For those of us who cherish fashion in any way, the dread of going back to school is overcome by one thing: the excitement of the September Issue. When I was younger, I would flip through page after page of advertisements dividing my thoughts between wondering where the articles went and amazement at the beauty of the clothes on the pages I was flipping through. My mom and I would pour over Vogue and Elle, occasionally she’d stop and point out her favorite clothes and shoes. The older I got the more I understood her fascination, and the more I recognized the names in the pages. Last year, I even fell in love for the first time with a pair of high heels. They were part of the military chic taking over Aldo shoes and I had to wit until September to get them and I adore them to this day.
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| Photo Courtesy of aldoshoes.com |
To honor the pinnacle of the fashion year, I’m giving my two cents on the trends I’m seeing and where I’m see my dream pieces.
First, I’ll start with the more realistic (at least for me), and this fall that is the Banana Republic Mad Men collection. Mad Men is the kind of show you could watch on mute just to see the clothes. When so many guys in my generation can’t wait to get out of their tie and break free of “boring” suits, the handsome gents from Mad Men dress like, well, men. Aside from that, the women on the show display their personalities in the no nonsense cut that Banana Republic has nailed. The prices may be steeper than BR’s usual prices, but they are way less expensive than well maintained vintage and is slightly updated with modern flair like pocketed dresses. If only I had a job where I could show these pieces off….
Next on the love list is the “it” colors for this season. Dark teal, plum, and silver: are you kidding me!? I admit, I’m very biased, these colors compliment my skin tone well and I’m not looking beyond that, but the richness of the colors instantly bring images of awesome color blocking and cool knit combinations into my mind. Granted, I’m not so crazy about taupe as a neutral, but I can deal.
Part of why this fall is going to be so rocking is the refusal of all fall trends to be bulky. Instead of the usual heavy knits (though I do love them!), this fall is flaunting even more of those beautiful sheer polka dots and lace that can be layered and paired up with some of the more heavy duty material. I’m jealous of the beautiful sheer polka dots, since let’s be real: no one can pull them off in real life, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be on the lookout for awesome lace detailing with enough bulk to keep me warm back at school!
A trend I’m absolutely not loving, no matter how cool it looks on the runway? Tribal prints! Though I admit many runway shows are not ready-to-wear, I at least see potential in the trends they inspire. To me, no one is able to blend prints and crazy colors as well as the designers who make them. Calling out Missoni for Target on this one! The clothes look absolutely rockin’ in the ads, but you can be I am not going to look as chic and put together if I try and slap on a pair of crazy patterned slacks. I appreciate what the brand is, and some of the purses would stand out from the crowd just enough, but I am going to shy away from any print that has more colors than I can name on the color wheel.
Fashion is a person experience, and I appreciate that some people think Vogue and Elle are not pinnacles of style, and I will agree wholeheartedly. You could not open a fashion magazine a day in your life and still understand dress beautifully, ignoring trends completely. What I find so inspiring about the thousand or so pages I’ve flipped through this year is not the trends themselves, but the work everyone has put forth in the hopes that women will see their art and want to take it home and wear it. Fashion is all about women inspiring designers inspiring women. Magazines are just a medium through which a cycle of fashion feeding can occur. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out the documentary about Anna Wintor (aptly titled The September Issue). If that can’t make you appreciate the hard work poured into these pages, nothing will.
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