Illustration by Maxine Crump.

Illustration by Maxine Crump.

Fall is the perfect time to go the eff in on your school supply aesthetic. This autumn, it’s all about taking sizable risks while sticking to the trends of seasons past. Think eraser-ready shades of pink. Feel the pencil-pusher vibes. Imagine three-ring binder silhouettes.

This season, supplies have as much function and practicality as a utilitarian jacket: They’ll essentially pair with every single subject (from AP English to Calc!), while transitioning seamlessly to situations like study hall and note-passing sessions.

Hold on to your backpacks, because we’re about to show you this fall’s hottest school-supply styles!


Look Sharp!

Mechanical pencils had their time in the spotlight, and that era is over. We’re turning back—to the bright-yellow goodness of old-fashioned No. 2 scribblers. Your hands may get stained with graphite, but that’s a small price to pay for sensible style: Yellow pencils are the new black!

The options may seem limited, but there are No. 2 pencils to fit any budget. Whether you have a few cents or few dollars to spend, your writing game will always be on point.

Shop the look:

Dixon No. 2 Yellow Pencils, $10 for 144, Amazon.

Dixon No. 2 Yellow Pencils, $10 for 144 pencils, Amazon.

Fifty Shades of Pink

If there’s one thing you need (other than a No. 2 pencil!) while writing in-class essays or completing multiple-choice tests, it’s a chic eraser. Forget about whether “A” is the right choice—with a good eraser, there’s never a final answer! Pencils have built-in erasers, true, but you want to keep that key accessory looking sleek. Whatever you do, don’t use that eraser! This fall is all about polygonal synthetic rubber with graceful, looping script stamped on it. Whose handwriting is that? You’ll never tell.

Shop the look:

Paper Mate Pink Pearl erasers, $6 for box of 12, Walmart.

Paper Mate Pink Pearl erasers, $6 for box of 12, Walmart.

Paper Trail

Because most of your time will be spent type, type, typing away at a computer, nothing will feel as liberating as escaping to a sheet of loose-leaf paper or a spiral-bound notebook! Choosing between college-ruled or wide-ruled paper is not an easy task, and it requires a deep dive into what you consider your handwritten presentation. Is your handwriting elegantly loop-ridden? College-ruled paper’s tightly spaced lines are your best bet, so you can fit as many pretty words as possible on that page! Fear not, eccentric hand-writers. Wide-ruled paper is your blank canvas. Fill those spacious lines with rigid S’s that double as backward Z’s!

Shop the look:

From left: College-ruled paper, $1 for 120 sheets, Staples; wide-ruled paper, $1 for 120 sheets, Staples.

From left: College-ruled paper, $1 for 120 sheets, Staples; wide-ruled paper, $1 for 120 sheets, Staples.

Rule(r)s of Attraction

The wooden ruler is a classic that will give you a straight-up edge. They are the figurative leather jackets to your pencil case’s basic basics. Don’t even think about protractors. So irrelevant.

Shop the look:

Wescott wooden 12-inch ruler, $1.50, Staples.

Wescott wooden 12-inch ruler, $1.50, Staples.

Carry On

With your neutral palette of yellows, pinks, graphites, and white, it’s smart to incorporate statement pieces into the lineup—like pens and markers in neon oranges and deep purples. Three-ring binders will keep your style neat and organized. (A binder’s customization potential, on its front and back covers, is endless: Emoji stickers, One Direction paraphernalia, and hand-scribbled doodles are necessary additions to the standard paper-keeper.) And no school-bound look is complete without the thing that holds it all together: The backpack. An oversized number says, “I’m smart, I have a lot of books, but seriously I’m effortlessly carrying them on my back, and it looks like I’m not even trying, but I’m trying—it only looks like I’m not.”

Shop the look:

Clockwise from top left: Sharpie Accent Highlighters, $TK for 6, TK; JanSport ackpack, $36, TK; Samsill 1-inch Value Binder, $8, TK; emoji stickers, $7, TK; Strawberry Cupcake scented stickers, $2.50, TK.

Clockwise from top left: Sharpie Accent Highlighters, $4 for pack of six, Sam’s Club; JanSport Superbreak backpack, $36, PacSun; Samsill 1-inch Value Binder, $7, Amazon; emoji stickers, $7, Velvet Caviar; strawberry-cupcake scented stickers, $2.50, Paperchase.