|

Dressing Room Diaries – Cool-toned Fall Colors At Talbots

Happy Tuesday, ladies. I’m on a roll with cool-toned colors for fall. They’re not always available this time of year, and women who prefer them often struggle this time of year. I’m a firm believer in stocking up on flattering shapes and colors when they are plentiful because they run in cycles. I stopped at Talbots last week and found lots of options.

If youā€™re new here, welcome. A dressing room diary is when I go into a local store for a try-on session so you can see whatā€™s new and how it looks on a woman over 25. For reference, I am 5ā€™4ā€³ and weigh around 134 lbs. I have broad shoulders with straight hips, a long torso, and long arms. I often buy one size larger on top. Youā€™ll see me try on clothes in colors and shapes that may or may not flatter me because I want you to see whatā€™s in the stores and get some styling ideas. I tell you what sizes I am wearing to help you understand how things run.

talbots sweater dress
COWL SWEATER DRESS misses small

Talbots makes great, casual sweater dresses that don’t hug all the wrong places and are infinitely wearable. This sweater dress has a flattering cowl neckline and tweed knit that could span between dressy and casual. Pair it with opaque tights and flat booties or shoes for casual, or dress it up with heels and elevated jewelry for dinner out. This burgundy is a great cool tone, as this deep aqua version.

WOMAN WEARING TALBOTS CORDS AND BLAZER
CASHMERE SWEATERĀ  misses small /Ā  HERRINGBONE BLAZER misses 10Ā  /Ā  STRETCH CORDUROY PANTS misses 4

This cashmere crewneck has tiny touches of gold in the motif, but it’s predominantly cool. The black background is softened by the pattern and other colors, making it easy for many to wear. I paired it with these straight cords that come in ten colors. This peacock blue is rich and easy to pair with warm or cool tops. I have the hems folded under 1″.

I topped this sweater and pants with a tweed herringbone blazer in peacock. I’m used to seeing herringbone in camel, tan, and brown shades, so this is a delight. This also comes in two other cool-toned colors. It has gold-toned buttons that purists may feel the need to replace…but frankly, I like the look. I went up to a misses 10 to get enough room in my shoulders and sleeve length, so if you plan to layer, consider sizing up.

PLEATED SLEEVE TOP misses mediumĀ  / KNIT BLAZERĀ  /Ā  MODERN ANKLE JEANS misses small

Black is usually cool, but there are versions with a warm cast. This one is pretty basic. This striped top has a pleated sleeve detail at the shoulder that looks ghastly on my broad shoulders, so most of the other outfits have me covering them šŸ™‚ The jeans are obviously cool-toned and one of Talbots’ best new shapes in the last few seasons. They have a straight fit and above the waist rise, which is great for controlling the muffin top and gals with long torsos. Cury fit here. They call this a blazer, but it feels more like a cardigan to me. It comes in seven colors, three warm, three cool, plus black.

ZIP COLLAR SWEATER misses mediumĀ  /Ā  TWEED SWEATER SKIRT misses small

This tweed sweater skirt is labeled black, but the tweed softens it to deep charcoal. This will be super cozy this season and look great with tights and knee boots, booties, or flats. I see it with a casual sweater and a warm vest but not a blouse because the weight could be a mismatch, and tucking becomes an issue. You could also pop a blazer over it. It comes in camel too. This zip collared sweater is swimming on me šŸ™‚ I needed the petite small or medium. This ivory is warm-toned. It comes in three cool tones, four warm and black. FYI- I’m calling out black because many women find black too stark these days. This ivory is less opaque than I would want if planning to layer over a darker shirt.

ROLL NECK PULLOVER misses smallĀ  /Ā  NAVY SHERPA VEST misses smallĀ  /Ā  HIGH WAIST JEGGINGS misses 6

This pullover is super soft and cozy. It comes in three cool shades and three warm, although I did not see the berry red in person, and the website shows it could go either way. I topped it with a navy sherpa vest that’s great for casual days.Ā  In fact, I think this verst would be great over this sweater dress with these riding boots.Ā  I paired this with these classic denim jeggings in a light wash that brings down their level of formality to match the top and vest.

TWEED JACKET misses 6Ā  /Ā  STRIPED TOPĀ  /Ā  CABLE V-NECK CARDIGAN petite mediumĀ  Ā /Ā  FAUX LEATHER LEGGINGS misses 4

In case you wondered, here’s proof that faux leather leggings have gone mainstream. If Talbots sells them, you know they’re appropriate for any age…it’s all in how you style them. They have a side panel of ponte which gives them plenty of stretch, and a side zip for easy access. Trust me, I’ve wrenched my hands many times trying to pull up faux leather leggings that have no opening. These are one size too small for me, but they still don’t have that spray-painted look that is hard to pull off at any size.

