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Week 34 · 17–23 August 2026 · By Maggi Ferguson

The fortnight the season turns

Summer stock is at its cheapest, the fall colour reports have landed, and for once the two things point at the same shopping list.

Written on a Sunday, looking at the week ahead. Two weeks ago the advice was to buy summer things at the discount; that still holds and the discounts are deeper. What has changed is that the fall colour and bag reports are now all out, so it is possible to buy for September without guessing.

One honest note on where this comes from. We do not stand on street corners — what we read this week was published coverage, including the street-style reporting out of Copenhagen and the fall colour reports. That is a weaker kind of evidence than seeing it, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise.

The swap of the month: straw out, leather in

The single most seasonally-correct purchase available right now. The transitional advice everywhere this week is to retire the raffia carryall and move to a leather or suede tote in black or a warm brown — and unlike most August advice, that is a bag you use for years rather than three weeks. Buy the strap width, not the looks: a wide strap on a big tote is a health question, not a styling one.

Read the full trend →

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Still summer: the bandana, not the cap

The most-cited late-summer accessory this week, and a genuinely cheap one. Washed soft paisley rather than crisp new cotton, and wear it with proper sunglasses — the frame is doing half the work in every photograph of this. It carries into autumn round the neck once it is too cold for the head.

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New colour on the table: soft pink

Blush and ballet pink are among the season's key bag colours, and the "new neutral" claim is being made again. It holds for about half the pinks on sale — the ones with grey or brown in them — and not at all for the bubblegum end. Worth reading the undertone before you buy on the strength of a label.

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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices shown were captured on the dates given and can change at any time.

Cheapest way into a trend this week

A chain belt layered over the leather one you already own. You are buying one inexpensive item and getting a whole look, and a chain fits regardless of what it goes over because it sits rather than fastens. Reads young, which is either the point or the reason to skip it.

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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices shown were captured on the dates given and can change at any time.

Getting ahead of October

Nobody is buying gloves in August, which is exactly why the selection is good and the prices are not yet seasonal. Short leather in chocolate or oxblood is the buy — black gloves against a black coat disappear. Check for touchscreen thread in the fingertips or you will carry them rather than wear them.

Read the full trend →

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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices shown were captured on the dates given and can change at any time.

Next week: what actually needs replacing before autumn, and the case for buying one good thing instead of four cheap ones.