Top 8 autumn fashion must-haves - plus video of the stars and collections previewed on the Great Yorkshire Show 2019 catwalk

As the new season collections make their way in store, Stephanie Smith suggests eight key pieces to create a capsule wardrobe for the perfect autumn short break. Plus see the AW19 collections as previewed on the Great Yorkshire Show catwalk.
By Stephanie Smith
Published 13th Sep 2019, 18:00 BST

There’s nothing quite like the impending approach of the “season of mists” to crystallise the mind and encourage a broom-sweeping approach to fashion. It’s time to put away childish things – that is, skimpy summer clothes no longer appropriate for the time of year, the temperature or the increasingly wet and breezy weather conditions, although there are, I note at time of writing, an alarming number of men (in particular but not exclusively) still wearing cargo shorts and cut-offs to the supermarket, for all the world as if it’s a balmy July weekend afternoon.

They look out of time and place, and sorts, but perhaps their clinging on is not so hard to understand. It was a wonderful summer and it’s hard to say goodbye.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Read More
See video of the M&S autumn press show
1. THE LEATHER TROUSERS Don't be scared. The new AW19 leather (and leather look) trousers are looser, more supple and easy and more relaxed than the skin-tight fetishistic incarnations of the past. Wear them athleisure-style with flats and knits, or dress up with heeled ankle boots and a white shirt or tie-neck blouse. Merino knit, £80; leather joggers, £455; bean bag, £945. All at Celtic & Co1. THE LEATHER TROUSERS Don't be scared. The new AW19 leather (and leather look) trousers are looser, more supple and easy and more relaxed than the skin-tight fetishistic incarnations of the past. Wear them athleisure-style with flats and knits, or dress up with heeled ankle boots and a white shirt or tie-neck blouse. Merino knit, £80; leather joggers, £455; bean bag, £945. All at Celtic & Co
1. THE LEATHER TROUSERS Don't be scared. The new AW19 leather (and leather look) trousers are looser, more supple and easy and more relaxed than the skin-tight fetishistic incarnations of the past. Wear them athleisure-style with flats and knits, or dress up with heeled ankle boots and a white shirt or tie-neck blouse. Merino knit, £80; leather joggers, £455; bean bag, £945. All at Celtic & Co

However, the goodbye process can be made much more palatable by planning an autumn break, but preferably one within the UK rather than somewhere still warm – being plunged into chilly climes on touch-down at Leeds-Bradford Airport only revives and prolongs the agony of sun grief.

Plus, planning a UK short break at this time of year provides an ideal opportunity to take stock of your existing autumn/winter wardrobe, work out what’s missing, and invest in some updates. Then you can showcase and trial them on your break, as two or three days of dining, shopping, sight-seeing, bar-hopping and sleeping provide a microcosm of all the finer aspects of normal life back at home.

With that in mind, these are the eight key pieces to seek out for an easy and elegant transition into autumn, plus a video of the AW19 collections previewed at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show back in July, featuring John Lewis & Partners, Sandersons Department Store, Galijah, Jillian Welch of Harrogate, Leeds Arts University, Brook Taverner, Mary Benson, Christine Talbot, Ryan Sidebottom, Hannah Cockroft, Lizzie Jones, The Red Shepherdess and Peter Wright, in a fabulous catwalk show by Bernadette Gledhill with make-up by White Rose Colleges.