Counting the Days Until Fall

DRESSING ON THE SIDE

Counting the Days Until Fall

By Maureen Mancini Amaturo

Some count the days until Christmas. I check off days, hours, even minutes until those 784-page, fall-fashion mags publish. I empty the trunk of my car, rent an industrial dolly, haul all those glossy pages home, and overdose on the colors, textures, mixed prints, boots, faux furs, sensual sweaters, and personality-infused jackets and coats.

If you haven’t already browsed fall runway photos, now’s the time to make your list and check it twice. Can’t lift those 20-pound magazines? Window shop, stroll stores. Feel the chenille. Run your fingers across ruching. Consult your closet. Plan your buys.

In short, the five key trends for fall are: Texture, Layers, Prints, Eighties, and Red.

<<Textures>>

<Craft-filled fabrics>: Patchwork, quilting, crochet, embroidery, textured and thick knits.

<Sensual>: Thin chiffon, silk, and shearling.

<Sleek, sci-fi>: Foil finishes, shine, transparent or colored plastic, iridescent-hologram-look.

<Touchables>: Raised details, appliques, exaggerated fringe, floor-sweeping, diaphanous dresses.

<Ruching>: Fabric gathered to cause a ripple effect, a technique big in the ‘80s, is back for fall. Ruching can completely change the look and fit of a garment, creating a flattering silhouette.

<Accented shoulders/handbag>: Beaded or with pearl or metallic accents, embroidery, or fringe.

<<Layers>>

<Coats over coats>: A puffer over another jacket, a parka over a fleece, a furry vest over a jacquard dress and a shearling coat over both. Layer-over-layer is key, the more texture the better.

<Capes>: With big, layered coats defining fall outerwear, capes, which are perfect for layering, are replacing the trench and adding romance.

<Classic, tailored>: Think Saville Row. Menswear-inspired suits and coats with pants or skirts replace slouchy, casual streetwear. Straight-cut, knee-length coats, classic blazers, refined tailoring over sweaters, button-downs, turtlenecks.

<Knits layered over florals>: Wear sweaters over dresses or maxi skirts — with sneakers or boots.

<<Prints>>

<Plaid >: Sister trend to Saville Row looks. Plaids, herringbone, and hounds-tooth are fall’s big prints. Not new, granted. But finding knee-length coats in plaid, mixing plaids, plaids in different textures/fabrics, or finding an unexpected garment in plaid, like a jumpsuit, freshens these classics.

<Fall florals:> From itsy-bitsy to bold bouquets, hand-painted floral fabrics or floral appliques (which brings us back to texture.)

<Busy Prints:> Stripes, plaids, florals all paired, mixed, and matched. Remember to add at least one neutral/grounding shade or solid accessory to your outfit to pull the prints together. Mixed prints should have at least one common color. Aside from that, go crazy.

<Animal Print:> Classic leopard, especially in coats. The newer faves are tiger and zebra prints. Add animal print shoes or sneakers to your fall line-up.

<<Eighties>>

<Excess:> The hallmark of the decade. Glitzy fabrics, iridescent foil fabrics (piggy-backing the sci-fi texture trend), neon, and glammed-up evening looks. Update a glam sweater or blouse by pairing it with skinny jeans.

<Signature ’80s:> Acid-wash jeans, bold shoulders, black leather, and color-blocking in shades of the era. Animal prints (hunt for an animal-print clutch) and ruche details are totally 80s, so again, we have a trend merge here.

<Western:> Adorned shoulders, statement earrings, snakeskin boots/booties, cowboy-inspired boots, cowboy prints, and fringe combine for a whole different side of 80s.

<Logo-crazy handbags: >Dior, Fendi, LV, Gucci, etc.

<<Red>>

<Monochromatic red:> This powerful look is on fire for fall. Try outfits in solid red, different red tones from head to toe, silky fabrics, or wools.

<Creative red :> Mixed prints, embroidery, florals and plaids, patterns featuring red prominently from top to bottom.

<Red mules:> You need them this fall. You just do.

Norma Kamali dress at Great Stuff