An Introduction + Some Runway Thoughts
... in which I explain why I'm doing this, reflect on my old job, share some observations from the FW 2024 collections, and offer ways to start wearing these trends now.
There's something that happens when life suddenly gets a little quieter, when you finally have a moment to reflect on who you are and who you want to be, what you want these hours and minutes to look like as time ticks by.
For me, that happened when my son started going to preschool full-time. Suddenly the house was quiet, and I could hear my thoughts again. After years of just trying to keep my head above water, I finally had the chance to be a bit more deliberate about the way I want to spend my time and to rediscover myself as a person, not just a mother.
What I found in the silence was that something I thought I’d given up was calling to me again. (No, not cigarettes, although they will always call to me!) It was investigating style, putting together looks, admiring creativity, and finding connections between how we present ourselves and what’s going on inside us and around us.
I stopped working in fashion when my husband and I started trying to have a family (which took WAY longer than we thought, but that’s a story for another time). Because I was no longer living in New York, because I’ve gotten older, because I’m not sample size or particularly photogenic, because I’m a mother, I told myself that it wasn’t an option for me as a career anymore. I tried to follow other paths—I applied for “normal jobs,” I even cofounded a tech startup of all things!—but nothing stuck. Finally, on a quiet day, this idea wormed its way into my head: why not try fashion again?
As I’ve begun building a clientele as a personal stylist, I’ve been thinking about my days in trend forecasting. I was the Women’s Editor at Stylesight (now WGSN) in New York, my favorite job I’ve ever had, and it required me to dive deep into runway collections from around the world to call out trends for our clients (Macy’s, Zara, and many more) to buy or make (*cough* knock off! *cough*).
What would it mean to take the same approach for real people instead of corporations? That’s the thought that led me here.
I am the crazy person who LOVES combing through thousands of runway images and discovering the things that tie them together. I am the crazy person who LOVES going on to find examples of those trends that are already in stores AND are not outrageously overpriced! I want to share what I’ve found with you because, yes, I know that fashion is frivolous and materialistic and blah, blah, blah, but for me, it’s a daily form of self-expression, something that brings me joy and makes me feel good about who I am. It matters. How you feel matters. How you physically show yourself to other people matters, and if my nerdy pursuits can help you do that more effectively, then I’m doing something right!
Now, as the TikTokers say, let’s get into it!
The big story for FW 2024 was hats, hats, HATS, especially the swim cap, but this is something I will do a separate post about because I have so many feelings about hats (and most of them are not good feelings :).
For me, the trend that stood out and the one that I’ve already started wearing myself is the long-over-long silhouette. I found that at least 15 major designers showed this look, something that means a lot to me as a bit of a data nerd. It is far more than 3, so it handily passes the Three’s a Trend test! Here are a handful of my favorite examples:
Left to Right: Bottega Veneta, Undercover, Dries Van Noten, Carven
Bottega gives us a flannel button down over a skirt, which looks so cool to me. The Undercover look (everyone was freaking out about that show btw) is nice because it shows the silhouette with jeans, which is probably the easiest way to start wearing it today. The oversized sweater from Dries is so blasé in the best way, and it’s over SHORTS! Practically begging to be recreated for spring! Carven shows an actual dress over pants, Donna Karan-from-the-90s-style, and it’s so good!
This is exactly the type of trend I like to identify as I start to wrap my head around how I want to dress this season. I want to know the shapes and the proportions that are going to feel current, not a specific item. It really irks me to hear fashion people say things like, “It’s all about the Alaïa mesh ballet flat” or “It’s all about the High Sport kick flare pant” because I personally do not have millions of dollars to throw down for these items.
The truth is, it is NOT “all about” a specific branded item, it’s about finding the vibe of the moment and choosing items (new, old, cheap, expensive) to communicate that. For the long-over-long trend, it’s about ease and flow, kind of the pajama suit feeling from a few years back but a little tougher and not as matchy-matchy. Here are a few tops/dresses available right now that can help create this look. The bottoms are less important here because, as we see above, they can really be anything, as long as it doesn’t disrupt the flow of the top:
Clockwise from top left: Sezane Max top, Eileen Fisher sheer tunic, Anthropologie dress, Madewell dress, men’s Everlane flannel shirt (buy big!), Helmut Lang dress (buy oversized and wear over silkier long pants), Everlane sweater (go up a size or two)
And here’s my own take on Long-over-Long, with vintage Lee jeans (on Etsy), a linen striped dress from Muji (similar here), my husband’s buffalo check flannel (inspired by Bottega, try this), my grandma’s triangle scarf (love this one), and pointy black boots (try these).
Whew! On to the next trend! I saw so much gorgeous leather on the FW 2024 runways, and it was a very specific type of leather. Light, smooth, soft, and in a range of interesting tones. It is the perfect thing to carry us through this transitional season and to bring back for fall, as it gives just the right amount of warmth and keeps out the wind, which has been absolutely terrible here in New Mexico lately! Here are my favorite leather looks from the runways:
Left to Right: Stella McCartney shows a vegan leather pant; Louis Vuitton mini; Ulla Johnson does Long-over-Long leather; Ferragamo leather set (I’m particularly smitten with the button-up shirt here)
As Stella shows, there is some beautiful vegan leather out today, so let’s all look for that and for vintage leather for environmental/cruelty reasons. Here are a few amazing vegan/faux leather options (and one real leather piece):
Clockwise from left: J. Crew dress, Nanushka shirt, Pixie Market shorts (LOVE these!), MGSM skirt, Remain Birger Christensen shorts, Veronica Beard kick flare pants, Maje shirt
That’s all for this week! I’ll be back next week with more takeaways from FW 2024, random musings, and motivational speeches!
xx,
Joanna