Romance Is Back—but Make It Modern
I have always been drawn to fashion with a sense of history, so the return of romantic references this season immediately caught my attention.
Designers looked toward earlier decades through velvet, lace, fringe, fluid dresses, dropped waists and darker florals. Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar both highlighted the return of historical and romantic influences across the Fall 2026 collections.
The key is not turning yourself into a period character.
Try a velvet blazer with jeans. Pair a lace blouse with tailored trousers. Add a brooch to an otherwise minimal jacket. Let one romantic element become the conversation piece.
That is often what great personal style is: tension between two ideas that should not necessarily work together—but do.
Invest Where Fall Fashion Works Hardest
Living in Chicago has made me particularly opinionated about coats.
Your outerwear cannot be an afterthought when everyone is going to see it for half the year.
Fall 2026 gives us permission to treat the coat as part of the look itself. Shearling, exaggerated collars, tactile fabrics and statement silhouettes appeared throughout the season.
Rather than buying five inexpensive coats, I would rather own one beautifully made piece that makes even the simplest jeans-and-sweater combination look intentional.
That philosophy extends beyond outerwear. Invest in the pieces you repeatedly reach for: a great blazer, leather boots, a beautiful knit, a structured bag.
Photo Credit Alex Shaw