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It always comes sooner than what your heart and soul are ready for, but summer is officially over. September means back to school, and fashion’s back to school is the New York Fashion week shows. As kids, shopping was an important part of the prep, where you got to manifest the person you were trying to be in the year ahead. As a kid who always wore school uniforms, my experiments with personal style happened mostly through my choice of socks (pulled high to the calf), and shoes (double-strap mary-janes). But for the fashion folk who attend the shows—the editors, buyers, stylists, influencers, and on and on—this is the time to try out the new trends and, yes, dress to impress. So what are the vibes for the season?
Embrace the All-American
It all started at the menswear shows in June where new creative directors Jonathan Anderson at Dior, and Michael Rider at Celine, embraced an American prep aesthetic—with a twist. At Dior that meant voluminous cargo pants with panniers, and at Celine it was about bold colorblocking and mixing proportions. But the budding trend proved its potential during the Venice Film Festival, which saw Jacob Elordi hit the carpet in a pair of impeccable pleated pants and a softly structured button-down by Bottega Veneta’s Louise Trotter (her debut show will take place on September 27), and Greta Lee in a striped blue and white cotton shirt tucked into faded blue baggy-ish jeans by Dior. And then, of course, who can forget the one-two punch of Julia Roberts and Amanda Seyfried, who wore the samenavy blazer, yellow striped shirt, and slim natural-wash jeans by Versace’s incoming creative director Dario Vitale’s Versace within the span of a couple days? That you can simply pop into your local J.Crew, Gap, or Banana Republic to recreate the look on your own only makes it more appealing, the trick to elevate it from everyday to fashion-week is, as always, to play with proportion: oversized pleated khakis against exquisitely tailored—or dare we even say skinny—jeans, an oversized poplin shirt that shows a hint of neon lace underneath or a standard-sized one layered underneath a shrunken crew neck sweater. (But also, wear it the “normal” way! That’s also the point.) White socks and plimsoles or topsiders can top off any look.
Try it if: You’re taking a break from the whole quiet-luxury oversized layers thing.
Big Boots
This trend comes not from the runway but the streets of New York—and beyond—where all summer long, girls were wearing their heaviest knee-high boots with shorts both teeny-tiny and long. More elevated versions of this combo made a real statement during Copenhagen fashion week last month, where showgoers paired them with big shorts and skirts. A plaid a-line skirt may be too Balmoral-chic. Instead go for a bold geometric print mini-skirt or big shorts; or trade the navy or cream cable knit sweater for a bold color or your favorite vintage tee.
Try it if: You’ll never give up your wired headphones.
The More the Layers the Closer to God
Fashion people love unexpected layering, a jacket over another jacket, a belt over a sweater (or a bare stomach, remember Carrie Bradshaw?), and of course, a skirt or dress over pants. This more-is-more Y2K trend has been much maligned, but its return is infinitely more chic than the first time around (a rare occurrence). Lingerie-inspired lace-trimmed dresses over jeans (we are still thinking of Look 3 from The Row’s spring collection), or Julian Klausner’s sarongs at Dries Van Noten’s men’s spring collection immediately come to mind. The Dries sarongs are a simple idea with infinite possibilities: Consider wearing a classic tailored suit, and tying a sarong around your waist, a sequined triangle scarf paired with cargo pants, or an oversized silk scarf tied around your chest over a simple white t-shirt. What these combos do is inspire a feeling of playfulness and experimentation—for those days when you can’t decide if you’d rather wear one thing or the other, this is an invitation to porque no los dos? and try wearing them together.
Try it if: You love fashion week but you’d also rather be somewhere touching grass.
