John Denver s "Country Roads" played in the background at Lyn Devon s Upper East Side studio as she showed off a Fall 2013 collection inspired by upstate New York. The newly engaged Devon and her fiancé are looking at properties in the area; she used its rustic-intellectual feel to inform her clothes.
The collection was designed as a complete wardrobe, starting with an easy gray sweatshirt (cropped and emblazoned with a burgundy script L, perfect for this writer) and ending with a menswear-inspired wool overcoat embellished with Bakelite and clay brooches. Lavender, a color that popped up in many collections last season, was used to good effect on a boiled-wool top and skirt, and also in the lining of a taupe overcoat. Styled with ever sensible loafers, each piece felt like a fancier version of something you might find in a New England attic: There was a seventies-style floral dress, a burgundy crew-neck cardigan, and a peachy corduroy mini shift. Everything was very wearable, which is Devon s real talent: creating luxurious, desirable clothes that work as well on socialites as they do on real girls.
"It s about the joy of being in the country, but still polished," said the designer. Navy velvet paper bag-waist trousers, paired with a delicate lace corset and topped off with an alpaca coat, synthesized the theme. As perfect as these pieces are for taking in the fall foliage, they d work just as well in the city: It would be shame to relegate them to the country house.
