Life in Colour - 12: What You’ll See in Stores This Autumn—And How to Wear It for Your Season

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

There’s a lot hitting the shelves right now—rich autumn colours, layered textures, and accessories that look great… but don’t always feel great when you try them on. In this episode, I’m talking through what you’ll actually see in stores this season and how to make it work for you—without the overwhelm. I’ll walk you through these colours, cuts, and must-have pieces, and more importantly, how to figure out which versions of those colours will suit your season. Because olive, rust, burgundy—they’re not one-size-fits-all. And the right shade makes all the difference. So if you’ve ever stood in a change room thinking, “Why doesn’t this look right on me?”, this one will help you shop with more confidence, more clarity—and way less guesswork. Want to learn more about seasonal colour analysis? Get my free Finding Your Colours Guide @ https://www.lovingcolour.au/findyourcolours Or want to know your perfect colour palette now? Purchase a Virtual Colour Analysis with me to find out exactly which colours light you up! Go to https://www.lovingcolour.au/colouranalysis Follow along on Instagram: https://instagram.com/lovingcolour__

Welcome to Life in Color, the podcast where we dive into the real, raw and wonderfully colorful aspects of life. I'm your host, Ashley, and I'm here to explore the ins and outs of seasonal color analysis, navigating motherhood, thriving in your 40s and beyond, and embracing health and wellness with a healthy dose of humor. Join me as we uncover the secrets behind finding your perfect palette, share stories of the joys and challenges of being a mom. And from practical tips to heartfelt conversations, life in color is your space to laugh, learn and live life. unapologetically in all of its colorful hues. So grab your favorite drink, settle in and let's add some color to this adventure that we call Life. Welcome to Life in Color.

Hello, hello, everyone. It has been a little while since I actually recorded an episode just because I have been sick pretty much for the entirety of March. And then I gave myself a concussion two weeks ago tomorrow, which I had no idea how much a concussion could actually knock you about. It has knocked me sideways. And Today is like my first venturing back into doing work. I can't actually look down too much like at my keyboard and laptop. So I'm literally, I've got my setup and I'm trying to look directly ahead rather than looking down at my notes because, yeah, it's getting much better, but that little bit of vertigo is

still with me. A little bit of nausea is still with me. But hey, ho, I am doing much, much better. But just a side note for anyone who has potentially have a concussion in the future. please take it seriously. They are not to be messed with. And I've had some lovely clients and also people online and friends reaching out to me saying, you have to be really, really careful. So that's been my almost past last month, I would guess, is where I have been. But I'm so excited to come back to you today and record this episode because we are moving into the season of autumn

for the weather in the southern hemisphere. Obviously, northern hemisphere, you're going into spring. And there's that shift. It's really quite a big shift. And I like those shifts. You know, when we switch from warmer seasons to cool, I'm talking about weather. And when vice versa, when we switch from cooler to warmer, it's quite exciting. And you start to see things. And people are like, they're ready to get out of their summer dresses and put some nice knitwear on and vice versa. So that's what we're going to be talking about today. Now, I will be, I guess, focusing more on things that you will find in the southern hemisphere purely because that's where I live. However, as you know, I shop internationally. So I shop from Marks and Spencer's Made Well, Bowden, J.Crew. I do shop internationally because sometimes that's where I find that I can find the clothes. And also there are, like I've talked about before, the UK in particular, they're still going to have light knitwear in their spring. And you might actually find the colours that are in your colour palette

or that suit you best by shopping overseas. Now, obviously I'm recording this in a week when tariffs have been announced. and I would just say obviously take a look when you're shopping before, you know, making any decisions in case you have been affected by those tariffs, which are going to put things up for you when you're shopping for them. Here in Australia, when we're shopping overseas, that hasn't actually affected us coming into the country. It's affected us going out, like selling to the US. So just bear that in mind. Like for me, my jeans, they're from Madewell. I absolutely love them. My husband will be going back to the US for,