I paired it with a tweed jacket and cable sweater for very different looks. Both are ivory with a warm tone, but the cardigan also comes in cool indigo and aqua.

PLAID SHIRT petite mediumĀ  /Ā  SLIM ANKLE JEANS petite 8Ā  /Ā  HERRINGBONE BLAZER misses 10

This plaid shirt is ivory with coral and aqua plaid, which appears mostly cool to me. The slim ankle jeans are in the seine wash and pair nicely with the tweed of the herringbone.

CHANNEL QUILTED JACKET misses small

As I was leaving, I spotted this quilted jacket in a color they call harbor mist. It’s a very soft grayed green that will go with a lot of other colors and flatter many summer palettes. I’d probably size up to a misses medium to layer it over sweaters, so it runs true to size.

Here are some other cool-toned finds at Talbots-

Thanks for reading, and be sure to wear what makes you feel confident.

 

 

 

19 Comments

  1. Thank you so much! I am also cool-toned and was planning to buy some stuff from Talbots this weekend. Your post arrived with perfect timing and is so helpful!

  2. Love that Harbor Mist jacket and the flex leather leggings.
    I have a pair in cognac that I absolutely love.
    Great DRD.

  3. Wow! Talbots has some nice options this fall. Love the teal blazer tho it does look like it might be difficult to find the right fit. Beautiful shape & color. Thatā€™s a cool color I will wear even tho itā€™s not in my palette. Itā€™s too luscious to pass up. Like forest green.
    Itā€™s nice to see the soft cowl necklines. I find these are flattering on most women as opposed to a high tight T neck that accentuates any sagging skin.
    That green parka is a real winner on you.
    Thanks for the vast review of fashions. Fun.

    1. I’m a big fan of cowl necks too!

  4. Oh I do love the sweater dress youā€™re wearing , and also that knit blazer, both in burgundy shade! Such a great color with your light hair I think! Blues are always nice for those of us who are fair but there is just something so beautiful about this color! Rich and so very right for fall.

  5. Jill from Canada says:

    This is really helpful even for us warm toned people. I still struggle with whatā€™s warm and whatā€™s cool since recently discovering (through YOUR colour consultant!} Iā€™ve been wearing unflattering colours most of my life!!! When you say ā€œthis comes in 3 warm and 3 cool and blackā€ – I quickly flipped to the display to see if I could nail it correctly! – signed ā€œcolour challengedā€

    1. So glad youā€™ve got some clarity on your coloring. It can be helpful and challenging at the same time.

  6. I really liked the zip collared sweater and was all ready to order one when I noticed the cool colors were all paired with a gold zipper. Ugh. Since most of my jewelry is silver toned, I had to pass.

  7. I am so happy that sweaters with collars are in again. I’ve been seeing them out there. That jacket is such a pretty color on you. You should take that home for sure! Also loved all the colors in this post!

    1. Agreed! The collars are a nice detail.

  8. Jennifer,
    Qā€¦ a bit nosy but here goes.
    Would you consider yourself buxom/ large breasted. ? I love the peacock feather top but wonder if it would look ok on varying size bustlines ?
    I hope you purchased the jacket in Harbor Mist at the end of the post. Looks great on you.

    1. Iā€™m small to average but I have a wide rib cage which makes my chest look larger.

  9. The peacock blue is beautiful on you; buy up all those items while you can! Iā€™m surprised to find myself considering the not-really-leather leggings. Youā€™ve convinced me that theyā€™re worth a try.

  10. I don’t care what season it is, I don’t wear orange, yellow, beige, tan, muddy browns, etc. Even if I liked those colors–which I do not–I look dreadful in them. I will wear a loden utility jacket (Talbot’s last year) but I much prefer the wine one I also got last year. And I use navy year-round instead of black. After living in NYC for too long, I avoid black except for leggings. Thanks for the cool post (pun intended).

  11. I love all your offerings today, but the teal/peacock outfit is my favorite. Glad to see that color resurface.

    1. Me too, I adore that color.

  12. I’m loving that peacock/teal colour. Thanks for showing us cool based colours Jennifer.

  13. I love the jewel tones you have shown us. Most of the looks were a YES for me – the only “misses” were the blazer – loved the color but the shorter length looks boxy to me – loved the colored sweater and tweed shirt but not together and would take a solid pass on the faux leather pants. Thank you for showing such a great variety of style and color.

    1. Most if these colors are mid range, not technically jewel toned.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *