Fall Fashion - Apple Picking - Releasing the Inner Romantic

Certain things bring out the inner romantic in me. Actually, quite a lot of things do. In particular, beautiful old building and orchards - they make me just desperate to do something vaguely shakespeare-related. Because I'm cool like that. Essentially the dialogue in my head goes something like this: 'autumn...crunchy leaves...keats...apples...yay...RELEASE THE INNER ROMANTIC!"

But seriously. Today, it being Autumn (aka apple extravaganza season), I went apple picking. So this called for one of those oh-so-tricky outfit combinations that match practical with pretty: reasonable with romantic: you know that kind of dilemma.

In the end, I cracked out what I like to call my "poet" gear - essentially a cross between equestrian, 18th century romantic poet, and pirate:

Brown boots, black leggings and a white floaty shirt (I often accessories this with a huge floppy burgundy Chelsea Girl hat) strike just the right balance of practical, chic, romantic and individual. Just make sure the shirt is something more than a standard white button up: go for something with nice, billowing sleeves, ruffles somewhere, maybe a pussy bow or interesting buttons...basically, something slightly out of the ordinary, to take the outfit out of the ordinary. Everything else should be pretty basic in this combo - it's the shirt, and whichever accessories you choose, that will do the talking.