Archive for February, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Feminine, medieval, ballerina-esque, and tough-chic all describe the Sass and Bide girl. A quick change from a light yellow, flower-patterned long dress with a high front slit to a black button-up jacket with a turtle neck and a tight black skirt instantly transforms a summer gal to a femme fatale. No matter the style of clothing, each model has a little bit of a dancer in them, and the tights on their arms prove it.
Color Palette: Light yellow, brown, off-white, khaki, dark grey, light blue, and of course, black.
Silhouettes: Long and flowy, short and puffy. Everything is rather loose except for the tights.
Accessories Report: White tights, round-toe heels with ballerina-like tie-up laces, and mega thick leather belts shined.
What’s Wearable: Take away most of the excess accessories and stick a camisole underneath the sheer, and several items are worthy of purchasing. The long floral dresses, black skinny pants, a black and gold tiered dress will work well on the streets and the dance floor.
What’s Not Wearable: The medieval ensembles are better left to the cast of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.†Tights covering the arms might also be too out there for us non-models out there. Finally, to avoid looking like a belly dancer, stay away from the yellow spaghetti string dress with far too many tattered pieces.
February 6th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Nicole Miller’s collection, brimming with patterns and colors, is a fine departure from all the blacks and neutrals seen everywhere else. And just when you thought every pattern combination has already been discovered, Miller exposes yet another funky set. And she’s not scared to pair contrasting kinds.
Color Palette: Are you ready for this? Here we go: army green, maroon, brown, white, teal, purple, red, gold, black, rustic orange, blue, copper, fuchsia, and khaki.
Silhouettes: Button-down loose-fitting dresses, high-necked coats, skin-tight trousers, wide-sleeved cropped jackets, floor-length skirts, and form-fitting evening gowns.
Accessories Report: Fur shrugs (one worn as a neck shawl), chunky black necklaces, both short and long leather gloves, skinny leather belts, square and tiny sunglasses, and strappy and simple sandals.
What’s Wearable: The fancy gowns will work for a gala, while knee-length skirts and simple long-sleeved shirts will translate better on the streets. Most of the coats and shrugs are wearable, though not with most of the clashing patterns.
What’s Not Wearable: Many patterned items may be too loud for some, but if paired with a simple coat and minimal accessories, it can work for daring fashionistas.
February 6th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Voluminous sleeves, ruffles, and asymmetry ruled the runway at ThreeAsFour.
Color Palette: Black, browns, shades of dusky rose, muted oranges, and bright pinks.
Silhouettes: Voluminous sleeves, ruffled capes, drapey tops, and stovepipe-skinny pants bunched up at the bottom, jackets with bunched up sleeves, hooded trenchcoats, asymmetrical blousy tops and short skirts, cropped jackets, and flowy dresses.
Accessories Report: Can we say peep-toe heels? Ruffled scarves a la Fall 2004 BCBG and tights also held court.
What’s Wearable: We LOVE the hooded trenchcoat with the rounded corners. Another standoutwas the asymmetrical blousy top with the triangular-shaped back.
What’s Not Wearable: Careful with those leather pants.
February 5th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Esteban Cortazar showed a small collection of eveningwear for his Fall 2006 collection. We saw mainly structured styles–tailoring was key here.
Color Palette: Neutrals, mainly beiges, along with oranges and light blues.
Silhouettes: Body hugging silhouettes and tailored dresses with multiple panels. Backless styles and fishtail hems.
What’s Wearable: Everything! Cortazar showed a very pretty, very wearable collection of eveningwear.
February 5th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Menswear-inspired and unstructured suits for women. United Bamboo moved away from the cropped jackets, going towards a longer, waist to 5/8 length look. Vests and toggle coats featured prominently for men.
Color Palette: Neutrals: Black, Grey, Cream, and Brown, with touches of royal blue, gold, and orange.
Silhouettes: Garments that end at mid-thigh, A-line dresses, 3/4 sleeves, high waisted pants, waist length and 5/8 length jackets, double breasted coats, voluminous tops over slim bottoms, and slim tops over voluminous bottoms. As in the Spring 2006 collections, controlled volume played a big role here, especially with the bubble skirts with gathered fabric at the bottom.
Accessories Report: (Lace up) Boots, skinny belts, nerd glasses, tie waist belts on men.
