As summer draws to a close, school children everywhere are doing their back to school shopping. For fashion types, the mad scramble to figure out what we need for fall begins. Here is my cheat sheet for the fall ’11 fashion trends.
The new silhouette for fall is long. Think pants and coats that graze the ground, but don’t think for a second that you can drag out your old palazzo pants because this season is all about long – and lean! Alexander Wang’s skinny rocker pants are the perfect example of a long trim line with just the right amount of stack at the ankle. Olivier Theysken’s much acclaimed collection for Theory features several options for ankle-grazing coats. Feel free to go as short as you dare under these maxi coats.
After last fall’s all-black and this spring’s all-white trends, we finally meet in the middle. The new color palette for Fall 11 is – wait for it – black-and-white! Feel free to mix-and-match pieces from the past two seasons or opt for the latest offerings for the world’s top designers. Chanel, Christian Dior and Carolina Herrera are the obvious go-to brands for this trend, but if you really want to push the fashion, then splurge on Lanvin’s signature volume.
Wait a minute! Where has all the color gone? After pushing you last season to buy pop color accessories to accentuate your all white dresses, you’re probably wondering where we’ll find color in the fall. The answer is the coat and the color of the season is my all time favorite. Orange isn’t just for Hermes anymore. Burberry Prorsum offers a great tailored coat in bright orange, but the chicest coat of the season comes from that excruciatingly Parisian brand, Celine. The relaxed, menswear-inspired double breasted overcoat is the perfect topper for their black-and-white outfit options.
The Chinese calendar my call 2011 the Year of the Rabbit, but the International Fashion Calendar says Fall 2011 is the Season of the Snake. Python coats have long been prized among fashion folk despite the difficulties in traveling to certain US states and foreign countries. Unfortunately, your circa 2004 Calvin Klein python coat is too trim and tailored for this season. Keep it in storage a little while longer. This season, you’ll need a more relaxed fit like Prada’s fur-trimmed version made of the instantly recognizable grey-and-white python reticulatus.
If a full skin python coat is too much for your taste – or your budget – then take on the snakeskin trend with accessories. For Fall 2011, snakeskin is the new leather. Bottega Veneta python tote bags are the perfect way to rock the trend without breaking the bank. If shoes are your thing, then everyone from Missoni to Valentino has something for you, no matter whether you want python toe cap patent pumps or knee-high high heeled boots.
Turtlenecks are one of my favorite fall items and a staple of every fashionable woman’s wardrobe. No doubt they’re already your go-to layer under the season’s must-have jackets or coats, but this season turtlenecks have a very special moment all their own. Early on in New York Fashion Week, Jason Wu broke the trend that would soon appear on the runways in Milan and Paris – lace turtlenecks. Likened to Elizabethan collars by the world’s fashion writers, this season’s lace collars are feminine yet ultra-modern. Pair it with a white skirt or slacks and you’ll hit two trends in one this fall.
Fall is upon us and today’s summer dresses and strappy sandals will soon be a distant memory. Enjoy these last few days but get ready to go Back to Fashion!
In the world of high fashion, July is Haute Couture month. The world’s most celebrated designers present collections that represent the highest standards of design and construction. If you work in the industry, you’re probably inspired to art direct new fashion editorials for the fall issues. If you are an ultra fashionable “civilian”, you’re probably frantically trying to figure out how you can work the high fashion trends into your everyday wardrobe. If you’re Daphne Guiness or Catherine Deneuve you’re probably standing on a block in a couturier’s atelier enduring endless fittings for your fall wardrobe.
For those of you who weren’t glued to your computers waiting breathlessly for the latest slide shows to be posted, here is an Haute Couture primer for the Fall Winter 2011 season. This is what the world’s most fashionable women – the names you’ll see on the Best Dressed list come March 2011 – will be wearing.