work later in the year and I will be asking him to pick me up another pair of the stovepipe jeans because they fit me like a glove and I love them. So that's where don't, and I know I've said it on here before, don't be hesitant to try and shop overseas because if they've got a really good returns policy, then it's no different to shopping within your own country. Just check though that they've got when you're returning, you're returning it within your country. Like I'm returning something to Bowden and I can return that within Australia post. It's like $10 compared to sending it back to the UK. So just have a look at those things. So let's get into today. Now, when I'm talking about these, I'm going to talk about colours that are coming in for the cooler seasons within

the southern hemisphere. Obviously, these colours are still relevant to what's happening in the northern hemisphere purely because obviously we are six months behind in terms of what's happening in fashion. Like if you want to see what's coming out for spring and summer later in the year, if you live in the southern hemisphere, all you need to do is go and look at what's happening, say, like on Marks & Spencer's, Jay Crew, all of that kind of thing, because then you'll get a hint of actually what is actually going to be coming out because we follow six months later. Now, you know I don't like trends. I'm not about that.

I'm very much about people wearing what they want to wear. There's actually something that I've been seeing quite a bit on Instagram. And it's been really annoying me and bugging me. And it's this trend for a reel to show how you wore it in 2019 versus 2025 and how 2025 is so much more modern. Look, I get that 2019 was six years ago, but it was only six years ago. It's not like it was 26 years ago, even though all of the things from the 90s are coming back in. It's what you love to wear, what suits your body. I'm a very classic kind of personality, like style personality.

That's what I like to wear. So if I want to wear those skinny jeans, you know, there was that whole thing about millennials can't stop wearing their skinny jeans. If I want to wear a pair of skinny jeans, then I'll wear them. Don't let any of that put you off. You will feel modern and relevant if you're wearing what you love and you are wearing colors that light you up and that suit you. It's as simple as that.

It's not about having to do your hair in a middle part rather than a side part because that's what's modern in order to keep you relevant. I'm not here for any of that. So when I'm talking about these, some of them are going to be that they have come in because obviously stores, designers, you know, the fashion empires, however you want to describe them, have decided that this is what's going to be in stores this year. Now, some of them are really, really lovely and I'm so happy to see them back in stores because they're actually things that I really enjoy wearing. Other things are going to be a little bit more polarizing or they're going to be in for a bit.

and then they're going to go. So just remember that when you're purchasing things, look at your price point and think about, is this something I'm going to wear long term? Or do I want to dip my toe and try this and see if it suits me? Now, when I say about trends, I feel like I need to do a quick caveat. But when I say about trends, if you see something that you're like, that is me, I have been waiting for this to come back and I am so excited, like me giving you a little heads up, like the shorter cardigans, the button down cardigans I used to wear in my late teens, early 20s, they are all in the stores. And I am so excited and I'm here for it.

And I will be buying quite a few and stocking up just because that's something personally I really enjoy wearing. But if it's something that you see and you're like, oh, I've never tried that before, but I would like to, that's completely different to feeling like in order to stay relevant and modern, you have to wear it. Those are two completely separate different things. So don't get me wrong. I am not against all of these things coming into store.

if it's what you love to wear and want to wear because it makes you feel happy and brings you joy. Okay, I will get off my soapbox now, I promise. And we will get into it. Okay, let's start with colors because let's face it, that's at the heart of everything that I do. And I haven't been able to talk about color in about a month. So chocolate. Chocolate is a very big color. Now, we started to see that a lot last year.

But this year, there's a real diversification in the kind of chocolate colors that you're seeing in stores. You have your milk chocolate browns coming in, which are lighter. They are not as intense. They have had some of that cream and white mixed into them. So they're a really nice, lighter kind of color. Now, that lighter kind of chocolate brown is fantastic for springs, who don't like to wear anything too dark and intense. It's fantastic for your soft autumes. Warm autums would be a bit more rich and have a bit more rust sort of color in them. And then when you get into sort of those chocolate browns that are quite light, almost leaning into like that torp kind of colour brown. They're really lovely for summers because getting a chocolate for

