Amidst reports that she’s moving to L.A. with her 8-year-old daughter Suri, Katie Holmes took the time to take part in a classic New York fall tradition: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Attending what might just be her only fashion week event this season, Holmes stepped out to support a pal at an Old Navy party. “I’m really excited for my friend Joe Zee to be partnering with Old Navy as a style ambassador,” Holmes tells PEOPLE. “He’s such a brilliant man. I wanted to be a part of that tonight.”

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While rocking an Old Navy oxford with her own dark skinnies and black pumps, Holmes, 35, said that she’s getting “exciting about the new season and fall trends.” Given her laid-back signature style, it’s not shocking that what she’s most eager to buy are staples we’ve seen her out in before. “I’ve loaded my closet with flannel shirts, because that’s what I feel comfortable in,” she explains. Plus, “Marc Jacobs is doing great knits, and oversized statement coats are really cool. Over time I think I’ll find that piece that will be my ‘back-to-school’ gift, I guess.”

But surprisingly, Holmes says that some of her chief staples are from her now-defunct line, Holmes and Yang. “I always wear those [items],” she says of the seasonless basics she designed for five years with stylist Jeanne Yang, before ending the line to focus on motherhood and acting in March.

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Though Holmes saidlast month, “As a mom, I gravitate towards basic looks and then I repeat them,” she says that the way she stays creative with her fashion is by switching it up. “Every day I try to create something different than I’ve worn before. That’s what’s fun about fashion,” she says. “If you have a closet that you’re happy with every piece, and you keep it sort of tightly edited, it keeps it easier. Especially in the city, you want to have a certain look.”

Case in point? This summer she managed to pull off a Holmes & Yang jumpsuit in three different ways. And in case you were fantasizing about what Holmes “tightly edited” closet looked like? She says you’re going to find way too much denim. “Jeans are an ongoing discussion,” she jokes.

What are you excited to wear this fall?

–Catherine Kast