Chanel has long been go-to brand for “conservative” women of style – if that word can even be applied to the select group of women who can afford both the cost – in money and time – of maintaining a couture wardrobe. Karl Lagerfeld never fails to disappoint his couture audience, somehow melding the DNA of a brand that is deeply ingrained in the minds of fashion folk with the future of fashion. This season’s offerings stayed in a moody palette of black and midnight navy with one notable exception – magenta. Couture customers may have followed slavishly through recent forays into pink and fuchsia (and purple before that), but those “investments” will have to be archived or donated to the Costume Institute for a tax write-off. This season, magenta will reign supreme. Those who donned last season’s ruffles and volume are probably distressed to realize that this season’s new silhouette is streamlined a la Flapper. The “new” volume is tromp l’oiel. Ruffles, volume, and movement are now suggested by intricate beading on slim sheaths.
The fashion obsessed have followed the Givenchy Haute Couture shows since Hubert himself dressed America’s favorite gamine, Audrey Hepburn. The reins have changed hands several times since then. Most notably, Givenchy was Alexander McQueen’s first gig on his way to his eponymous line. The current exhibit of his work, Savage Beauty, at the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute here in New York is literally leaving fashion folk gasping for air as they experience the transcendent beauty of his designs. Current Creative Director, Ricardo Tischi, continues to leave the fashion world breathless. His personal vision of Paradise for the Fall Winter season included tromp l’oiel ostrich skin, painstakingly created by setting Swarovski crystals into faux pearls then beading them onto tulle. Another showstopper in the tightly edited ten look collection is a dress featuring thousands of hand-cut and hand-sewn square silk tulle paillettes that create an ombre effect from white to ivory. No doubt the phrase “a vision in white” will apply to more than just brides this season.
With all the controversy swirling around the former Creative Director, the Christian Dior Haute Couture collection was easily the most hotly anticipated of the season. Newly elevated assistant designer Bill Gaytten put his own spin on the iconic silhouettes of this legacy brand. Skirts, whether short and flirty or luxuriously long, had the very same effect of shocking indulgence on today’s recession-weary fashionistas as the New Look had on those who survived World War II. Gaytten may have worked within the framework of the iconic brand’s silhouettes, but he undeniably put his personal stamp on the collection by drawing inspiration from the swirling architecture of Frank Gehry. The effect is decidedly post-modern.
Every season, even since the retirement of the storied brand’s namesake, aficionados of Valentino Couture keep an eye out for at least one creation in Valentino Red. The formula for this particular shade is trademarked and instantly recognizable whether on the grand staircase of the world’s great opera houses or peeking out from under the hem of a burqa. The dynamic design duo who currently head the brand – Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli – paid homage to the founder with a thoroughly modern gown with a draped plunging neckline in the house’s signature color, Rosso Valentino. They also took another step forward with the brand by offering one look in the most luxurious of velvets. The bandeau vaguely evokes Josephine Bonaparte, but in a fresh and up-to-date way.
Any follower of red carpet fashion is familiar with the other Paris Haute Couture show that is designed by an Italian. Each season, looks from Giorgio Armani’s Armani Prive collection appear on the most celebrated actresses and musicians of our time as they attend awards shows. For Fall Winter 2011, Armani’s showstopping color choice is Safety Orange. Ombre sequins soften the shade and give it beautifully sense of movement. For the woman who really wants to stop traffic, Armani also offers a slim strapless gown covered entirely with clear square plastic paillettes in this vibrant hue.
No matter how you choose to draw inspiration from the great design houses of our time, be confident in your choices and boldly lead the way for other fashion pioneers wherever you are. You can swallow these trends whole or just pepper them into your existing wardrobe, but, no matter what you do, fashion marches on. You either evolve and adapt or risk becoming as obsolete as a rotary telephone. I, for one, already have a head start on the safety orange, having ordered several things for fall – including a collar and leash for my dog!