summers can be quite difficult because they could be too dark, too intense, too overpowering for us. Whereas if you go for this sort of topy kind of light milk chocolate kind of colour, it will look really beautiful and really, really suit you. And so when you're looking at it, you can see if it leans a bit more torp, it will almost have more of like a pinky kind of base to it, which I know that sounds really weird, but it has a pinky kind of base to it compared to like an orange kind of base to it that you would find sort of more in like your warm autumn. So there are so many different kinds of chocolates. Then winters, obviously, you're thinking that lint chocolate, that deep, dark, rich,

intense kind of kind of chocolate brand, not a hint of warmth. Now, I've had a quick look in some of the stores online just to see what is around. Seed in particular have a lot of the winter kind of chocolate in at the moment. It is very, very intense and it is very cool toned, like really, really cool toned, whereas some of the other ones that I have seen are the really warm, like rich, earthy kind of chocolate. So you want to think of like what soil represents to you and literally what the earth represents to you when you're thinking of warm browns, like the darker ones,

whereas you want to think of chocolate basically when you're thinking. thinking of winters. So chocolate is really, really big. So chocolate is a great neutral. Now, can you wear chocolate with navy and black is something that I get asked quite a lot? You absolutely can. Obviously, it depends on your colour palette as well if you can wear black. But if you love black and it's not in your colour palette, wear your kind of chocolate on the top. Sorry, I took in air the wrong way as you do when you're filming a podcast. And then wear that on the top and then put the black on the bottoms because the top is what's going to reflect off your face. It won't drain you.

You will get that lovely warmth of colour from whatever you're wearing on the top rather than the black washing you out. So that's particularly for warmer seasons where they don't wear black. So chocolate is really fantastic, really, really lovely. Now, another, and this is a very big colour that has come in, I love this colour. It does not love me. And I'll go into that in a second about what seasonal colour analysis pallets are. are actually able to wear this color. It's burgundy. Now, there are so many different varieties of

burgundy. You can absolutely 100% get cool-toned burgundy, which is more like your plum. It's got more purple kind of base to it. And then you have your richer, earthy burgundy, which if you think it's got more of that rusty kind of red base to it, so it's really, really warm. Now, if you're looking at it from a color analysis perspective, cool tones will much more suit that plum-based one because it's got that blue, purple depth underneath to it. You put that on someone who's warm toned, they're going to be washed out. Even though someone might be able to wear that deep, dark color, doesn't mean they can wear that particular shade. Shades are everything when it comes to color analysis. Honestly, such a small change in a shade can make all of the difference. So the

burgundies that are in stores at the moment, seed have one called mulberry. It is a really beautiful plum. It is the most gorgeous kind of colour. I am so tempted to see if I can make a way, but I already know that I can't because it's just too deep, dark and intense on me. For someone who is a summer to get a burgundy that suits them, you're almost looking more at maybe putting it on the bottom and then putting one of your colours on the top to balance it out, or you're looking for one that is much softer. And when I say softer, it's a little bit more. And when I say softer, It's just not that deep, dark, intense. It's almost like it's had a bit of white mixed into it or a bit of grey mixed into it

just to lift it and lighten it. So it's not so intense. Burgundy is a fabulous colour. It goes with chocolate. It goes with charcoal. It goes with black. Obviously, it goes beautifully with navy. So, so beautifully with navy.

It's a really beautiful colour. It's coming out in just about everything you can think. Shoes, bags, belts, coats, cardigans, tops. pants, dresses. You name it. That color is everywhere. But what is fantastic is that each store has got such kind of their own interpretation of what that color means to them. So there are so many different shades out there right now. It's just a matter of trawling through to find what is your shade and what suits you. Burgundy, like I mentioned, it's just beautiful, like really, really beautiful. Next on the list is a bit more polarizing purely because I do think it's, like I mentioned

earlier, those things that will come and go quite quickly. It's butter lemon. Now, this colour can actually be really, really tricky for a number of reasons. One, because a lot of people don't necessarily naturally naturally gravitate towards yellow and that I find always with my clients, it comes down to the shade of yellow. Again, yellows can be warm or cool toned. So it really depends on the kind of shade that you can wear, like a really lovely warm sunshine yellow, is not going to suit somebody who is a cool summer. That is the complete opposite of what they should be wearing. Likewise, somebody who is a winter would not be wearing a really lovely mustard that you find in autumn. So there is so many different shades of yellow. This particular butter lemon, and there are a number