What’s Wearable: Layering dresses over long sleeved tops. Hoodies as dresses were especially cute. For men, toggle coats, vests, cardigans (left over from Spring 06), motocross-inspired peacoats, and the everpresent trenchcoat were key.
What’s Not Wearable: The tie waist belts on men, and on women, the giant hair–a cross between bedhead and a beehive.
February 5th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Ever since 1994, twins Dean and Dan Caten have been purveyors a of street style that has exceeded the style expectations of fashion mavens everywhere. This season, they continue their fashion forward ingenuity with a mixture of class and street smart sexiness. Their fall pieces give the look of a proper 19th century Englishman up top and a contemporary urban hipster below the waist.
Color Palette: Standard shades of autumnal neutrals are juxtaposed with bold reds, greens and yellows that stylishly pop.
Silhouettes: D Squared’s popular low-rise jeans are a generous cross between a slim fit and a relaxed fit. Adhering to anything they are paired up with, the jeans (as well as their slacks) give a cohesive line that interconnects their layer upon layer look on top – giving one of the most marvelous looks that only Dean and Dan can pull off.
Accessories Report: Plain solid ties are a good way to give contrast to their somewhat busy outfits, while interesting pieces of equestrian head gear, ivy caps, bowlers and top hats give a blatant D Squared stamp of approval. Other accessory hints include: modern uses of the underused bowtie, the tussled front pocket handkerchief, canes, D squared branded scarves – all they are missing to bring this collection full circle are the monocles.
What’s Wearable: Their punk rock regality provides looks that can be worn as a whole or that can be picked apart to make the perfect look with less layering. Vests will officially be a big thing for fall. Of all their outerwear (which includes some fine pieces of leather, double breasted fare and other goodies) their blazers are remarkably sexy (in a masculine way) – the various textures and perfectly tailored cuts encase the male’s torso with comfortably snug style – we especially liked the velvety variety with satin trim. For an even more complete look, their suits are flawless. They aren’t necessarily screaming “D Squared,†but their style is definitely sewn in.
What’s Not Wearable: Obviously, the majority of the world won’t go out in equestrian head gear to venture off on a fox hunt, so many of their accessories are for pure show. Sometimes, they do go overboard on the layering. Even though it may look good on their modish models, a blazer on top of a denim jacket on top of a turtleneck is a little much. Then again, Brittany Murphy showed up at their show, so that makes up for everything.
February 5th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: The design duo of Steven Cox and Daniel Silver has always been a subtle voice for the over-the-top. This season, they calm it down a bit and play it safe in a collection of suitable coats, sweaters and unusual fall garments that have some sort of conceptual design hidden in the seams.
Color Palette: Grays, blacks and washed out primary shades that don’t make the collection as fun as it should be.
Silhouettes: Once you look past the trademark Duckie Brown quirkiness involved, the tailoring and layering of the garments are complementary. The monochromatic and dark shades mixed with the small fall patterns work well to trace a man’s shape.
Accessories Report: Costumey and cartoony knit beanies stand at full attention while an occasional use of a hefty scarves contrast with the shapely form-fitting tops.
What’s Wearable: Layer friendly coats provide warmth, but the nostalgically knit turtleneck sweaters seem a bit atypical for the conceptual minds of Duckie Brown. Possibly new to the scene is a stylish double breasted cardigan matched with any of their relaxed fit slacks – one of which is of the drawstring nature.
What’s Not Wearable: Where should we start? For starters, there’s a large necked sweater with oversized long sleeves that pop out of a mid-length coat. There’s also a questionably constructed turtle neck with a vest-like garment embedded in the front. They tend to explore both spectrums: the unbelievable plain and the whimsical avant-garde. It’s nice to know that Duckie Brown has a sense of humor when it comes design, but there is such a thing as a bad joke.
February 5th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Varvatos has made a name for himself with his work with the classic Converse sneaker, which has given him a reasonable amount of street cred. With his newest collection, he gives us a cobblestone of casual and formal menswear that fuses the likes of a desert adventurer, a professional business Londoneer and a nerdy chic beatnik.
Color Palette: A foresty palette of browns, military greens, shadowy blacks and luxurious grays.
Silhouettes: True to form, Varvatos’s craftsmanship is flawless. The popular slim fit outlines men as if it were morphed onto their bodies – same goes with their finely tailored outwear. Rather than being bulky, the layering is actual flattering.
