Seeing Orley s models, lined up casually and chatting in pigeon pairs as if waiting to board something headed for somewhere tony, it was hard not to draw a line to Mr. Ripley and his entourage. There was a boarding school/grand tour feel to the cable-knit sweaters, cropped trousers, and twinsets (on both sexes). Or maybe it was in the collection s starting point: details in American painter William Merritt Chase s portraits. But the clothes were neither costumey nor cliché, and the addition of women s ready-to-wear for Fall brought a larger, long-range game plan into view for brothers Alex and Matthew Orley and Matthew s wife, Samantha. (Ten bucks says there s a lifestyle brand brewing: The trio has gone from men s sweaters to women s clothes in three years.)
The clothes were rooted in classic American staples, the stuff our grandparents wardrobes were filled with, the workhorse pieces people wore every day. The idea was a good one. "It s something familiar, but done in a subverted way," Alex explained during the presentation. There was a nostalgic charm to a green striped sweater set for her and a baby blue knit polo and cardigan for him, both spun from Cariaggi merino. Or the way in which the women s cream knit skirts hit properly just below the knee and the men s tailored pants were cropped at the ankle, as if to rile Dad in the least offensive way possible. Orley s designers have a nice sense of color and they aren t shy about using it, from the tart green and soothing blues to cream, gray, and darker tones. The women s looks were done exclusively in knits and stole the show, especially a gray cable sweater and skirt with a stripe of black color-block and its twin in reverse colors. The team relished in adding small details, like jersey-covered buttons and hand-finished grosgrain ribbons at waistbands for women and old-timey jacket closures for men. Just the sort of neat-o touches you might have seen in Grandpa s and Grandma s closets.
