It’s officially autumn and today is the first day of October, so it’s finally safe to start pulling out your winter wardrobe. That’s right kids: denim cutoffs and madras shorts are done for the year. It’s time to replace them with jeans and cords. Upperclassmen are old pros at this seasonal shift, but out-of-towners, freshmen from other regions and a few odd juniors and seniors still haven’t quite figured this one out. No worries – you only need to switch out a few things in order to make the leap from summer to fall.Lucky for you, fall break is a great time to make the switch from tiny tees to cardigans. If you play your cards right, you can probably score a shopping trip with your parents, too. Nothing scares mothers more than hearing their babies are cold at college.

Though shorts will become a thing of the past over the next few weeks, flip-flops will stick around for a surprisingly long time. Don’t be surprised to catch Rainbows around campus long after Christmas. Once it gets cold enough, they’ll be replaced by Uggs until spring break. Arguments about the aesthetic appeal of shearling boots aside, they’re amazingly comfortable and ridiculously warm, so don’t knock them until you’ve tried them.

We’ve all got approximately 3 million sweatshirts from various activities in high school and college, but don’t bring too many back to school with you. Later in the year when you look at Facebook photos of this winter, you don’t want your wardrobe to be a one-note of sweats, jeans and boots or sandals. It’s super easy to don a sweater and they make you look a lot more pulled-together; they’re often warmer than anything else out there. Picking up two or three when you’re at home isn’t a bad idea.

Philadelphia winters often call for substance over style and coat selection is no exception. Ditch the quilted Burberry-esque jacket. It’s just too cold. That cute peacoat you picked up during postseason sales last spring? It’ll work most of the time, but for a few weeks in February you’re going to be freezing. Puffer-coats, though not very cute, come in handy when the wind chill hits negative numbers and you’re considering skipping class because the walk to campus is too cold.

You don’t have to switch out all of your clothes, though; a lot of summer staples can stick around all year. Tanks and T-shirts are obviously good regardless of the season – if you wear it alone now, tossing a cardigan or sweater over it for the next few months will work just fine.

Ballet flats and other cute footwear can stay, too – just put on a cute pair of socks to keep warm and you’ll be good to go. Just can’t let go of your minis and sundresses? One word: tights.

Of course, your tank tops might get to make another appearance later in the month. The area is prone to Indian summers, when the weather gets hot suddenly for a few days at the end of October. Remember, though: they won’t switch the air-conditioning to heating for a few more weeks, so even if it’s nice outside, Bartley will be freezing. Carrying a cardigan to class never hurt anyone.