15 Pieces We Found At The Mall That We Cannot WAIT To Wear This Fall
Bury us in every outfit Meg Ryan wore in When Harry Met Sally.
by The Candidly Team
We’re tired of shorts and flowy dresses and flip flops. And we feel as though if we start planning our Autumn outfits now, we are somehow manifesting it to get here faster.
Crisp air. Warm cups. Cozy sweaters. Fall is truly the most elite of all the seasons.
Something else elite? The mall.
We’re tired of disparaging remarks about malls. Malls are good. They’re convenient, they have parking that makes sense, and stores we can predict. They’re like the shopping version of watching the same romcom 47 times—it’s comfortable.
Plus, some of our favorite stores with chic, wearable clothes are in malls. Anthro, Free People, J. Crew—these stores are good! They’re making clothes we want to wear, that don’t fall apart, and that aren’t an avalanche of hideous trends.
And so, we scoured our mall for the most lovely, wearable clothes for fall, that will go with everything else we own and that make us excited to pluck from their hangers each day.
We tend to reach for classics as you’ll see below (though sometimes with a twist), and we’re already dreaming of the many layering opportunities with the 14 fall-mall pieces below.
And here’s a bonus—you don’t even have to set foot in a mall if you don’t want to. Merely a tap will do.
1. Free People Mad Love Denim Midi Dress
There’s something inherently effortless and cool about a denim dress, so the fact that this one is wildly flattering is really just icing on a cake we were gonna eat anyway.
Price: $198
2. J. Crew Cashmere shrunken crewneck sweater
A black, cashmere, crewneck sweater is one of those Audrey Hepburn essentials that we wake up one day and can’t believe we don’t own. J. Crew makes gorgeous cashmere pieces at excellent prices, and we mostly love that we can wear a white t-shirt, a random pair of jeans, throw this on, and look as chic as her ⤴️⤴️⤴️.
We also love THIS v-neck version, which might currently be in our carts in 4 colors, oops.
Price: $118
3. Madewell The Curvy Perfect Vintage Jean
We have a…skeptical relationship with Madewell. Their online collection can be excellent, but when we physically walk into their stores, we are often met with one too many shapeless sacks to continue our journey. But we finally bit the bullet, and tried on every single style of jeans they make—mostly because we were sick of hearing about how impeccable their jeans are from everyone we know. Many did not impress. But if you are someone who constantly struggles with a waist gap, please please please believe us when we tell you that their curvy perfect vintage jean will make all your non-gapping dreams come true. Real photo of one of us wearing it for proof!
Price: $128
4. Free People Vixen Tunic
This is much more than just a beyond comfy t-shirt. It’s a way to mask our bellies without looking like we’ve given up!
Price: $50
5. Anthropologie The Junie High-Rise Wide-Leg Flare Pants by Maeve
Isn’t it the dream to own a single pair of “magic pants” that feel like leggings but with even more stretch and support? These jeans are a miracle for smoothing stomachs without feeling tight. But they also happen to make us look our absolute best whether we’re at work or dressed up for some fancy thing or just want to look extra chic one random day in the coffee line. Well, my friends, these are those pants.
And here they are on one of us.
Oh, and they size in plus, tall, and petite!
Price: $128
6. Gap Pocket Cardigan Sweater
Well you can all go home now. We’ve found the most quintessentially fall sweater in any mall, ever. And from the Gap!?!?! Is the Gap…good again, guys? The size range is amazing, and the fit is sooooo good. Throw this chic, flattering cardi on with any of your pants or jeans, and you will EASILY be the best dressed gal in any room.
Price: $70
7. Anthropologie The Bennet Buttondown Shirt by Maeve
We love a good crisp and classic button-down. This one is oversized with separate front and back panels so it tucks or ties and gives us coverage any which way we like. We wrote an entire article about this being our fav button-down. Anthro just has a handle on those elevated basics. What can we say?
Price: $98
8. J. Crew New classic denim jacket in Bianca wash
We love a good jean jacket. This one is textbook perfect and the exact right length. It’s hard to beat J. Crew on classic pieces like this. And while their bricks and mortar mall stores don’t typically have that great of a size range, their online goes up to a 3X. Bless.
Price: $138
9. Free People Heron Drop Waist Maxi
The perfect dress for days we’re feeling bloated and blah and would rather stay in our PJs but still want to come off very put together and cute. Soooo …. most days.
Price: $88
10. Free People Hailee Cardi Set
A set is all we actually want to wear come the cooler months of the year. This one comes in 18 colors, and we can wear it outside the house, knowing we look excellent.
Price: $128
11. Anthropologie The Colette Cropped Wide-Leg Ponte Pants by Maeve
Verrrrry similar to the magic pants from Anthro that we went on and on about above, but with the chicest cropped, sailor(ish) cut that looks great on every body type. Hence these being the best-selling pants on Anthro period.
Price: $120
12. Madewell The Essential Sling Crossbody Bag
This luxe little sling bag comes in suede and leather and ALL the fall colors. We have our eye on shaded olive, but tawny khaki is also calling to us.
Price: $148
13. Free People We The Free Camden Sweatshirt
Yet another incredible cozy creation from FP. That open, wide neck makes it feel like something you’ve owned for 25 years. The cuffs are extra long and make your wrists look deeply elegant. (who knew wrists could be elegant?!), the side skits make it extra flattering, and even though it’s slouchy, it won’t swallow you whole. We’ve been known to do a half tuck into jeans, and we’ve also been known to buy it in every, single color because we LIVE in this sweatshirt once we can see our breath in the mornings.
Price: $78
14. J. Crew Denim trouser
There’s no jean shape that looks better on all body types, straight or curvy. They’re blissfully high-rise and full length, so we look miles long. They’re the perfect fall jean, making all our sweaters, scarves, and boots that much chicer. Plus, they come in tall, petite, and plus, so we can make sure they hit at just the right spot.
Price: $158
15. Abercrombie Elevated Trench Coat
And then, of course, we can forget about everything else and literally leave the house in a trash bag so long as we toss on this trench over it. It’s the most surefire way to look like Audrey Hepburn while making absolutely zero effort.
Price: $160
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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