First Look: Jennifer Garner on the Cover of the October InStyle

Come October, the style set will be recovering from September’s whirlwind of trend-spotting for spring 2015 at runway shows in New York, London, Milan, and Paris. But inside the October InStyle, on newsstands and available for digital download Sept. 19, we’re telling you what to wear right now, starting with some of our favorite fall trends styled on cover girl Jennifer Garner.

The actress, up next in Disney’s adaptation of the children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (in theaters Oct. 10), arrived at the shoot at a cliff-top ranch overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Carmel, Calif., wearing a Brunello Cucinelli cardigan and R13 jeans, but was soon wrapped up in some of our favorite looks for fall. On the cover, she wears layers of rich fabrics with a poncho, dress, and scarf by Burberry Prorsum (complimented by jewelry by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels), while inside the issue, the actress transforms into an intrepid outdoors woman, donning cozy textures by Céline, Michael Kors, Stella McCartney, and more. Still, “I’m too happy to be a moody nomad all the time,” the 42-year-old told us, and between takes dropped character to chat about her three kids and a recent vacation the family—which also includes husband of nine years Ben Affleck—took with friends Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen.

Yet even ensconced in all that glamour, Garner remained true to most-loved role: mom. “You can tell Jennifer is a mother,” hairstylist Ben Skervin says. “She kept reminding me to be careful when we were working near the edge of a cliff!”

For more from Garner on balancing life with Ben, working out like a demon, and her “mom grunge” style, pick up the October issue of InStyle, on newsstands and available for digital download Friday, Sept. 19.