1. Chanel Fall 2011 Couture 2. Givenchy Fall 2011 Couture 3. Dior Fall 2011 Couture 4. Armani Prive Fall 2011 Couture 5. Valentino Fall 2011 Couture
Proust is one of those great literary masters that “serious” writers like myself always reference. At the beginning of this summer, when my new iPad2 arrived, I had grand plans to download Proust’s masterpiece and perhaps even Tolstoy’s epic War and Peace – and actually get through them by Labor Day! All those grand literary plans got sideswiped by the Royal Wedding. In prepping for my “day of” coverage, I kept running into terms like “modesty” and “propriety” in the official palace press releases – words, I might add, that don’t really apply to what city women wear in heat of summer. A chance find at a favorite thrift store secured me a matched set of hardbound palm size volumes of England’s best loved novels. Thus, my summer went from Proust on an iPad to Jane Austen in original typeface.
Despite my longstanding appreciation of the evocatively written word, I find myself increasingly an avid participant in the new media revolution. So, with a quick trip to the PBS store online, my throwback summer quickly became supplemented with the circa 2007 BBC remakes of the entire Austen oeuvre on DVD. I didn’t want you to think I was sitting around reading novels by the light of candles I had hand dipped myself! What the movies make instantly clear that the novels assume you know are the standards of dress of the day. “Modesty” definitely ruled supreme over the much loved romantic heroines of Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Mansfield Park.
Ever since the fall Paris shows for Spring Summer 2011, I have been a huge advocate of Jil Sander’s orange maxi skirt, plugging it here in my column and using it as inspiration for all the spring photo shoots I art directed and styled. With summer fully upon us and the oppressive heat in force, I know that many of my friends and readers are at a loss as to what to wear around the city that is comfortable and still chic. What follows is my summer shopping guide to the maxi skirt.
Austen’s heroines may have struggled with Sense and Sensibility, but you’ll have no questions at all about being fashionable even in the debilitating heat of summer. A vast array of options is available to you this summer. Juliette sleeves and empire waists on ankle length dresses may have been the fashion in the 18th century, but today’s “modesty” is defined by the 40” – or longer – skirt.
Richard Nicoll’s coral silk crepe de Chine maxiskirt is the perfect option for the woman who loves color but wants something a little more subdued than the bright orange and fuchsia Jil Sander originals. You’ll look perfect strolling a city avenue or swirling through a summer garden party. If you’re a Missoni girl, you’ll love Alice & Olivia’s multicolored striped maxi. The skirt has just enough swing and sway to draw all eyes to you wherever you go.
If you’re more at home in a mini – or a micromini – and this whole maxi thing has you fretting about being fashionable and showing off your best assets, then opt for the high slit or side slit slim maxi skirt. My favorite is Helmut Lang’s brushed jersey side drapeversion. The draping at the hip is slightly more forgiving than straight cut versions and the peekaboo high slit will put a little sex appeal in every step.
Many designers offered pleated maxi skirts but I honestly think that volume can be very tricky. Instead, go for ultra-lightweight tiered ruffles. The movement is much more flattering for all types of figures. Lanvin’s Blanche maxiskirt in white silk tulle is light as a feather and ultra-feminine.
If you need something dressy for a night out on the town, channel Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall in circa 1970 Halston in Donna Karan’s hammered stretch satin maxi skirt. Pair it with a vintage YSL le smoking or a Balmain blazer for the perfect au courant tuxedo look. If you want real drama, then go for broke with Jason Wu’s silk lined black tulle maxiskirt with mini train.
The maxidress of Austen’s circa 1770 heroines may have been the penultimate in modesty and femininity, but the denizens of Studio 54 circa 1970 showed us that the maxidress can also be sexy. Today’s maxiskirt is the perfect combination of all three. Pick the right one for you and you’ll be the heroine in your own personal summer romance novel!
