The PNW has a way of letting you know when summer is over. Even with a relatively mild summer in the Valley, fall just feels different. It isn’t only the temperatures, either. It’s the smells, the tastes, and that general difference in the feeling of the air.
For me, all of that means a shift in the closet, too. Shorts and tees start making way for pants, long sleeves and jackets. I don’t necessarily love this transition — I know there are plenty of people who can’t wait for fall — but it is always a little easier when I have some solid seasonal options ready to go.
A quick disclaimer before we get started: none of these are running clothes. But as someone who spends plenty of time in running clothes, I also appreciate having good casual options for the rest of life, and these from Surfside Supply fit particularly well into the PNW wardrobe.
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Brian Washed Twill Plaid Shirt
If you don’t have a flannel in your closet, are you even an Oregonian?
The Brian Washed Twill Plaid Shirt isn’t really a “true” flannel in the traditional big, puffy, warm-coat version of the word, but I’m willing to count it. It’s a sharp, collared cotton shirt that comes in a variety of colors and works nicely as a lighter fall option.
What I like most is the versatility. It’s classy enough to wear on its own, but it also works left unbuttoned over a T-shirt when you want something a little more put together without going full formal. Basically, it’s the kind of shirt that works when Oregon is still pretending it isn’t actually fall yet.
Rex Rib Knit Shirt
Of course, eventually Oregon is going to Oregon.
Those mild early-fall days inevitably give way to the mornings when you need something a little more substantial. The Rex Rib Knit Shirt fills that middle ground nicely. It’s a step up in heft without being a full-on cold-weather jacket, making it a good option when a lightweight shirt isn’t quite enough.
It has more structure and a somewhat more formal look, but that doesn’t come at the expense of comfort. The material has plenty of flexibility and doesn’t feel restrictive when you’re moving around.
Like the Brian shirt, it can go a couple of different directions depending on what you’re wearing with it. And with multiple colors available, I’m finding myself wishing I had an excuse to buy all of them.
Terry Twill Pants
When I moved to the East Coast for my first year of college, I was coming from the West and felt very out of place in jeans. My roommate looked at me quizzically the first day and said he’d never seen someone in real life wear jeans before.
Oh, the Northeast. What a place.
We remain good friends to this day, and while I may not have converted him to denim, his comment didn’t do anything to diminish my love of it.
That said, not all pants are created equal. Jeans can be a little restrictive and, depending on the pair, aren’t always the most comfortable thing in the world. We’ve reviewed a few options that do a surprisingly good job of solving that problem, but there’s still something to be said for the classic denim look.
Surfside Supply’s Terry Twill Pants have that familiar denim-style silhouette that makes them easy to pair with pretty much anything. But the feel is completely different. The twill construction is much lighter and more comfortable, almost approaching the feel of a sweatpant, without looking like you’re wearing sweatpants.
It’s basically a denim hack: you get the look and versatility of a classic pair of pants without quite as much of the restriction.
These have become my go-to of the three recently, which wasn’t necessarily what I expected going in. But as we move into the Oregon season of increasingly questionable weather, having comfortable pants that still look put together is a pretty useful thing to have in the closet.
Surfside Supply isn’t making running gear here, and that’s perfectly fine. Sometimes you need something to wear before the run, after the run, or on all the other days when you’re not running.
These three pieces give me a pretty good fall progression — a lighter plaid shirt for those early autumn days, a more substantial knit option when things cool down, and comfortable pants that look a lot more put together than sweatpants.
And around here, having options for whatever version of Oregon weather shows up that day is never a bad thing.