LE CATCH

When I was little stockings on my head

$598, veronica beard

This is exactly how I want to face up to the first fall chill.

1. Khaite turtleneck, $680, mytheresa.com

2. Khaite jeans, $420, mytheresa.com

3. Veronica Beard jacket, $598, veronica beard.com

4. Hereu bag, $490, bergdorfgoodman.com

5. Loeffler Randall boots, $395, shopbop.com

If I asked you to guess the provenance of the clothes pictured here I doubt you'd say The Gap! But it's true! Not only was I surprised to stumble upon its new fall line-up, but also delighted to access next season's best trends at affordable prices! Like the must-have moto, for example, and the drawstring cargoes. Plus: the wool coat, the high-waist jeans, the stripes, all of it, so good! (P.S. This in NOT a sponsored post.)

Babba Riviera, pictured here, pulls off a summer-to-fall wardrobe update in an instant with Anine Bing 's wide-shaft, high-knee boots. This new must-have silhouette goes with skirts, jorts, and with wide-leg pants, and comes in various neutral shades. I also like these iterations from Staud, Isabel Marant, and Khaite.

I'm telling you: the wood bench outside Sunlife Organics in Malibu is the equivalent to a front row seat at a fashion show. On display: the latest and greatest SoCal style. The other day I sprinted after a woman to ask her where she'd gotten her cute printed fleece, above, and was delighted to learn it costs under $200 and has cute brethren, to boot. (I'm planning to wear it underneath my Chanel pea coat and ski jacket this winter!) Also in the spotlight: Simone Fan's IYKYK terry cloth cover-ups and post-surf wear that all the Point Dume it girls love, including surfer and model Carolyn Murphy, below. I have the cropped polo top in green--it's super cozy and chic off the beach as well. (My prediction: this recently-launched and already insider-cool brand will soon have a huge cult following.) I also spotted (and shopped on the spot) these perfectly-cropped, super flattering jeans by Tu Es Mon Tresor (a line I had never heard of!), this sleek Khaite skirt that looks equally home in both Malibu and Manhattan, and these statement fisherman shoes by See by Chloe. P.S. I used to be really shy about stopping and asking people where they bought their clothes, but that Sunlife bench has turned me into a pro!

The sweater weather forecast is bright and bold--anything but the same old! I'll be embracing this new fall trend with statement knits like these from Mango, below, Jonathan Simkhai, Isabel Marant Etoile, H&M, and Rosie Assoulin.

I'm totally down with Natalie Martin's easy-breezy interpretation of fall dressing, above. It's the equivalent of baby stepping, very elegantly, into cooler weather. Her new collection also features this belted dress (perfect now and later with boots and a big cardigan). I could also seamlessly transition into next season in H&M's head-to-toe (under $100) look, below, along with these affordable wardrobe updates from Farm Rio (so Dries looking!), And Other Stories, Frankie Shop, and Line & Dot.

Thanks to a family full of photographers (my father and two sisters), I own a lot of beautiful prints. However, I completely lack the much-needed talent for framing these prints. After all, choosing the right frames, borders, floating prints, etc., is in an art in and of itself. So, I was thrilled to discover Simply Framed, an online service that helped me select the frames, measure the art (which I am terrible at doing precisely), choose the mounting styles (full bleed, floating, single mat)--basically everything that I find debilitating about the whole art-hanging process. Recently, I sent in a triptych of Roy Lichtenstein prints via a FedEx tube and within a week, they were framed and shipped back to me. It seriously could not have been easier. I highly recommend!

$370, boden

This groovy crochet detailing on this coat gives it a can't-quite-place-it Miu Miu vibe.

All those minis that summer ushered in will be sticking around for a while longer, just FYI. They'll look fall-appropriate when paired with more skin-covering pieces, whether it's a menswear-inspired button-down or knee high boots, or simply rendered in heavier, textural fabrics. I'm loving these options from La Double J, Sir, The Reformation, and Ulla Johnson.