Phoebe Philo hit her stride at Chloé with a neat view of how to get around the season s classic themes without ending up in middle-aged Frumpsville. Town-and-country styling, mannish trousers, camel coats, cable knits, conservative blouses, and fifties-femme dresses were all in her collection, but Philo applied a refreshing dash of girl-think to such pressing questions as, Will my butt look big in that?, and, Won t it make me look like Mom?
She¿d worked out a hip way of handling horsey. A generous camel-hair wrap and a big brown-and-white striped poncho nodded toward their horse-blanket origins without making a big deal of it. With them came the new Chloé pants, an item this young woman always cuts with a scrupulous eye for the crucial back view. Her wide-leg, cuffed trousers achieved the borrowed-from-your-man look while also conspiring to flatter, a point she proved by wearing a pair herself when she appeared at the end of the show.
What s nice, too, is Philo s knack for breaking up looks with her favorite little tops, like gathered-under-the-bust camisoles. They can lighten up, say, a pair of glen plaid pants or go just as well with everyday jeans. She also managed to navigate blouses, in high-necked cream lace or pin-tucked emerald satin, without making them seem insufferably prim.
True, some of her retro-influenced chiffon dresses couldn t escape the inevitable comparison to Marc Jacobs. But that s true of many collections this season, and it didn t detract from Philo s breezily cool grasp of what young women really want to wear.