Between the recent royal wedding and the U.S.’ own Triple Crown racing season, hats are on everyone’s minds. June brides all over America have their wedding planners scrambling to get “that dress”; women who were dreading sitting at the singles tables are now focused on finding the right hat to nose out their competition. My friends and clients are all begging me to help them find the right hat to go with the dresses they bought or ordered months ago. I thought I’d share my advice in case you were are about to embark on your own personal wedding guest – or garden party – season. Here are a few great basic hats that will get you through wedding season – and the rest of summer.
If the idea of wearing a hat has you worried about standing out too much, then opt for keeping it all very neutral. Eugenia Kim is the go-to milliner for high-end department store shoppers. Her straw fedora with the red and blue faux hat band and bow that is actually dyed onto the straw is the perfect option to enliven any neutral outfit. A regular fedora adds a dash of attitude to any hairstyle. If you wear your hair down and full, you may want a hat with a higher crown like Burberry’s red Trilby, which also features a shorter snap brim. The bright pop of color will be dead on for the season.
If summer means spectator pumps to you, then opt for a two-tone fedora. I just ordered a fresh pair of white bucks with a chambray saddle to get me through several upcoming destination weddings whose climate simply demands seersucker! For those events, I’ll be sporting a navy-and-white fedora similar to the one pictured. If you plan to wear your hair back or up, then a fedora that features a crown of one color and brim of another is the perfect option. The lighter brim will create a halo that will have you looking like the freshest thing at any wedding short of the microvegetable salad at the singles table.
If fedoras simply aren’t feminine enough for you, fear not! The cloche is the perfect shape for you. If you’re planning to wear floral flounced chiffon a la Daisy Buchanan, keep your hat solid. A straw cloche will instantly solve any hair dilemmas and keep you looking your Great Gatsby best. Who knows? You may even kick up a Charleston or two – or wind up doing the Bunny Hug with your handsome dinner partner.
If you’re no stranger to drama, then why not go bold with a wide brimmed Missoni? Keep your hair pulled back and the signature wave pattern will draw all eyes in the room to your face. Remember, you’ll be seated through most of the ceremony and reception, so even the most attention calling dress won’t have any effect until the dancing starts. By then, you’ll have already locked up all the eligible possibilities.
By far, my favorite hat of the season in the Lanvin’s floppy brimmed straw number. Think of it as the summer version of J Lo’s Gucci felt version. The neutral color ensures it will go with anything all summer long. Take off the removable bow and dress it up with one or more amazing statement necklaces around the crown or consider wrapping your head in your favorite vintage Pucci scarf before popping it on. This hat will carry your through the entire summer season!
“Fade to black” is the traditional indicator of a change of scene in a movie script. As we transition into spring from winter, I propose that we “flash to white” in the live action dramas that are our fashionable lives. For months now, I’ve been warning all of you that white is the new black and that we can – indeed, must – find ways to weave it through not only our summer but also our early spring wardrobes. Some of you have just smiled politely, ignored my exhortations, and hoped I’d go away and forget about it altogether. You “Rules” (fashion rules – not the dating ones!) readers out there have shot right back at me crying foul. “I can’t wear white before Labor Day!” “White makes me look fat!” “White gets so dirty right away!” Blah, blah, blah… Well, I say being stylish means making your own rules – sometimes, not all the time.
I grew up in California wearing white all year round. When I moved to Boston, my “proper” New England friends informed me that I could only wear white between Memorial and Labor Days. I tried it one year and the next year I decided to wear white pants on Easter Sunday and continued to wear white until Memorial Day. I got a few crooked looks, but, overall, the multitude of compliments on my emerging personal style far outweighed any potential embarrassment over breaking a “rule”.
As for the inverse of the fashion maxim that “black is slimming”, I advise that everything – even fashion – is better in moderation. I don’t expect that those of you who live in all black will suddenly jump on this season’s white hot trend, but you might at least try with one article of clothing – or even an accessory – in white. As for you messy eaters/drinkers out there, here’s a newsflash… Those fastidious people who judge you on your neatness can spot bagel crumbs and coffee stains on a black shirt just as easily as on a white one. If you’re careful about your appearance, you can wear any color you like.
