Bidding adieu to warm weather is never easy. The tingle of summer heat is almost always preferable to the frigid bite of winter, and snuggling fall between the two leaves the transitional season feeling more dreadful than inviting for many.
Trading swimsuits for sweaters feels like a chore—one that suggests it’ll be six long months before your sandals, sunglasses and swim cover-ups have meaning again. (Or that you’ll be spending the next 182 days trapped indoors, lest you go outside and slip on the icy sidewalks surrounding your home.)
MORE: A Definitive Guide to Sweaters That Are as Cozy as They Look
This line of thinking makes sense—but it’s terribly misguided. Fall might be sandwiched between two extremes, but it offers the best of both of them. When else can you embrace cozy, cold-weather knits in a vibrant, warm-weather color palette? Or pair your snuggliest sweats with your comfiest slides? Or wear a scarf and boots with your sundress, because it’s too warm for pants but too cold for sandals?
Fall is a season of lighting candles, sipping beverages from kitschy mugs, taking warm baths and cozying up with your favorite blankets. For the first time in months, summer’s oppressive humidity lifts, and you’re able to snuggle with bae without working up a sweat.
And though winter looms near, the weather is actually incredibly moderate. Even in December (a month mostly in fall—mind you) often, you can step outside in a sweatshirt and leggings (read: not your heaviest coat) and feel totally fine.
MORE: The Easiest Way to Stock up on Hygge: Mix and Match Cute Mugs
If you’re not excited for fall, you’re doing it wrong. (I’m not totally sure what it is. Life, maybe?) But in case the images we’ve conjured of candle-lighting, tea-sipping, bath-taking and bae-snuggling haven’t gotten you on board, perhaps the following 101 fall photos will.
Ahead, you’ll find a gallery full of autumn street style inspiration. Because if you’re not looking forward to cooler weather, you’ve clearly forgotten the undeniable magic a fall wardrobe can work.
A version of this story was originally published in August 2014.

Warm enough for patchwork skirts. Cool enough for fur-trimmed jackets.

Can't choose between your long-line silky jacket and your boxy wool one? It's breezy out—wear both.

Winter tweed rendered in a summery palette.

That statement coat you bought is too nice for actual snow. Whip it out now, instead.

A quick reminder that statement sunnies have a place in fall fashion, too.

The only season when it's appropriate (and honestly, practical) to drape your trench over your shoulder—rather than, you know, wearing it.

Yellow won't skew "Easter brunch" when you wear it in October.

Denim on denim won't leave you sweating when it's 50 degrees out.

Proof maxi dresses and fall aren't mutually exclusive.

Why not pull sartorial inspiration from the pile of leaves you just jumped in?

Is it just us, or does athleisure get way cozier when you throw a coat over it?

Update: It's definitely not just us.

Can you think of another time of year when dressing like the high-fashion equivalent of a schoolgirl is encouraged?

It's all-velvet-everything season.

Because miniskirts pair best with thigh-high boots. And thigh-high boots are too hot for warm weather.

Outfit feels incomplete? Throw on a layer. Still feels incomplete? Throw on another.

Unpack those plaid shirts you retired during the summer, because it's their time to shine.

Fringe, leather, suede—let's go.

If you own a kilt, now's probably the time to take it for a spin.

Hope your leather jacket didn't get too dusty during those warmer months.

Power suits are more temperature-appropriate during the fall. It's a simple fact.

Office-appropriate outfits are easier to figure out when it's cold enough for pants.

Pair orange with black without worrying if it looks too Halloween. Because guess what—it's OK if it does.

I'm sorry, can you wear sock boots during the summer? Didn't think so.

The time of year when snuggly coats are as cozy as your softest blanket.

Not sure what to wear? Your handy-dandy turtleneck will get you through the day.

Snakeskin coats: Too edgy for spring, too hot for summer, too lightweight for winter—just right for fall.

Bring on the puffer vests.

Throw a shearling coat over anything, and you'll be set.

Fall florals—it's a thing.

Animal print matching sets look better over turtlenecks. And turtlenecks look best when it's cold out.

I mean, she's wearing a plaid coat. Can you think of anything more distinctly fall?

Graphic fur coats and vinyl pants: the style star's method of staying warm on windy days.

To paraphrase Spongebob: The best time to wear an oversized sweater is all the time.

Because your go-to maxiskirt's a lot more fun when it's covered in preppy fall layers.

Autumn's favorite tailored coats will add instant polish to any look.

Did someone say achromatic ensemble season?

The only time of year when it's actually advisable to pair puffy coats with open-toed shoes.

If you don't dream up the avant-garde equestrian looks you plan to wear all season long, you're doing it wrong.

Suede, shearling and denim—oh my.

Because coats are more badass when they graze the floor.

Work those jewel tones.

