Tan Crossbody Bag
You can find a casual workplace capsule wardrobe here.
-Brooke