Whew – now that all those silly myths are out of the way, let’s get down to pulling key pieces from online retailers so you can Flash to White!
For those of you who are not afraid to take on a trend head first, I suggest you go pick up a new little white dress. Send your LBD’s to the cleaners – and seasonal storage – and learn to rely on your new best friend –the LWD! Every accessory you own will look new and fresh against a white backdrop. Girlie girls will love the flirty and feminine Amelie dress from Marc by Marc Jacobs with its white-on-white floral print. Traditionalists will love Ralph Lauren’s Hilda dress from the Black Label collection. The classic shirt dress is updated for this season with a slightly flared skirt and ¾ length sleeves, the better to feature a wide brown leather belt and wooden bracelets a l’Afrique or better yet the season’s best pop color accents. If you dare to go bare, you’ll want the Damia dress from the season’s most highly anticipated collection, Theyskin’s Theory. Fans of Theyskins will recall his brief stint at Nina Ricci creating the “young” high fashion looks made famous years later by newly single actresses ranging from Reese Witherspoon who chose to wear yellow on the red carpet after breaking up with Ryan Philippe to Halle Berry who chose sheer and barely there black for her first red carpet foray after breaking up with Gabriel Aubry. Die hard fans of Monsieur Theyskins recall his glorious work for the House of Rochas where he pledged to “stop global vulgarity” and steadfastly refused to design a marketable accessory line. You have to love a designer who would rather be fired than be responsible for another “it bag”!
If you’re still not convinced to try an all white look, then at least try changing one item of your outfit over. Channel your inner Bianca Jagger from the Studio 54 days with a Halston Heritage crepe blazer. Use it to replace your go-to Helmut Lang jean jacket and you’ll come to think of white as your new neutral for the season. If you tend to layer your look, consider building up from my favorite tank for the season, the white leopard burnout jersey tank top from Adidas by Stella McCartney. It’ll be your instant favorite and – who knows – perhaps come summer you’ll be sporting it all by itself!
The skirt is another layer of an outfit that you should consider in white. I will agree that a flat field of white will appear larger in person than it really is – and even more so in photos. To avoid this scenario with a skirt, choose one that is draped or otherwise textured. My favorite this season is Thakhoon’s asymmetrically ruffled pencil skirt in cotton blend twill. It’s actually pretty rare that I like a skirt from an American designer. For some reason, I have always felt that the French are simply much better at designing them, but this one is worth noting.
By now you’re probably asking yourself, “when is he going to get to the white accessories?” Well, first off, if you’ve been following me and paying attention, then you have already collected the season’s hottest pop color bags and they’ll go perfectly with your new white items. I wouldn’t really suggest acquiring a white bag as your expression of this latest fashion trend. It – and you – will just get lost in the crowd. Shoes, however, are another story entirely. I love the mix of neutrals with white and Christian Louboutin’s latest offering, the Madame Propre slingback sandal is the very height (quite literally – at 5.5 inches!) of spring/summer chic. For the art lovers among you, the line between shoes and sculpture is truly blurred with Alexander McQueen’s sculpted resin and leather sandals. They cost about one mortgage payment on your basic million dollar Manhattan one-bedroom, but wouldn’t you rather support “the arts”?
This Easter, I was proudly sporting a white Prada cotton blazer and I will not think twice about wearing white between Easter and Memorial Day. I hope I’ve given you the confidence to follow suit. If anyone dares to call you out, blame it on “fashion” in general, or me, in particular, if you must.
My main function at Second City Style is to provide a man’s perspective on women’s fashion. That said, I must admit that sometimes I tend to focus on cocktail/evening AND on men who design for women. For this installment, I have decided to focus on women who design for women. For those of you who may not know who is behind some of the world’s most recognized brands who show in Milan and Paris, here is my primer on Fall/Winter 2011.
