Fashion’s star pupils will stock their lockers with bolder touches in order to make the grade for fall.
By Maureen Mancini Amaturo
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Fashion’s star pupils will stock their lockers with bolder touches in order to make the grade for fall. Minus the shoulder-duster earrings, versions of these trends are available in sizes from elementary school to class mom. If you’re a student of style, you’ll want to take notes on at least two of these new touches to upgrade your wardrobe and supply that fashion thrill that fall is famous for.
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Bold blazers
Skirts, pants, jeans in checks, plaids, prints, super-thin stripes, brocade, and bold colors.
Shoes: Mary Janes and T-straps. Heels of every height from platform to wedges, chunky to slim. Free to choose whichever you can walk in. Flats and pumps in patterns, out-there colors, and metallic leathers.
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Exposed socks. Ankle-high, knee-high, and over-the-knee. With dress or casual shoes, boots and booties, even high heels from chunky to stiletto. Â
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Jewelry: Bangles and brooches, bangles and brooches, and bangles and brooches. Stacked, paired, multiplied, you just can’t have enough of them this fall. Wear three small pins in a grouping. Theme them. Mix silver and gold, or metal and color. One of the most fun fall trends is something I’ve been doing for years: mismatched earrings. Hope you saved the leftovers from all those lost pairs. The other fun earring for fall: long. The longer the better, 1980s-long.
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Hair: Pulled-back styles, to show off the earrings no doubt.
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Fabrics: Prints, textures, patterns. Plaids, stripes, dots, tribal. Experiment with a patterned top over solid pants or grab a patterned accessory from purse to scarf, or flat.
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Colors: Green (emerald, mossy lichen, and yellowy linden), acai purple, Greek island blue, samba red, orange leaf, dark coffee. And the pop color, vivacious pink.
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What to Study
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The Eighties. From neon colors, to print pants, to shoulder-duster earrings. Other subjects from that era will pop up: the puffy sleeve and puffy shoulder, tiny floral print dresses (remember Betsy Johnson’s ’80s prints?) and oversized, slouchy blazers a la “Miami Vice.” Big looks: skinny jeans with a long blazer, sweater, or blouse: boyfriend jean (looser cut) with a slim top. When you shop, listen for Cyndi Lauper whispering, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and the bouncy B-52s telling you to “Work That Skirt.”
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What to Major In
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Being a girl. Finally, if you have curves, you get an A+. Test out the fitted, lace, and peplum dresses that work the female form with body-hugging silhouettes. And if that isn’t girly enough, floral headbands, hats, and gloves are wiggling into the spotlight.
You might want to shorten your coat sleeves to have a little more fun with gloves. Pick a pair of opera-length, exotic print, textured, or bold-colored. Even better, a vintage pair. Lucky me, I kept most of my gloves from the ’80s with bead, feather and fur trims, lace ruffles on leather, and bright, bold colors.
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And finally the girliest girly-girl get up: those exposed socks. Ruffled anklets with laced shoes or pumps. Lace, patterned, prints, bold colors or black, embellished, knitted, knee-high and higher. Watch for them with Mary Janes, oxfords, wedges, pumps, ankle-strap shoes, booties, combat boots, and every form of high heel.
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Today’s Lesson
Alliteration. Fit your figure and the fashion will flatter you.
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