Resort 2014: Band of Outsiders

Resort has become expansive and, in turn, almost impossible to deal with. And yet it has also become my favorite season of all. Less saturated with trends and more independent, it is full of collections where designers take risks and experiment with colors and fabrics and shapes and prints. Of course there are some trends to be had and some themes to be spotted, but it is far more freewheeling season than the others, even when compared to its transitional counterpart, pre-Fall. This season I’ve decided to break it up by focusing on nine collections that stood out. The nine include those that set their own path and told their own stories as well as those that fit more closely into the loose narrative of the season.

Band of Outsiders has undergone almost continuous expansion since its founding, first with Boy and then with Girl. For some it was apparently becoming too confusing, so the disparate threads have been pulled back under one umbrella. While that has allowed those who couldn’t keep the brands straight some relief, it has also made more obvious the overarching narrative that connected them even before this recent consolidation.

The trends of the season will become apparent as we move forward, but in this collection the story was simply that of the Band of Outsiders girl. She has many sides, but in the end they all perfectly fit into the puzzle that is her life and her style. She likes easy, fuss free clothing. Sometimes that means the androgynous feel of a shrunken suit. Sometimes it means the airy simplicity of a maxi dress. And other times it means a chic choice that makes it seem as if she has taken to her boyfriend’s or her father’s old tuxedo jacket with a pair of scissors and a sewing machine.

With that ease comes clothes that fit, all at once, into different parts of the day, different areas of her life, and different seasons. Her wardrobe is one for every day of the year.


Photos via

The Leftovers: Paris Fashion Week FW13

Time passes and all of a sudden it’s almost July and you’ve yet to write about Paris. The resort shows have all but wrapped up. The pre-fall collections will be in stores sooner than you’d like them to be. And yet no Paris.

It wasn’t for any lack of love for the collections. It was simply that life got, sometimes disastrously and sometimes marvelously, in the way. This season was one of those in which all of the cities were pretty closely aligned when it came to trends. It’s still something of a surprise to me when everyone gets the exact same memo concerning colors and shapes and patterns. I prefer seasons with through lines that allow each city to maintain some of its individual character. Fall/Winter 2011, with its huge focus on the 1970s, is one of the better examples of that phenomenon.

Paris does a better job of asserting itself than most and some of the trends that overwhelmed the collections in the previous cities were scaled back into something more manageable. The fur was still there trimming lapels and covering entire dresses, but its dominance was less pronounced. In Paris, there were no fur-covered boxing gloves.

At Guy Laroche

At Akris

At Tsumori Chisato

At Rochas

At Rue du Mail

At Moncler Gamme Rouge

The houndstooth, herringbone, and windowpane also faded from view somewhat.

At Sacai

At Issey Miyake

At Rue du Mail

At Lanvin

At Christian Dior

Other trends, like the mixed media seen in New York and London, made a reappearance after disappearing altogether in Milan.

At Damir Doma

At Guy Laroche

At Pedro Lourenço

The tendency for boxy shapes, whether subtle or exaggerated, was still there.

At Felipe Oliveira Baptista

At Barbara Bui

At Céline

At Carven

At Kenzo

At Roland Mouret

And the menswear trend continued to be played out in all variety of suiting.

At Dries Van Noten

At Cacharel

At Dion Lee

At Viktor + Rolf

At Neil Barrett

But the main story, as it had been all season, was about one dichotomy.

White.

At Nina Ricci

At Willow

At Valentin Yudashkin

At Christian Wijnants

At Céline

At Gareth Pugh

And black.

At Nicolas Andreas Taralis

At A.F. Vandevorst

At Haider Ackermann

At Willow

At Yohji Yamamoto

At Mugler

At Christian Dior

At Lanvin

At Dion Lee

Although in Paris black seemed to be winning the battle.


Photos via

What About This?: The Big 3-0 Edition

A few days ago a co-worker asked me if it would be weird to simply tell her mother what she wanted for her birthday. I couldn't say "no" fast enough. There is always a thrill in the unknown, but after one has exited the age of dolls and trains and coloring books, I believe that that thrill becomes secondary.

A couple of months ago my best friend, whom I've previously dressed in this post (oh, and that one), asked if I would put something together for her again to celebrate the beginning of her 30s. It's more grounded than the previous posts and more focused in on just a few brands that I know fit her well. Every age is about being stylish, but as you get older it's also about being smarter. I've grouped the pieces into the most generic of categories, but in the end they are all part of a whole.

Basics

Because everyone needs a pair of black pants.

And a pair of dark denim.

And a black pencil skirt (with a fun hem detail).

Because nothing will deal with the heat of a New York City summer quite like a linen sweater.

(Or a boyfriend with an air-conditioned apartment.)

Because she, like I, knows the importance of a good ballet flat.

Because your everyday tote should come in a non-neutral neutral.

Because I once had to corner her while she showered in order to reclaim a pendant necklace of mine that she had borrowed for a long stretch of time.

Work

Because everyone needs a classic dress in a great color.

Because she's not afraid of prints.

But that fearlessness doesn't always include printed pants.

Because the art of draping is one that everyone should master.

Because this tweed goes with everything.

Because every office ever is always too cold.

Because every woman should have a bag that is briefcase-adjacent.

Weekend

Because a shirtdress goes well with brunch.

And a denim jacket goes well with a shirtdress.

Because I know how much she loves sweatshirts.

Because she should never forget about her inner punk.

Because leopard is a neutral.

Because sometimes she needs to feel taller.

And sometimes she wishes that she were a baller.

(Yup. I did in fact go there.)

Because she's never met a mini bag that she didn't love.

Because, as the Fug Girls say, everyone looks hotter in sunglasses.

Because sometimes you just have to jet away.

Night Out

Because sometimes she should be the center of attention.

Because every arm party needs a starting point.

Because every woman needs one pair of shoes meant only for sitting and standing.

And sometimes that pair needs a friend.

Because I've seen the evidence that she looks great in this dress.

Which probably means that she also needs the leather version.

Here's to the 30s being more fun and better dressed than the 20s.