Prefall Shopping: Feminine Tops, Ankle-Boots and a Polka-Dot Backpack
A
new crop of statement tops, those dressed-up pieces you wear with
tailored pants or jeans for a night out, is trickling into stores. After
seasons of logo tees and slogan sweatshirts, the new tops, with
striking shapes and pretty, feminine details, look fresh and appealing.
The tuxedo style from the French label Atto, for example, would be
elegant with cropped trousers at an evening event. As would the flannel
shirt with feather trim by Alessandro Dell’Acqua for N0. 21. Think of
them as a party on top, business on the bottom.
Ankle Boots: Gaze Downward and SmileThe
first splurge to contemplate for your pre-fall look, now that pre-fall
is a full-blown fashion season, is an awesome pair of ankle boots.
You’ll wear them with long, floaty skirts now, and with a pair of jeans
later on. These three caught our eye.
Henry Holland’s Bag of Tricks
Henry
Holland, the English designer known for his preppy-meets-punk
aesthetic, is adding a line of leather goods to his House of Holland
label. As eye-catching as his fashion, in which he playfully tweaks
youthful classics (a wool checked suit with heart-shaped buttons from
the pre-fall collection is selling fast), the bags include two-tone
clutches with “Tricks” inscribed across the front, mini cross-body bags
covered in hot pink fur and these polka-dot charmers.
No Mere Slip Of a Thing
The
‘90s fashion revival continues apace, thanks in some measure to Hedi
Slimane’s hip collections for Saint Laurent, meaning that slip dresses
are also having a moment. Lyndsey Butler, who designs the New York label
Veda, which specializes in leather, calls this petal pink slip dress
from her pre-fall collection “the ultimate ‘90s prom dress.” A little
Courtney Love-ish in her Hole glory years, it’s simple enough to wear as
a shell under an oversize cardigan, with a pair of Mary Janes (perhaps a
pair from Saint Laurent), or it can be sharpened with a fitted blazer.
