NYFW Highlights According to Me

NYFW is like March Madness. So many shows, so many stats to follow. Even if you think you're on top of it, you're probably behind.

But, I soldiered on and did my twice annual binge. Here are the looks that I liked from the Spring/Summer 2016 collections.

Altuzarra

This is a classic workplace silhouette, but the colors and textures make it a luxe showstopper. 

Carolina Herrera

Pale pink is a trend for spring/summer 16, and I'm not a huge fan. Not a pastel girl. But! These pleats move like a dream, and again, I'm digging the soft/hard, romantic/futuristic contrast with the boxy top.

Christian Siriano

That hand-drawn pattern with those sharp lines...It's professional and polished, but a little art teacher-y too.

Clover Canyon

It's like Lululemon meets Dolce & Gabbana. What's not to like? 

Delpozo

Gonna recreate this scarf tout de suite.

Delpozo

Those sheer panels can be kinda tricky (see here). It's almost like your slip wasn't long enough to line your whole dress. But this strikes me as deliciously subversive: the pale pink, cutouts as severe and simple as a Shaker chair, the spiny sequins, and that fluff of jolie laide black. 

Delpozo

The craftsmanship on this dress is stunning, but the detail that does it for me is the little pointed flat collar: so girl-geek. 

Givenchy

This looks like those cheap leis at your 2nd grade luau birthday party, but Joan Smalls is totally owning this dress.

J. Mendel

I think this cross-cross, boob-sling, cutout thing is on the verge of being played out. But... this dress has so much pizzaz and think how fun it must be to wear.

Maiyet

Khaki shorts, a suede jacket, a flowered tank. I definitely wore this exact outfit in middle school and wouldn't mind this lovely upgrade.

Mara Hoffman

My most-worn dress of the summer was a Mara Hoffman tent dress. Yeah, It's basically a muumuu, but it has pockets and you can throw it in the wash and the colors are tropical and pleasing, wherever you are. I'd wear this out and as a housedress. 

Milly

A great palate-cleanser look that I'm gonna call altar boy minimalist. 

Monique Lhuillier

Not a typical ML look (which I love), but this look has so much immediate appeal to me. The colors, the flounce, the stones at the neckline. Yes, I love muumuus and caftans.

Narciso Rodriguez

Not the fanciest NR frock, but so, so versatile: sexy, comfy, and polished all in one.

Naeem Khan

Simple shape, (what I assume to be) simple dressing procedure. Very un-simple fabric. 

Prabal Gurung

The koi-like pattern is intriguing and gives a lovely sense of calm to the dress.

Prabal Gurung

This color + those baby shoulder blade slits? So killer.

Rag & Bone

So very sporty, in a downtown color scheme. Love the high neck and the low arm holes.

Reem Acra

I was *not* expecting this maharajah thing from the normally princessy Reem Acra. But this is princessy in a whole other way. 

Rosie Assoulin

Waist cutout, yes. Décolletage, of course. But let's take it into the armpit and inner bicep?? So madcap and delightful.

Sea

I have a vintage dress that kinda looks like this and, after an unexpected call, found myself in the ER wearing it. People thought I was a nurse. That's kinda why I like this--it's like a nurse's uniform meets a karate uniform.

Sophie Theallet

I think if you had boobs, this would look even better. I like its avian quality and the chimney halterneck is something I haven't seen before. 

Tanya Taylor

Yeah, this puffy flamenco off-the-shoulder thing is gonna be embarrassingly overdone in a year. But until then, I like this easy silhouette in the pattern of a French dishtowel.

Tibi

This suede/silk-like fabric looks like wearing a massage. 

Vera Wang

Why didn't Nancy Kerrigan wear this?? 

Vera Wang

But really, the back is what does it for me. The sporty racerback meets the maribou feather, in a silk that could almost pass for shiny performancewear. Someone put this in an aspirational Equinox ad.

Victoria Beckham

Posh is known for her super-precise, slim cut dresses. And this is that. But it also has an air of whimsy and warmth: the homey fabric, the skewed way the pattern meets at the seams. The mismatched collar. It's kinda eccentric (!), in VB's own way.

Which looks were your favs?

Harnesses & Sculptural Leather

No reason to get prudish about it. I'm not going to get all 50 Shades on you.

When I was younger, I didn't think leather looked right on me. Too armored, too mature.

Now I wear leather for the exact reasons I avoided it as a kid. Leather toughens up any outfit, articulates your lines.

When you're younger, you can get away with loose, cottony things. Later, you want structure and polish -- blazers, crisp button-downs, slicked-back hair.

I'm not talking about shoes and purses, because those aren't de facto statement pieces. I'm walking about statement leather --  detailing in your shirt, panels in your coat, etc.

But  leather is also kind of tricky if you're not in a position to be a dominatrix at work or a biker chick at the grocery store. That's why I love delicate harnesses and sculptural leather. They don't have the heavy-handed connotations of "hard" leather, and bring another sort of sexy tough elegance to any outfit.

Here's what I'm wearing above:

Tank: VPL // Sculptured Vest: Manish Arora ( I got it at Oak forever ago and can't find it online. When you see a totally unique piece like this -- you have to get it or else you will regret it.) // Skirt: Theory // Lipstick: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics in Black Dahlia

Some other pieces I love (btw, I'm also on Polyvore!)

Harnesses

by

jessica-tom

on

Polyvore

from top to bottom, left to right

Harness by BCBG, worn by PeaceLoveShea -- Whoa. Originally I thought this was Givenchy, but the fact that this is BCBG makes it even better (in the sense that it's more attainable). The dress is okay in a MILFy work dress sort of way, but the harness takes it to the next level.

Bullet Bustier by Zana Bayne -- I feel like you could wear this under a blazer and it'd function like a sweater vest. The uncomplicated seaming and matte leather saves this from 80s Madonna territory.

Pentagram Harness by Zana Bayne -- Devil worship aside, this is kinda like a strappy sandal -- for your body. Delicate, sexy, structured. Done.

Silver Fox Mask by Fleet Ilya -- Remember when lace bunny ears were in a zillion fashion editorials? This is an evolution of that -- cute and elegant, but with a touch of the sinister.

Ponystep by Fleet Ilya -- I have no practical applications for this, but I like it anyway.

Feather Shoulder Piece by Two Weeks -- The inspiration behind this post, my most pinned image, and so damn enchanting. These aren't some poufy Victoria's Secret maribou confections. Again, it comes down to the leather and the feathers, the hard and the soft.

Zana Bayne Bullet Bustier

openingceremony.us

FOX MASK SILVER

$445 - fleetilya.com