A is for Alberta Ferretti whose red carpet looks on young Hollywood have met with mixed reviews in recent years. What my fellow fashion arbiters all agree on is that her vision for women during the daytime is spectacular. For Fall/Winter 2011, she presented bright colors and organic color blocking during her show in Milan. Whether you choose the slim pants under a matching tunic or a shift dress over color coordinated thigh high boots, the look is both “long and lean†and “flirty and feminineâ€.
In Paris, A is for Anne Demeulemeester (I know – technically she might actually be a B for Belgian). You may recall that actress Molly Ringwald was the unofficial brand ambassador for this avant garde label in her post-Pretty in Pink years. Demeulemeester drew inspiration this season from nature, going so far as to cast jewelry from the feet of birds from her own backyard. Not for the faint of heart, this all black collection is for the woman who likes corsets and a little goat fur in her daytime look.
B is for Blumarine by another A, Anna Molinari, who draws inspiration each season from nature, be it animal prints or a marine color palette. This season in Milan, she took a decidedly sharp turn through the basics of fashion design, presenting 20 or so monochrome looks that brought focus to the tailored silhouettes and her attention to detail. Half way through her show, she took another sharp turn through vivid color land, presenting 60s inspired silhouettes in blue, yellow, purple, and my favorite, orange.
OK, I have to cheat a bit here and talk about a collection that is designed by a man, but the runway show is traditionally styled by a woman. I can’t let a Paris Pret-a-Porter season pass without peeking at the hottest B going – Balmain. Celebrity watchers will know Balmain from Rihanna on the red carpet. The masthead obsessed – myself included – know that this is the first collection NOT styled by Emmuelle Alt, the newly minted Redactrice en Chef of Vogue Paris. Melanie Ward has taken the reins and brought the collection forward in musical influence from Punk rocker to Glam Rock. The sequined body suits with plunging necklines are perfect daywear for fall – if you’re going to high tea with Lady Gaga!
Back to C for cool and casual from Chloe. Hannah McGibbon brought a 70s vibe to her collection with loose fitting sportswear constructed from python prints liberally accented with actual python. My favorite look was the slouchy python print palazzo pants with square python patch pockets, but that could just be because they remind me of my carefree California surfer days spent in OP corduroy shorts. The head-to-toe look is a little more Dallas than Sex and the City, but I’m sure we’ll see these pieces on city girls with a penchant for exotic skins in all the major cities.
C is, of course, for Chic – and Cosmopolitan – as can only be found in Paris. Fans of Phoebe Philo’s era at Chloe have realigned themselves to the newly revitalized legacy brand Celine. Not since the 80s have young women flocked to this brand which is now the go-to brand for women who want a clean, minimalist silhouette and appreciate beautiful construction in luxe fabrics. Inspired this season by the interiors of luxury cars, Philo’s approach to the urban uniform is to keep the overall shapes simple so as to emphasize the lines – as in the must-have faux bois printed pieces that evoke the exotic wood trims of hand made cars.
I honestly couldn’t find a C from Milan for you, so I have to jump to D – for Donatella, Versace, that is. Since the days of her late brother’s reign at the brand, Versace has been synonymous with sizzling sexuality. Who can forget Elizabeth Hurley in Gianni Versace’s barely there evening gown held together with his signature medusa head oversize safety pins? Donatella has not only steered the brand into a new century, she has charted a new course into modernity while still respecting the traditions of the brand’s history. For her latest collection, she delved deep into the archives, plucking out the iconic baroque curlicues of her brother’s collections from the early 1990s and abstracting them to single graphic elements color blocked onto sleek modern silhouettes. The looks are not particularly short, bare or form fitting, but the sexy is still undeniable. Brava to the diva!
There are many more great things to come from Milan and Paris (and New York, of course!) for Fall/Winter 2011, but I couldn’t possibly cover them all in one column. Stay tuned for more of my humble point of view… In the meantime, we have a glorious world full of spring fashion to explore first!
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