of different shades and vibrancy, some are really pale and some are really quite vibrant Think the difference of like, you know, when you look at a highlighter, they can be really, even though it's a lighter colour, they can be really punchy and still intense in the saturation of colour that they have. So just make sure you're trying these things on to see whether the colour wears you or you wear the colour. That is really, really important. So with butter lemon, when it's really pale, what can happen is whilst summer palettes can wear butter lemon, the problem is sometimes they can get like I'm a light summer as you know, they, they can almost then become cream.

They're that, you know, how like literally butter, they can become that cream kind of color. And that's where it starts to almost become that wishy-washy line between, is this a yellow or is this a cream? Like, which one is it going to be? So just be careful with that. If you put it on and you feel, oh, this just doesn't sit quite right, then that's where I would say, don't buy it. Because if you feel that that way, then that's when you're going to find.

that the colour's not right for you. So really be guided by how you feel when you put it on. Likewise, if it's too intense for you, like there was a, to give you an example, there's a really lovely yellow cardigan at Trennery and I haven't seen it in person yet. And to try it on. And my mum was popping into Trennery and I said, can you just have a look at it? And she came back to me, she said, I think that colour's too intense for you. So even though it's a light color yellow, it's too punchy for me and it would overpower me. Again, there are so many versions of this butter lemon that are coming in, but I don't feel that it's going to hang around for a really long time. So it has to be something that you really, really love and that you will continue to

wear even when this color is sort of moved out because you wear it because you love it rather than wearing it because it's on trend and I want to wear that color because everybody's kind of wearing that color, which I wouldn't recommend anyway. That's why I love seasonal color analysis, because you find the colors that are relevant to you and that suit you and that make you look amazing and feel amazing. So that's butter lemon. Another color is navy. Now, being a, you know, a cool tone, I love navy. There are so many different shades out at the moment, the really super dark and tense ones that you're going to find in deep winter, all the way through to sort of a softer kind of R-A-F kind of navy.

And then you've got sort of some navies do lean a bit more, do I dare say warm, because they have a little bit more of that yellow in the blue. It's been mixed. So there are so many different shades of navy, but there are so many navies out there at the moment. I have seen more navy than what I've seen black. So black will always be there. but if you are wanting to veer away from black for whatever reason, navy, if you're cool-toned

or if you are in a season where you can borrow, a navy is a really, really great option. Okay, so that kind of brings us to the end of the colours that I'm seeing. Obviously, more are going to be coming out because it is literally the 8th of April. So so many more colours are going to be coming out. So I will do updates on this. Make sure you're following me over on Instagram because that's where I also talk about all of these kinds of things and actually show you what's in stores too. So make sure you hop on over to Instagram at Loving Color, double underscore.

Now, in terms of other things that are coming out, suede. Swade is a really, really big one. Now, it's coming out in everything you can imagine. Jackets, bags, shoes. I've even seen suede belts. It's so many different things, suede. So it's sort of the oversized tote kind of bag is coming out in Swade. a lot in like those chocolate kind of colors, in other colors too, like in the burgundies I'm seeing

quite a bit, but definitely quite a bit of suede is coming out. Obviously, make sure you put, you know, fabric protection care on suede things, especially if you're making a really big investment, like a really, really big investment. That's what I'm finding to do with suede. Now, there are a number of different ways that you can incorporate it in. Swade, because it's texture, it can really soften an outfit rather than having a blazer that, it's quite sharp and quite tailored. You know, suede is soft and so it has that movement. And when you move, it moves rather than sort of staying quite static.

So it's a really lovely fabric. Just make sure you're buying something that is going to last you, that you're going to wear. A suede pair of shoes is a great way to dip your toe. Oh, see what I did there. To dip your toe into testing out if you like it. Because also don't forget, that's a long way from your head. So it's not right against you, so you're not necessarily feeling it as much.

