These 9 Fashion Trends Will Rule Fall 2025 (Plus One I’m Ready to Retire)

I’m talking wide-brim felt hats, cowboy hats, hair scarves, pillbox hats, knit skull caps, baseball caps, newsboy caps (yes, really) and just about any other style you could put on top of your head. In the Fall/Winter ’25 runway shows Chanel fully embraced the bucket hat, while Louis Vuitton went for wide-brim felt designs, and Miu Miu leaned into knit cloches with dangling chin strap ties. Hair scarves have been incredibly popular among showgoers for multiple seasons now, but for Copenhagen Fashion Week in August many folks swapped silk designs for crocheted skull caps instead. Seriously, there is no wrong option here, so feel free to choose whatever hat speaks most to your personal style and revel in having a trendy way to combat bad hair days.

Burgundy will absolutely be huge again in 2025, but there’s a different shade I’m starting to see gain traction, and it’s just as surprising as summer’s beloved butter yellow. This fall, I’m predicting a major rise for chartreuse. Other shades of green will also prove incredibly popular, but it’s this vibrant hue in particular that will reign supreme over all the rest. I’ll admit, this can feel like a tricky color to wear but there are a few tricks to making it work—try pairing a smaller chartreuse piece (a handbag or T-shirt) with warm neutral tones (beige, brown, winter white) or pastel hues (ballerina pink, ice blue, pale lilac) to allow the color to really pop without totally clashing.

Otherwise known as Ralph Lauren Core, this trend is all but guaranteed to be the number one aesthetic cropping up on your socials this fall. I’m talking rugby shirts, golf skirts, letterman jackets and track pants paired with argyle sweaters, plaid skirts, crisp button-up shirts and elbow-patch blazers. Think New England prep school at its most relaxed. Primary colors (red, yellow, blue) will be most popular, alongside the full range of neutrals, but don’t let that stop you from throwing in some pops of Dartmouth green, Amherst purple or Princeton orange.

Introducing the latest evolution of “quiet luxury.” This aesthetic is all about combining comfort with elegance creating the illusion of casual nonchalance while still being beautifully put together. It uses contrasting combinations of textures like soft cashmere, slinky silk, thick corduroy and delicate lace to add interest and depth to your outfits while keeping the silhouettes fairly basic. And while the goal is very much to craft a look that suggests “rich lady sipping rose on the porch of her Napa vacation home,” you don’t need to spend a ton to get the look. Just be sure to keep your accessories similarly sleek—simple pearl studs, tennis bracelets, pointy-toe flats, heeled knee-high boots, etc.

It may feel strange to consider belts a trend—did they ever really go out of style?—but right now they are truly having a moment with designers and regular folks building their outfits around this classic accessory rather than treating it like an afterthought. In fact, while timeless black and brown leather styles certainly fulfill the brief, it’s much bolder styles that are really beginning to gain steam. Wide statement belts, boho metallic chains and even scarves and bandanas knotted at the hips are the way to go for fall 2025.

Yes, brown is (still) the new black, so if you have yet to buy into the trend, you should really consider stocking up before Labor Day. The good news is that it’s not just one shade of brown that’s dominating our closets, it’s all of them. Which means you can pick and choose the options that work best with your existing wardrobe, be it a dark chocolate, a rich camel or a red-tinged chestnut. You can even mix and match multiple shades in one outfit if you like (though I recommend sticking with either all cool or all warm tones). Wear them exactly as you would your usual black staples as a simple, modern shake-up.

Sheer clothing has been slowly but surely creeping its way into the mainstream and will continue to do so as we chug along toward the end of the year. But it’s lace, more than any other fabric, that will soon come to reign supreme. Luckily, you don’t have to commit to a peek-a-boo moment to join in the fun—lace trim shirts and skirts are just as trendy without also showing off your bra or panties. If you adore the delicate material you can and should go all in with lace dresses, ruffled blouses or even lace-adorned outerwear a la Chloé or Carolina Herrera. Or you can try something more subtle like Louis Vuitton with its camis and slip skirts.

One-shoulder tops, handkerchief hem skirts, off-kilter button-ups and more asymmetrical designs littered the Fall/Winter ‘25 runways, and I, for one, am thrilled to see these eye-catching silhouettes making a comeback. There are so many ways to embrace this trend, whether you prefer boho ruffles or minimalist tailoring. All you need to look for are pieces that have some unevenness to them, be it a high-low hem or varied sleeve length.

Leopards and tigers and snakes, oh my! These and many more animal prints (zebra, cow, giraffe) will continue to top all others, included summer’s beloved polka dots. Because of their natural inspirations, these animal prints can easily be thought of as neutrals when figuring out how to incorporate them into an outfit. Whether you want to go full Fran Drescher or prefer a subtler approach, prepare to add at least one animal print piece to your wardrobe...and to get lots of compliments on it.

There will be plenty of others who say that maxi lengths are here to stay, but I for one am much more in favor of a sporty mini. Tennis skirts, sequin minis and skorts galore have been everywhere I look, and I personally find them way easier to style, even for colder months and especially for petites. I say save those ankle-grazing maxis for next season and embrace a shorter hemline through the end of the year instead.