The Looks for Fall
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The new season’s flamboyant trends have transformed boutique stores into giant dressing up boxes. Delve in, choose your personality, find your theme, add the accessories – and you are ready to hit the road.
Think Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, Heidi, Ali Mc-Graw, Gwen Stefani, and Mary Poppins. Imagine cowboys and dressage dollies.
In a season that is, above all, a study in contrasts, designers have covered all the bases, from secretary chic and prim and proper looks, to sleek and shiny styles and bohoretro. Many have vintage references, although they have been spiced up with new proportions, new shapes, and new combinations.
Most importantly, as Miuccia Prada said after her retro-inspired catwalk pot-pourri of the poor and the opulent, which called to mind a line-up of the best-dressed eccentrics of generations gone by, “youth is out of fashion.”
TWEED
Salt-and-pepper speckled or flashy in fluorescents, tweed is a key fashion story for autumn/winter. The suit is neat, polished, and well-tailored, with a boyish jacket and either a pencil skirt or full skirt that just covers the knee. Ralph Lauren played it chic and safe in autumnal shades; Alexander McQueen cut neutrals with surgeon like precision; Donatella Versace did the tweed twist in bold colors with lashings of establishment accessories.
DECORATION
Forget plain and simple, the new season is a time for elaboration. Fabrics are embroidered, beaded, ribboned, and bowed. Fur – faux or real – trims cuffs and collars. Lame shines under nylon; sequins sparkle under wool plaid; sheepskin is layered over devore; satin under herringbone. Take inspiration from Marc Jacobs, Prada, Miu Miu, Moschino, and Marni.
TARTAN
At Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs imagined a young Victorian woman ice-skating at Balmoral. The new designer at Kenzo, Antonio Marras, married plaid with tribal folklore. Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel accessorized tartan cardigan suits with baker-boy caps. Junya Watanabe turned tartan into voluminous shawls and skintight bodices with Raggedy Ann denim skirts.
HEIDI-MEETS-ALI MCGRAW
This is a remake of “Love Story” set in the Tyrol. Sportmax did the new trend best with floral smocks, multi-colored Fair Isle knits, and full skirts. Beanie hats and long scarves are essential; leg and arm warmers are optional.
LEOPARD PRINTS
Big-cat prints are this season’s answer to summer florals. Leopard spots have been printed on everything from chiffon to chenille, and fashioned into flimsy, bow-tied blouses and skirts at Moschino, shaggy coats at Cavalli, gold-belted coats at Anna Molinari, pagoda-shouldered Peking opera coats at YSL Rive Gauche, and high collared, face-framing wrap-arounds at Christian Dior.
BLOUSES
Prim, but not so proper, the blouse was the top of choice on virtually every catwalk. Buttoned to the neck with a Peter Pan collar, or finished with a big pussycat bow and puff sleeved or cuffed, this will be one of the key items in your wardrobe for the new season. Wear the blouse with tweedy suits, satin skirts, Oxford bags, or cropped jeans.
EQUESTRIAN
Jean-Paul Gaultier’s debut at Hermes, with its full-blown, military-style jodhpurs, heritage scarf prints, ladylike hacking jackets, and riding capes, unleashed a cavalcade of equestrian chic, which veered into hippy cowgirl territory at Michael Kors, Stella Mc-Cartney, Roberto Cavalli, and DSquared, complete with ponchos, fringing, and Davy Crockett hats.
PANTS
Forget combats – there are now many new ways to wear the pants: high, wide, and handsome or slim-fit and narrow; cropped or cuffed; knickerbocker or tuxedo style; dressage or drainpipe. Slouchy bags came in satin at Stella McCartney, wool worsted at Sonia Rykiel, and glitter lame at Dior. Tuck a pair into boots for a hint of equestrian chic.
FUR
Whether fake (at Hussein Chalayan) or real (at Valentino and Jean-Paul Gaultier), sheepskin (at Balenciaga), or Mongolian lamb (at Alexander Mc-Queen), something wild and woolly provides the luxe finishing touch for any outfit. Helmut Lang even showed horsehair boots.