Dressy Yet Casual – Vegan Leather Shorts & Blouse Outfit for Fall

I’ve been having a lot of my client sessions in Midtown lately – and decided to make it a point to have one of my outfit photo shoots at Central Park. Having lived in New York for over 25 years, I’m definitely guilty of taking the city for granted – so lately, I’ve been reminding myself to “play tourist” and enjoy some of the areas that are iconic and really reflect the changing Seasons. Central Park is definitely most beautiful during Fall & Spring – so I enjoyed walking through, taking in all the foliage, and soaking in the sunshine reflecting off the tall buildings – mixed in with a quieter, “old-New York” vibe that I love so much.

I shot the outfit for this post on the Gapstow Bridge – a great picture-taking spot. It’s surrounded by city views and rugged, woody hills; built in 1896, it’s a true park staple with many a tourist and proposal happening on it at all times.

For this look, I channeled a creative NYC vibe – down to the John Lennon-inspired glasses.

Here are the exact ingredients to this outfit formula, and how I styled it:

1. Vegan Leather Shorts. I love a pair of leather (real or faux) shorts for Fall; I think they are such an unexpected item to wear when it gets chillier out – and they add edge to your looks, while keeping you warm if paired with tights/leggings when the temps drop. I styled these Avec Les Filles Pleated Faux Leather Shorts from Anthro – I sized up to give them a relaxed vibe (typically, I go for XS, but went with small here). They sit at your waist and are wider around the leg – making them super chic and comfortable.
   
2. An Extra Feminine Blouse. I’ve had a few of my clients purchase this AJE Idealist Blouse – I love it in this “dusty sage” color (also comes in off-white) – it pairs really well with the “wine” color of the shorts – creating a vibrant yet refined statement together (red and green are color compliments – and I love wearing them in deeper shades and tones together as they always look so classy and polished and creative.) The blouse has a lot of feminine details – between the collar, the sleeves, the buttons, the cuffs, the voluminous shape. It’s a statement piece!
   
3. Structured Bag. As I teased in my last post, I recently added a new bag baby to my collection from Polene – this one is the larger size (Numero Un) in color Sage. I think it’s such a great Fall color, and I’m absolutely in love with how it looks with this outfit. I’ll be doing a dedicated blog post to compare the three different Polene bags that I own – so please feel free to ask any questions you might have about them in the comments below so I can make sure to answer them in the post.
   
4. Creative Sunnies. I’ve been wanting to style a pair of Garrett Leight sunglasses for a while – I love the clear frame look. These Kinney x glasses have the most unique vibe; I think the pink lenses really coordinate with the colors in this look, making me see life through “rose colored glasses” for real. I’ve tagged a few of my favorite frames in the carousel below!
   
5. Simple But Artistic Booties. The Coclico Link Booties I live in are here again to complete the look!
   

I hope this inspires you to try out a similar outfit this Fall! As always, please feel free to share the outfits you create via Instagram, using hashtag #ModnitsaOutfit in your posts, and I’ll be sure repost them on my stories!

xo,

Photography by Anna Vivare.