But yes, suede is something that you're going to be seeing more and more coming out in stores and online. The next thing is loafers. Loavers, I am seeing a lot of loafers. And I really like loafers. I think they look fantastic. It feels quite 90s-esque, some of the loafers coming back. And what I love at the moment is they are coming in in so many colours.

Like so many colours, I've actually seen a pair of hot pink ones that I am so tempted to go and try on, even though I generally live in Frankie Ford because of my feet and my legs get achy if I wear the wrong shoes. But that is a fantastic way to add colour. As I've mentioned before, quite a few times on this podcast, loafers are brilliant. I've seen them in like olives. I've seen them in tans and browns. I've seen them in reds. I've seen them in navies. I've seen them in so many different colours. So have a look at that because that's a really great way of adding something into your wardrobe that literally seeing if you like it. And also it's just a different thing to having ballet flats or white sneakers. I actually don't personally have a lot of shoes

that have color in it in my wardrobe and that's something that I'm working towards because I'm a bit sick and tired of wearing shoes that are neutral. I'd like to mix it up a little bit. And I used to have the most fabulous pair of pink shoes. So I am, I'm going to go check out, I think, those hot pink ones because I feel like they're calling me and they will look good with so many different items in my wardrobe. because I know my color palette, I know that they will go with everything. So have a look at loafers. Another thing is rugby shirts.

Now, for those that especially, I don't know, like in Australia, in year 12, you get like a rugby shirt as your jersey, like a Canterbury Rugby shirt. And I still have mine. I love it. And I have always loved rugby shirts. And I wore them when I was in my late teens. They were very much a thing then, hence why 90s things are coming back. So I've seen rugby shirts out quite a bit in sort of stores that my daughter, you know, who's in her late teens, would dress in or, you know, buy clothes from.

But I've also started to see them in other stores. So I've actually seen them in, I'm trying to think if I've got this right. I'm pretty sure I've seen it at even Country Road or maybe it was trenery, something like that. And it was a knit version of a rugby shirt and it looked fantastic. So it's sort of like an elli. elevated, updated version for women approaching 40 and beyond and something for us to wear that doesn't necessarily look like you're trying to dress in what your daughter would wear to, which even though my daughter and I, we do, we swap clothes. But that's not the point. If you're wanting to try something like this, I really love it.

They can be dressed up or down, especially the knit ones. They can be really dressed up or down. And some of them are the striped version, like the traditional, you know, rugby polo kind of shirt and others are all one color. I've seen them in a variety of colors. I've seen them in like your, the burgundys, the forest greens, the whites, the navies, all of that kind of thing. But I've also seen them in like the pale blues. So retailers really are thinking outside the box a bit and actually trying different colors with things as well. So that was really, really good. I really liked that. In terms of other colors that I'm seeing in some stores,

just to touch on that really briefly before the end of this episode. I've seen in Seed Heritage, for those that are down under like me, there is a baby pink in there which it's very vibrant. This is where I talk about shades and how they can have like that pop behind it. I would put that almost into a winter, not even necessarily a cool summer because it is so punchy. So I have seen that kind of baby pink around, but it's not your soft baby pink. It's a punchy baby pink.

I've also seen a really cool-toned pink at Witchery. Jag have a number. They've got a short cardigan, which I've been looking at. They actually have it in a lemon, which is quite a punchy lemon. They've got it in a pale pink, an ice blue, and I'm pretty sure in like a neutral kind of white. So I've seen those kinds of colours coming out as well. Country Road then had like a very soft autumn apple kind of grain,

and they also had a really deep olive. and they also had, it was like a mix between a brown and a burgundy. It was warm toned without a doubt, but it was like the two had gotten married and had a baby and that was the kind of colour that it was and it was fantastic. Seed also have a number of neutrals. Now, I know neutrals can be tricky for cool tones when you're wanting to wear something that's kind of like that sandy beigey kind of color. It can be really, really tricky.