High fashion's take on the fall sweatsuit is even cuter (and honestly, warmer) than you remember.

Take your favorite warm-weather look from summer to fall in one step: Add a trench.

Button-down, meet turtleneck. Turtleneck, meet button-down. You're a bona fide match made in heaven.

If there's one time of year when camo doesn't feel costumey, it's fall.

What's too heavy for summer, but too floor-draggy for winter snow? You guessed it—your favorite oversized pantsuit. Why not make Hillary Clinton proud and pull it out now?

Heavy layers demand heavy jewelry. (So give yourself the excuse to go shopping.)

Draw inspiration from the pumpkins adorning your living room—we won't judge.

Consider this the corduroy version of the Canadian tuxedo. While you're at it, consider how great it looks, too.

The easiest way to dress during those it's-cold-but-not-so-cold days? Your favorite sweater, paired with your favorite maxiskirt.

Mixing prints gets a lot easier when your tried-and-true coat features a tight plaid.

Berets, leather skirts and studded boots—embrace it all.

The next time you want to look straight off the runway, wear half your trench coat, and tie the other half around your waist like a belt. Now that's something you definitely couldn't do in the summer.

Because your feathers would get wet (with sweat or snow) during any other season.

Why retire your sunnies until spring break when you could wear them all fall long, instead?

If it doesn't make us look like the high-fashion version of the Michelin man, we don't want to wear it.

Wear a hat without worrying about your head overheating. Because you can.

In fall, even the most I-just-rolled-out-of-bed looks skew trendy.

All-black-everything is the unofficial uniform of the season—embrace it.

A Lucite trench over a camel trench? Can you think of anything more fall/winter 2018?

Animal prints and plaid are both huge this season—take advantage of the opportunity to mix and match them without looking like you got dressed in the dark.

Heavy dressed and open-toed shoes don't have to be oxymoronic when combined—at least, not in autumn.

Basically your favorite seasonal trench coat transformed into a power suit. Who's complaining? (We're not.)

Because some days you want to wear a trench coat with shorts. And in fall, you can.

Navies and plums are in high demand, and we're not mad about it.

PSLs are in full force. Might as well derive a little outfit inspo from them.

As the leaves begin to turn, so, too, do the colors of our outfits.

The only season where a broutfit (brown-outfit—keep up) doesn't feel blasé.

In the summer, jumpsuits are your one-stop shop for style. In the fall, coats are.

Pairing a sweatshirt with your favorite heeled booties isn't ill-advised when it's cool out. It's sensible.

Pops of color are way more fun when your entire world is rendered in autumnal shades of brown.

Something about the blazer/crossbody combo just works.

Dress down your favorite faux fur with sneakers. Alternatively, dress up your favorite sneakers with a little faux fur.

Whoever said crop tops were off the table once jacket season began clearly didn't know what they were talking about.

How to wear white after Labor Day (and look good doing it).

Because it's fun to break up black-on-black with a pop of color. Even if that pop of color is gray.

Repeat after me: Clunky footwear—specifically, clunky footwear with good traction—is your friend.

Sweaters, leather pencil skirts and block heels are a class combination you can turn to whenever you find yourself sartorially stumped.

Leggings aren't just for warm weather wear. Slip into your favorite trench and keep the legging train going all season long.

Give your retro shearling coat an updated feel with mod accessories. Or don't. It's pretty hard to go wrong with something so classically comfy.

Your printed pants aren't exclusively reserved for warm weather. Throw on a jacket and make them breezy-day-appropriate, too.

Officially convinced we need an animal-print blazer and matching trousers. Is this the new power suit?

Proof your outfit doesn't have to be colorful to look interesting.

Baker boy caps look even better when paired with fuzzy outerwear. (Trust us, summer only gave you a mere glimpse at their potential.)

Why stress about combining saturated shades when you could pair neutrals and look this good?

Beret-wearing isn't just permitted this fall. It's hip.

A going-out ensemble that walks the line of cooling you down and warming you up.

Power suits look great with turtlenecks, and don't you forget it.

All-slouchy-everything looks put-together when you're wearing a coat (and sunglasses).

The only fall basics you need.

Tired of wearing a scarf around your neck? Drape it over your shoulder. It's warm enough that you can afford to.

The easiest (and comfiest) way to dress like a model.

When dressed in gold, you'll look opulent 24/7.

A colorless outfit doesn't have to be boring. Play with the silhouettes of your pieces, instead.

A jet-set look so trendy you'll never want to change out of it.

Your coat can double as a dress if you really want it to.

The easiest way to dress up cargos: Throw on a leather jacket.

Because pumpkin-colored shoes are almost more fun than actual pumpkins.

Snow boots can be your more statement-making accessory if you work at it a little.

Soft tees. Fur coats. Velvet pants. Can you think of anything cozier? We can't.