NATCHEZ — While summer is not officially over, fall fashions are already popular.

And this year’s, deep, rich colors are the order of the season.

Racks and shelves at local shops are quickly filling with plums, spicy red, greens and navy blue, store associates said.

“Colors this season are luscious,” said Katie McCarstle, owner of Katie’s Ladies in Natchez. “This is really going to be the season of lots of colors.”

At Rrus and Company in Vidalia store manager Kristen McKinley said despite warm temperatures, her customers are ready for the new looks of fall.

“A lot of people are wearing simple dresses and belting them at the waist to dress them up,” McKinley said. “We started selling fall items weeks ago. People are ready for a change.”

What that means are dresses, tunic, leggings and jeggings — leggings that resemble denim, McKinley said.

“We have a stock room full of stuff that we are rotating in,” McKinley said.

McCarstle said Not Your Daughter’s Jeans and leggings are also popular with her customers.

“In leggings, we have black brown and animal print,” she said. “Our customers are really enjoying wearing them.”

For hem length, McCarstle said short to long and everything in between is on the racks for fall and winter.

“It’s about what is comfortable to the ladies,” she said. “We are dressing everyone from their 20s to their 90s.”

McKinley said buying for fall began in the spring so when fashions arrive, she is just as excited as customers.

“It’s like Christmas morning,” she said. “We are ripping the boxes open to see what has come in.”

McKinley said her typical customers are the 20s and 30s crowd, but she isn’t surprised when “a lady in her 60s comes in and wants me to dress them.”

Tunics have become popular lately and McKinley said she doesn’t see that trend going anywhere.

When it comes to accessories, McKinley said customers are gravitating toward big purses and belts to top off a new outfit.

“The clothes seem to be simple with a little kick,” she said.

Martie Hoover, sales associate at The Pampered Sole in Natchez said the colors of fall are just a little deeper than the summer hues this year.

“The purples are deeper, the reds are spicy and the blues are deep navy,” she said.

Dresses are also popular for fall, Hoover said. Sleeveless sweater dresses worn over a shirt as well as belted dresses are popular with the store’s customers. But items sell out quickly this time of year, Hoover said.

“We only order a few of every item because you don’t want to see yourself,” she said.

This season, Hoover said, dresses are often being paired with trendy leggings and jeggings.

“It seems like everyone is wearing leggings,” she said.

And what is true in clothes is also true for purses, she said. The store has rows of bags, both big and small in purple, red and chocolate brown.

For the feet, high-heeled boots, peep-toe heels and ankle boots are what’s in style, Hoover said.

At Rrus, Toms shoes are hard to keep in stock, McKinley said.

“Everyone loves these,” she said. “They are good for school; nurses like them with scrubs, hair dressers wear them because they are on their feet all day.

“Everyone who wants a comfortable, stylish shoe loves these.”

New fall colors and patterns are available, and men’s Toms are also for sale at Rrus.

“When we order, we order 12 pairs (of a style) in different sizes and we have to reorder all the time,” she said.