Fall Fashion

I'm really excited that, in addition to yesterday's NYTimes Magazine, there was the added bonus of the official NYT Style Magazine. Some 320 pages of fall fashions, styles and trends. So in addition to all the great reading you get from your Sunday NYT, you get a Vogue-like magazine thrown in for free. Seriously, I spent over 4 hours reading mine.


What I'm seeing for fall is that sophisticated, mature, tailored dresses and suits are going to replace the billowy babydoll dresses and teetering platform shoes. Forties-inspired hourglass silhouettes. Lots of grey.


Here are some highlights from the Style mag:

• Ralph Lauren splurged for the inside cover spaces and it was well worth it to showcase his classic black french artist-inspired dresses, sweater and skirts.


• Expect more practical shoes as shown by Cole Haan's high-heeled mary jane pumps with Nike Air technology.


• I can't believe anyone is still using Kate Moss but there she is - big as life in both the Versace and the David Yurman ads.


• A to-die-for Oscar de la Renta black dress, with full, 3/4-length sleeves, fitted torso, drop waist and full skirt, shown with gray tights


• Several lines are showing Russian-inspired looks, be it peasant or royalty.


• Best Tagline: Stuart Weitzman "OBSESSORIZE"


• A really disappointing cheap-looking suit from Banana


• A Return to the Golden Age of Pret-a-Porter - Marc Jacobs says of his bright narrow coats, ribbed sweaters and multi-hued wide-brimmed hats: "I was imagining a handsome, natty woman from late-'70s New York traveling to Italy for the first time. I wanted something totally precise, sharp, studied and pulled together with absolutely nothing extraneous."


• Doc Martens are making a big comeback, thanks to Yamamoto's hard-edged runway shows and trend-setters like Avril Lavigne. Chloe has some high-heeled Doc-inspired boots in red that are in practically every fall photoshoot you can lay your hands on.


• YSL brings back air travel's lost glamour with "lower-priced bags, tunics, bubble skirts and safari jacket that reflect the house's iconic style while keeping ease and wrinkle resistance in mind."


• "Blog is the New Black" - more designers are keeping blogs these days. Donna Karan says: "I've simply gotten to a point in my life where I want to 'address' people, not simply 'dress' them."


• "The Get: chic clutches [in snappy colors and jumbo sizes], a good stiff belt [shown in leather skins with big metal buckles], schoolboy blazers [from Brooks Bros, Ralph Lauren, and Balenciaga], bands of gold [big chunky rings], shoes of many hues [I TOLD YOU!!]"


• Some of the best jackets this season will have bracelet sleeves, so two must-haves will be cuff bracelets and brightly hued leather gloves.


• On Dressing Up: Ken Downing, fashion director for Neiman Marcus says: "Dressing up is the new cool. Being undone or disheveled is out." Marc Jacobs agrees: "After all the hoopla of layered, grungy, do-it-yourself fashion, it's nice to be masochistically flawless."


• You get extra credit for wearing sequins during the day.


• Peacoats are everywhere, including some pretty affordable ones from Hilfiger.

Come back tomorrow & we'll talk about what's new for fall make-up trends. Happy Styling!