They have a colour called Cookie at the moment. Now you would have to try it on. That's one of the things with these kinds of colours that a cool tone is going to have to try it on to see whether it suits them and they can get away with it or whether it literally is that bit too warm and they're better off buying the grey version, for example. But that's what I'm seeing coming out and there's also your stark whites and then there's also your creams. So there's a number of different neutrals coming out at the moment which is really fantastic

to see. Like I'm pretty sure I saw, I want to say it was sports craft, country road, like in their ants that they have at the moment, like their core lines that they run. They didn't just have cool tones. They had warm tones as well. So they had like tans. They had like a really kind of warm toned beige brown color. They had the car key.

But then they had the navies and the charcoals and the blacks and the whites as well. And then they had a cream. So I feel like warm tones and cool tones are really being. service by having so many different neutrals available to us at the moment. Last but not least, belts. Belts are definitely in, oh, when I say last but not least, actually, I've got one more. Belts definitely have made a resurgence. I think, again, that's kind of that 90s influence coming back. There are so many different wits available. If you're wanting to check it out, I've actually got an Instagram reel talking about the different wits of belts and what you should wear

depending on your body shape. But I actually really love belts. I think. they can create a real focal point in an outfit. They can add that little bit of polish. They can make it just that little bit more elevated. And they can also cinch in and give you a waste when you don't have one. So depending on your body shape, there are a number of us that don't have sort of that natural kind of waste and the belt is going to give you that.

So there are a number of different belts coming in. Play with colour. Obviously have your neutrals, but definitely play with colour too because that's where you can add that pop of colour to an all neutral outfit it when you just want that little hint rather than actually, you know, covering yourself or wearing a shirt or wearing a jumper. That's a really great way to do it. The last thing, and I've probably left it to last because it's my favorite thing that's come back, short cardigans. I'm so excited for this. I'm really, really here for it. And they are everywhere. And they have, they're all different lengths.

So there are some that are sort of you're more cropped, which will sit up at your waist. There are some that sort of sit not, you know, between your waist and your hip. So sort of right in that midpoint and then there are some that kind of come a little bit further down and sit at your hips, but sort of no longer than that. I really feel that whilst long cardigans, there are still some out there. I feel like short cardigans are making a comeback. And what I love about them, they are so versatile because you can wear them as a top or buttoned up or you can wear it undone and literally wear it as a cardigan. I absolutely love them. They're so versatile. There are so many colors and styles available out at the moment. I did buy myself a navy one. I bought a pink one, which

after much consideration, I thought I could make it work because I knew I was borrowing it from a different palette. It's just too strong for me. And I realized that not necessarily when I tried it on, I looked at some photos of myself that I'd taken for Instagram and I saw the color before I saw me. And that was when I was like, you know what, that color dominates me as much as I love it. It's going to have to go back because I refuse to have something in my wardrobe that, A, has cost me quite a bit of money because it's an investment, but also that is going to just sit there unworn. It's an expensive. item, therefore it needs to go back. But I'm actually going to dabble. I'm going to have some

neutrals, like a grey. I might even go for like an off white and a navy. And then I really want to have a play with some colour as well. So I have been looking for a yellow one and I've been looking for a pink one to replace the pink one that I'm sending back. So I love them. I just think they're so versatile. And they suit so many different body shapes. They're just fantastic. So that is what you can find in stores at the moment. I hope that has been helpful. If you are wanting to know what colors suit you the best, then please book in for a seasonal color analysis with me. It is done all virtually through emails. I hold your hand through the entire process, I promise. And you will feel like a million dollars when you're wearing the colors that suit you. I can't tell you what a

difference it makes and a game changer it is to actually know the colors that suit you the best. And then learning how to put it all together. So if that's something that you have been wanting to do or you haven't been sure about, feel free to also send me a message and we can chat about it. Otherwise, you can head to loving color.a u forward slash color analysis. Color is spelled with a you for both of those. If you're wanting to book in, I have three different packages that you can choose from and we can literally start tomorrow in determining what colors are your best colors in your color palette. So thank you so much for today. I have really loved being able to come back.

It feels so good. And I will catch you in next week's episode. Otherwise, have a great week. Take care and I'll chat you soon. Bye.