I'm Making Bets: Insiders Will Invest In These 9 Fall Trends First

It's arguably the best time for fashion right now. The fall collections we've been chatting about since the spring are now beginning to arrive online and in stores. I'm gearing up for another fashion month to begin in September, but before I shift my focus to what's to come in 2025, I'm sitting down to discuss everything fall 2024.

The runways were replete with fresh ideas on autumnal dressing, from chestnut suede outerwear to new trouser silhouettes and some of the most elegant handbags I've seen in a while. All in all, the upcoming season is set to be one of incredibly chic and polished dressing, and I'm already anticipating which items, runway looks, and trends celebrities and fashion people will gravitate toward first. Ahead, I'm outlining the nine fall investment trends that insiders will be buying and wearing before anything else this season.

As we inch closer to true fall weather, I'm eager to start integrating a few new outerwear picks into my outfit rotation, and having reviewed both the runways and recent fashion-person feeds, there's one jacket style that feels a cut above the rest. Per Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, and Miu Miu, I'm keen on wearing a brown suede jacket, especially one with a boxy car-coat silhouette.

The Carven runway featured one shoe style I haven't gotten my mind off of, and that is square-toe mules. With their dramatically squared-off toe shape and low, ultra-walkable heel, these are already the ultimate investment piece for fall. Better yet, it's a style to start wearing without delay.

As cool style in 2024 is increasingly defined by elegant dressing, more and more accessories are emerging to satiate our collective need for beautiful, polished pieces. One such trend is the rise of vanity-case bags that lend such an aura of retro glamour with their structured top-handle shape. Celebs such as Sofia Richie Grainge and Gigi Hadid are fans of the Loro Piana L19 bag, and now, I'm convinced I need one too.

Full skirts have been trending all year long, and this season, the fashion set will prioritize them over any other skirt style. The voluminous midis we wore all summer in cotton and poplin aren't going anywhere. They're simply being upgraded to cool-weather-appropriate fabrics like wool and knits that will pair well with all manner of flats, boots, sneakers, and mules for the coming months.

Leather-band watches are as timeless as it gets, but there is a growing movement in womenswear that's set on demystifying the world of timepieces. Now more than ever, the chicest dressers I know are talking about, shopping for, and wearing classic watches by the likes of Cartier and Hermès. But it's not only heritage brands—accessible labels like Heaven Mayhem are releasing modern versions, so it's never been a better time to be a shopper in the watch market.

Leopard print has subtly bubbled up all year, but fall is when the print will really take hold. Classic outerwear and chic accessories are the go-to ways to incorporate the print into your wardrobe, and if you've ever hesitated on how to wear it, just look to Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, whose '90s styling ideas continue to be relevant and repeatable today.

When Phoebe Philo introduced a leather jacket with a funnel-neck silhouette in the debut collection of her eponymous line, the industry studiously took note. It was a declaration of what the new era of luxury fashion looks like, and now, Philo's forward-thinking idea is starting to saturate throughout the rest of the fashion world. For fall, funnel necklines are set to be the defining detail on the season's most-wanted outerwear staples, whether they're trench coats, leather jackets, or sporty nylon zip-ups.

It seems that the infatuation with wide-leg styles is finally waning after several years. This season, designers are ushering in slim-leg trousers and the overall feel they give—high-waisted, slim-straight legged, and slightly cropped—is especially forward right now. Pair yours with almond pumps per Altuzarra for an especially refined look.

We've seen quirky cord pendant necklaces pop up from last summer, but with the impact that the fall runways made, pendant necklaces on the whole are going to be trending for next season. The looks that stylist Allison Bornstein has described as the "chic desert aunt" aesthetic are giving us a preview into how everyone will wear them—e.g., with languid maxi dresses and relaxed tunics and trousers. Now, the artsy necklace is taking off once again.