Accessories Report: With an “Oliver Twist,†many of the pieces included Greek fisherman caps (they look like paperboy caps, but a little less boy-like.) Scarves make an appearance as well, but they aren’t has obvious as those others we have seen. Varvatos also gives us another taste of the murses (man purse for those who didn’t read my John Bartlett entry) and couture duffel bags. The popular use of the beanie is also evident in the collection, but instead of making his pieces look thuggish, they give a decent, Oxford University pseudo-intellectual appeal.
What’s Wearable: The material is more than suitable for the kissable fall air – as evidenced by the many full and mid-length coats (some of them double breasted), waistcoats as well as a fur lined distressed leather. Although in line with many other designers, Varvatos takes the lead with wonderfully constructed blazers and slim fit pinstripe suits. Contrasted with fitted outwear, he gives horizontal stripes a softer, flattering look. For a great addition, his work with Converse shines through in his laceless slip-on low tops.
What’s Not Wearable: The use of draping ponchos has the tendency to give a more “homeless couture†look rather than an haute couture one. Unless you enjoy that wandering mariachi image, this one could be left in the closet.
February 5th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: As one of the few designers that boast a “Made in the U.S.A.†tag, Wesetly creates a “no fuss†line of suits this season for the common man. Comfortable, stylish and extremely masculine, his fall pieces are more suitable for a linebacker rather than a skinny chess geek.
Color Palette: Fall friendly grays, greens, and bronzes, with the occasional visit from a vibrant color.
Silhouettes: As opposed to many of those Euro-chic three button suits, he creates unique pieces for the more broad-shouldered man. Some suits have reminiscent tailoring of a Safari jacket, but still maintain a look of a blazer. The suits leave plenty of room for comfort, something many men will enjoy.
Accessories Report: Once in a while, a classic paperboy cap or fedora appeared on the runway, but other than that, the texturally solid colored and striped ties give great praise to his suits.
What’s Wearable: Combining metro denims, professional fabrics and uncomplicated cuts, all of his clothing is blatantly ready-to-wear. One of his popular pieces is the pinstripe suit – something that will never go out of style. His suits contain a great deal of texture and they don’t come off as gimmicky. This includes his most avant-garde blazer: a double breasted green coat that seems asymmetrical. Some of his blazers contain a surprising twist – like a paint-splattered pattern paired with some dirty denim jeans or a stylish floral doodle atop a rich brown. Although minimal in his collection, leather bomber jackets stand out as key pieces – something that may be a big thing this fall.
What’s Not Wearable: A black and brown checker board blazer suitable for uncles who make fools of themselves at family reunions.
February 5th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Tomer’s latest collection continues his subdued look at the world of men’s tailored fashion. Suitable for the sleek and sexy rock n’ roller, his designs are modestly clean, yet mysteriously dark.
Color Palette: An overcast of monochromatic grays, blacks, blues and beiges. Some of the colors contain a hint of iridescence, but it’s nothing like those campy disco shirts.
Silhouettes: His tops cling to the male form in the right places, while his pants range from the relaxed to the slim fit, which shows great diversity and function in his collection. From head to toe, the color, along with the cuts, give all of his pieces a strong statement on the male form.
Accessories Report: Light as air scarves may not exactly keep you warm, but they sure as hell look good hanging around the necks. They add just the right amount of zest to the collection’s palette. Tomer also proves that chain necklaces hang more confidently in front of a solid, dark color. For another great addition of texture, the leather gloves give more of a touch of metro flair, rather than an O.J. Simpson feel.
What’s Wearable: Without a doubt, vests have the potential to be a popular trend this fall and beyond. Tomer matches them up with same-color tops and it adds a reasonable “umph†to what can be considered a bland color palette. His peasant-like tops exude a certain amount of femininity that doesn’t compromise a man’s self-consciousness, while his tailored mid and full length coats are classically modern. As for the bottoms, the choice of fabrics he uses for the pants is very versatile. What may look like denim is actually a nice pair of slacks—they can be casual or formal.
What’s Not Wearable: You can never really go wrong with basic blacks and grays, which makes all of his clothing appealing to the body. However, it can become more than a little repetitive.
February 5th, 2006
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