As the September Issues started arriving in my mailbox, it was easy to see that several trends were going to transcend Summer and move into Fall. Not a bad thing if the trends work–bad thing if the trends are…well…too retro (for lack of a better term.) Not that I mind “retro”–when done tastefully–and when it doesn’t make me look like the hyper-inflated image of my former self. ….
Be that as it may, here are a few words on the three Summer fashion trends of note that are carrying over into Fall:
1. Bright Colored Jeans It was the irate teen daughter of a friend who said that “older” women shouldn’t be wearing bright jeans. Oh, grow up, honey! and no, we’ll leave the neon colors to your generation. Colors like 
bright purple, electric blue, and, if you can pull it off, lipstick red, are three colors that look great on women over the age of 35. Although I’m seeing colors like mustard and grass-green as well. Now, don’t mind the green, but gad! what’s with the mustard?? Since we really don’t know how long this trend is going to last, and if you didn’t already try it for the summer, I’d suggest you make your way to Old Navy and buy a pair of their Rock Star cut jeans in a great color that will mix and match with a variety of solids and prints. They’ve got a perfect price point and the cut is fantastic (although you will need a belt–a good one will complete the look, so don’t be stingy) I purchased a pair of the bright purple early in the summer and I absolutely love them! I never knew purple could be such a versatile color–pairing nicely with jade green, red, white, royal blue and tangerine.
Another note about the cut of these jeans: they are what’s called “super skinny” BUT they are NOT “jeggings.” The difference is that jeggings are very thin and very stretchy– it’s quite easy to inadvertently end up with “camel toe”with a pair of jeggings. Super skinnies have the right balance between stretch and substance. They don’t cling to figure flaws and look great with flats, kitten heels, biker boots, and knee-high boots.
2. Florals I was fine with florals for the Summer, but I’m really not digging them for the Fall. They’re showing
courtesy asos.com
up on skirts again, reflecting tapestries of the French Court of Louis XVI. But florals are also showing up on jeans with frightening ubiquity and are part of that “prints gone wild” trend. Not to mention that most floral jeans look like 1980′s floral jeans!! NO!!!! This is a trend better left to those 30 and under–or if you happen to find yourself in Miami after Labor Day (where they’re also still wearing Summer whites.)
As for prints gone wild…well, I’m not really digging the python, leopard, or other print jeans. Just not doing it for me. Unless I find myself, for some reason, in Hollywood, where the python prints might be fun. Might. I’d rather have a python print dress myself….
3. Color-blocking! Whether you spell it as a compound word–colorblocking–or two words or the hyphenated version, colorblocking is back. No surprise really, since colorblocking was big in the 1960′s, and Fall seems to be the time of year when the fashion world approves of 60′s redux. The fabulous thing about color blocking is that it’s super-simple to accomplish in two or three colors. Two colors are the easiest, as they can be two strong colors–such as blue and green or red with yellow or orange. Three colors can be tricky, and, IMO, work best when one of the colors is a primary. This great dress from the Preen Pre-Fall 2012 collection demonstrates how to create a four-color colorblock look using to bold colors and two primaries:
Notice how the tights and shoes match to create a solid “block” of black, moving up to green and then to blue, with a bit of white mixed in on top. From my own wardrobe I would take a kelly green skirt, a blue sweater or blouse for the top, and match with black tights and shoes or boots. I might add a white crocheted collar to the sweater (more on the crochet collar trend in a forthcoming post) to make it a four-color colorblock look….
Colorblocking is a great look that gives great flexibility to a wardrobe based on solids. Personally, unless it’s leopard, I don’t buy too many patterns or prints for the Fall or Winter. Living in New England where it gets kind of cold, I enjoy solid-color merino wool sweaters–not just because they are less expensive than prints, but also because they look better on my particular figure. Solids are better with textured or printed skirts and work well worn over printed dress (which I prefer these days to solids.)
Not to mention that solids will work fabulously with the collar trend that I mentioned…..
Which reminds me, I should start taking some photos of myself for this blog to demonstrate that I really do practice what I preach 
Related articles
- Color Crush – Shop the Best Bright-Hued Jeans (fabsugar.com)
- The Trends You Should Keep – and Stash – For the Season Ahead (fabsugar.com)
- Colored jeans: the key denim colors for fall (fashionising.com)
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