Fall Through the Cracks

These are difficult days for the Style Spy.

Oh, I don't mean the increasingly fraught situation in the Middle East, or global warming, or the health care crisis, or the awful events going on in Myanmar, although all of these things (and more) trouble me greatly.

No, it's just that it's fall in central Texas.

Why is that bad? Let me show you.


This is an actual photo of my actual thermometer on my actual back porch on Tuesday, October 2 at about 2:00 p.m.

90º!!!!
(That's about 32ºC, for my non-American friends who are playing at home.)

Not exactly sweater weather, eh?

And yet? And yet, it's October. It feels a little ridiculous to be running around in a strappy little sundress. But my friends, I broke a sweat loading the groceries into the back of my car today -- it doesn't exactly make sense to be busting out the suede boots.

So, this is my difficult time of the year. While all my Northern friends are unpacking their cashmere and rediscovering their corduroys and airing out their leather jackets, my Southern sisters & I are trying not to sweat through our clothes on Columbus Day.

Therefore once again, I am surfing the internets and sifting through the retail establishments in an effort to seek out some sort of compromise clothing. Some garments that acknowledge the lateness of the season without bringing about a heat stroke. Long sleeves are still pushing it. Turtlenecks? Sweater dresses? Are you kidding? Merino wool? Oh, now you're just being mean. Kids, I have a brand new crimson velvet Alexander McQueen blazer that is positively weeping to be worn, but until that needle swings about 20º back, it's staying tucked into the big canvas winter clothes bag with all of my other (probably ill-advised) velvet & wool jackets. And these bad boys:

Stuart Weitzman Goliath

Bought these on sale a while ago. As yet unworn. I swear to you, every time I go into the closet where they live, they make kissy noises and wolf whistles and growl "Hey, chica, hey, mamasita, check me out!!" at me like a bunch of ill-mannered construction workers. (It's oddly endearing, though.)


Here's a few things I've found. The pickings are slim, because I'm looking for things that I can hopefully move into actual cooler weather by layering them or changing up accessories. (As usual, click for links.)

I actually kind of love this blouse and it may find its way into my closet. It's a poly/spandex knit, and I like that it's long enough to be tucked in without my having to constantly mess with it. It goes without saying that I love the Pucci-ness (Pucciosity?) of the pattern. Also, it has short sleeves that are actually sleeves, as opposed to little eggcup-shaped shoulder ornaments that if I can actually get them over my ginormous, too-many-years-in-the-service-industry guns squeeeeeeeeeeze my arms in an exceedingly unflattering and uncomfortable way. When did short sleeved come to mean cap sleeved, I wonder?

Pretty dress, no? It's silk and it's lined, so it might still be too warm, but the print is really beautiful and would be nice for fall. Plus, if the color is true to the photo, that would be really gorgeous under my as-yet-unexposed McQueen blazer, with some black tights and black suede boots. If one were feeling particularly chilly & layer-y, one could even put a nice lightweight turtleneck underneath it. I would replace the faux leather belt included with a nicer one of my own.

As we know, I do like a good jersey dress, and the color of this is beautiful. Jersey is pretty seasonless, you can warm it up with boots & a cardi, or wear it as-is. The shape of this is awfully flattering to lots of different figures, and the price is unbeatable. It's a bit long if you're a petite person, but the dress is such a bargain that having it hemmed wouldn't seem unreasonable.

I actually picked up a couple of these -- $8 t-shirts at Target! And believe me, I've already gotten my money's worth from them. Great layering pieces, and without a doubt the nicest $8 garment I've ever owned. Be warned, these are junior sizes and they run quite small (I bought a large), but the fit is nice & trim and again, long enough so that if they get tucked in, they stay tucked in. The colors aren't showing up quite true on the website -- they're a little darker IRL.

That's all I've got so far. I'll keep scouting, and if anyone stumbles across anything wonderful. please let me know!

Photos: Style Spy, Macys.com, Nordstrom.com, Target.com

Shape of Things to Come

Take a look at what you'll be wearing soon:





I'm going on the record right now and saying that Marc Jacob's Fall 2007 Collection will be the most influential one to come out of New York this season. It's fantastic.







I am completely smitten with this Zelda Fitzgerald meets Bianca Jagger vibe, but it's not just that the clothes are beautiful and elegant, which they are. They're also extraordinarily wearable and are going to work on so many different kinds of women.


The line here is long and lean, but the waist is still defined and there is ease over the hips -- it's not skintight or bias-cut, which are so hard to pull off for many of us.


The proportions on this are genius -- the boat neck gives width to the shoulders, the pants are loose without being bulky, the slightly shortened length on pants & sleeves make the limbs look a little longer, the long hem of the tunic pulls the overall silhouette down, but that big, beautiful, important belt still gives it a waist and makes the shape feminine. Note that the tunic is soft & roomy enough to not be constricting, but narrow enough so that the belt doesn't cause a lot of extra bulk around the middle where it's gathered.


And, yes -- I LOVE the hats.

I'm not typically a huge fan of Marc Jacobs, although I do appreciate his willingness to completely overhaul his silhouettes from time to time regardless of where the rest of the world seems to be headed (Grunge Collection, anyone?). And don't even get me started on his handbags, which I think are the most overrated items in fashion today. (Have you ever picked one up? Most of the damn things must weigh five pounds before you put so much as a lipstick in them. They're a chiropractor's nightmare!) There were some really beautiful items in his last two collections, but overall the looks were too bulky and fussy and overlayered for my taste, not to mention difficult and complicated to pull off. I lost track of how many editorials I saw explaining "How to Wear the Layered Look." (Here's a rule: if you need a tutorial on how to put the clothes on, you may need to re-think them.) Still, if you look at them you can see the progression of how he wound up at Fall 2007:

Fall 2006

Spring 2006

Fall 2007

I haven't managed to look at every collection from New York yet (Good heavens, there are squillions of them! Does everyone in New York design clothes these days?), but I'll bet you're going to be hard-pressed to find one so filled with useful, wearable pieces & shapes. Most of the looks are daywear, but even the evening clothes have an ease and simplicity that make them the sort of thing most women clamor to wear:





The colors are classic and beautiful, and the whole thing is devastatingly chic and luxe.


This coat made me whimper a little bit. Clean, glamorous, sexy -- American sportswear at its very best.


Again -- look at the line & proportion here. For day, put that vest over a tailored blouse; for evening pair it with narrow satin trousers and a great piece of jewelry like they did above. Gorgeous, sleek, sexy. These long, body-skimming shapes are the sort of thing that make you look long & lean even if you're... well, not.

A lot of great clothes walked down the runway last week, a lot of things I really loved and would be happy to wear. But these are really a new direction -- for all the talk we've heard for a while now about how the ladylike look is dead, it's still been very much about the Pretty for the last few seasons. That's all well & good, I'm a great big fan of the Pretty -- but it is really exhilarating to see something utterly different.

Photos: Style.com