How to Wear Sandals in Fall: 3 Easy Outfit Ideas

If you’ve been reading my Style at Large contributions over the past year, you know I’m all about getting more mileage out of your wardrobe and putting every piece to work. I especially love the outfit possibilities that come with transitional dressing. Those in-between weeks are the perfect time to get creative and style pieces beyond their designated seasons.

For the transition from summer to fall, I’m tackling sandals—and sharing three easy ways to keep wearing them as temperatures begin to cool. There’s no reason to hastily relegate them to the back of your closet, especially since September isn’t always chilly right out of the gate. With the help of baggy trousers, colorful socks, and textured tights, I’ve pulled together three foolproof styling tricks that will keep your sandals in rotation well after summer officially ends.

Try a Sporty Sandal With Streamlined Suiting

Julia Gall wears sporty sandals with streamlined suiting

They’ve become a fashion favorite, with designers from Miu Miu to Celine taking a crack at the style and sportier sandals showing up across the runways. But what you pair them with is almost more important than the sandal itself, proving you don’t necessarily need the designer version to make them work with something more sophisticated.

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I wore my old pair of techy Tevas with a monochromatic navy suit and tank, plus a patent chain-strap hobo. It felt like the perfect “school drop-off to work breakfast” combination—and one I’ll definitely be repeating until it’s officially too cold for toes out. The streamlined suit elevates the otherwise super-casual footwear, while the wide, baggy trousers give the whole thing a slightly surfer-ish quality, which I think is crucial to making the look feel cool rather than overly buttoned-up.

You could also ditch the jacket and double down on the proportions with an extra-large sweater or oversized button-down. Either would look just as good with the trousers and sandals—and help keep the shoes in rotation as the weather cools.

Teva

Women’s Hurricane XLT3 Sandal

Prada

Suede and Woven Tape Sporty Sandal

Coach

Brynn Raffia Sandal

Gap

365 High Rise Pleated Trousers

Reformation

Mason Short Pant

Eileen Fisher

Seasonless Wool Full-Length Trouser

Try a Colorful Sock With Earthy Flat Sandals

Julia Gall pairs colorful socks with earthy flat sandals

Colorblocking is one of my favorite seasonless styling hacks, and it usually involves a colorful sock. You truly can’t go wrong with a pop of red in your sock drawer, and I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be reaching for a pair to liven up dull neutrals in the dead of winter, so please add them to your shopping list and thank me later.

The key is finding a pair thin enough to wear year-round. I love mine peeking out from a pair of pink Sabah fisherman sandals—a style I wore all summer—but the same trick works just as well with a Birkenstock-style slide. Add one more hit of color, like the purple here, then ground everything with simple neutrals like a T-shirt and denim. It’s an easy colorblocking outfit formula you can come back to all year long.

I’d probably recommend stashing the sandals once the threat of snow starts creeping in, but for now, party on with a colorful sock.

Colorful Standard

Women Classic Organic Sock

Alex Mill

Maria La Rosa Bio Cotton Ribbed Socks

Baserange

Rib Overankle Socks

J.Crew

Fisherman Sandals in Metallic Leather

GH Bass

Women’s Fisherman Sandal

Try a Dressy Sandal With Playful Hosiery

Julia Gall styles dressy sandals for fall with playful tights

Another combination designers have long relied on is heeled sandals worn over tights. I’ve been seeing this on runways for years, but it might not be the most obvious choice if you’re someone who automatically reaches for closed-toe shoes once summer winds down.

I love mixing textures, so for my version, I paired lace tights with metallic sandals. But there are plenty of ways to play with the formula: Try a colorful sandal with sheer polka-dot tights, or flip it and wear bright red or pink opaque tights with a simple black sandal. The latter is also an easy way to give a little black dress fresh life for fall—and eventually the holiday season.

My advice is to start with the sandals you already own and experiment with different tights from there. You really can’t go wrong, but contrasting colors and textures tend to make the combination feel more intentional than, say, black opaque tights with black sandals.