Reprint from the Post-Crescent 8-31-08
By Lisa Strandberg
Women's guide to style as seasons change
With school in session again and the change of seasons upon us, kids' wardrobes aren't the only ones in need of renewal. Women, too, will find themselves wanting an update — not, like their children, for size, but rather for style.
Advertisement
Quantcast
This summer's punchy colors and swingy lines have given way to rich hues and looks ideal for layering, according to area fashion retailers. Here, they sound off on fashions for fall and provide tips on pulling them off regardless of your figure or finances.
Changing colors
Rachel Johnson, co-owner of a. boutique, a women's clothier in downtown Appleton, attends the Stylemax trade show in Chicago each season and said of the event, "There's just always a message." For fall, that message came through clearly: Jewel tones like cobalt blue, green and purple will predominate in autumn.
Other colors on this season's Pantone fashion color report include deep red, orange and ochre — harvest hues that are perennial favorites as the weather cools.
To give your look a further boost in fall, you might want to add some pieces in a basic color that bucks tradition.
"Grays and browns are the new black," said Jill Nelson, co-owner with Tammy Eiting of Chic to Chic Consignment Boutique in Appleton.
Eiting offered this money-saving tip to introduce hip hues to your wardrobe without replacing everything: "You can take a summer color and make it fall with brown." She suggested coordinating tops in warm-weather limes and pinks with earth-toned bottoms.
Pretty patterns
Classics have come on strong this season, with everything from plaid to argyle making an appearance. The twist arises in where those patterns have landed.
As far as argyle goes, sweaters still reign, but pattern placement makes the look new.
"It could just be a strip down the sleeve or the very classic argyle," Johnson said.
Plaids, too, have their place this season. Johnson said tailored tops sporting the pattern, particularly those with a Western flair and even fringe, have proven popular.
"They're pulling (plaid) into a lot of accessories as well," she added.
One such accessory: the scarf, which Eiting and Nelson encourage customers to embrace. "Women are afraid of scarves," Nelson said, attributing that fear to the drama a scarf creates and the unease that tying one can cause.
Nelson's advice to ladies: Get over it.
"They could be wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but they put a scarf on and they look pulled together," she said. "It draws attention to you, but it's a good attention because it draws it to your face." (That's especially helpful in providing balance for pear-shaped figures, she noted.)
His-and-hers looks
In part, designers have gone girly for fall.
"Victorian is really big. Ruffles are really big," Johnson said.
Feminine touches at the neckline, the bust and just about anywhere are of the moment in fashion.
"It's really all about the detailing this season," Johnson said.
However, those in the know marry that detailing with more manly structure.
"The biggest thing I'm seeing is pairing a masculine piece with a feminine one," Eiting said. "Ruffles are huge, but they're pairing it with a masculine tailored vest and pants."
Here's a case in point. Remember the '70s bow blouse? It's back in a big way.
"They're tying them in the back. They're tying them in the front," Johnson said. And the secret to making it work in this decade is combining it with sleek slacks or jeans for a balance between the masculine and the feminine.
Accessories offer another path to that perfect balance. Handbags manly in their large proportions remain chic, but they've morphed from glowing citrus hues in spring and summer to more classic styling for fall.
"There's so much detailing in the clothing that there's been a lot of leather in pretty cognacs, browns or black," Johnson said.
One note to women wary of the wildly popular ruffles, shirring, rouching and gathering, which can add bulk in all the wrong places: Use them wisely to accentuate the positive and distract from the negative.
For example, if you're busty, Johnson said, "I would not do something around the neckline." Instead, ruffles along the bottom of a blouse might be most flattering — assuming they're not calling attention to wide hips. Naturally, the opposite is true for less-than-voluptuous women.
As Nelson sensibly put it, "Just because it's in style doesn't mean it's going to work for you."
Denim free-for-all
While it may come as bad news to some, Johnson said simply when asked about the skinny jean, "It's still in."
But there's a bright side. "One question we get a lot is, 'What jeans are in now?'" Eiting said.
Her answer? "Bootcut? Yes. Skinny? Yes. High-waisted? Yes."
In other words, we've reached a fortuitous point at which it all works.
"The bootcut will always be probably the most popular," Johnson said. "It draws the leg and makes it look longer. It's very lean."
However, that doesn't mean that other styles — even the skinny ones — are out of reach for the average woman (and by average, we mean not Kate Moss or even close). "(Wearing skinny jeans) is easier in the fall when you can throw on a pair of boots with them," Johnson said.
A long top or one of the tunic-style sweater vests that are hot for fall can help, too. "If it cuts you mid-thigh, sometimes that's a very flattering spot on a woman," Johnson said.
As with ruffles, common sense and a bit of balance come into play.
"If you're going to wear a wide leg, you'd better wear a fitted top. If you're going to wear skinny jeans, you'd better wear a loose, longer top," Eiting said.
Dressing up
Want another great way to wear skinny jeans this fall and save money at the same time? Try extending the life of summer dresses with creative layering, another enduring trend.
"In fall, I would take (a sundress) and put a turtleneck and skinny jeans under it," Eiting said.
While that's a great way to wear the empire-waisted frocks that were fashionable all summer, there's another leg-baring look that's fresh for fall. Again, it's an old favorite — the pencil skirt.
"There are different lengths with a pencil skirt that can be for different body types," Johnson said. But she provided this caveat: "A pencil skirt in general is not great on someone that's hippier."
One way to, uh, skirt that issue is by extending the line of the leg with clever use of hosiery and footwear — namely, the ankle boot, which is still going strong this season with embellishments from bows to fringe to open toes.
"You can wear them really cute with dresses and skirts by adding tights to get a monochromatic look and long line," Nelson said.
No matter how you're shaped — or how your budget is shaping up — it's simple to add some style to your wardrobe this fall, according to our experts.
"It's almost like fashion got really easy for everybody," Johnson said. "Anything goes right now."