Fall Fashion

Oh do I love Fall. Biking across town this morning treated me to the leaves glowing in manner of a Turner painting, some guy having a dancehall freakout on the bridge, and that special autumnal air with all its brisk and snap. Which leads me to the wardrobe change that has been occurring over the past few weeks. You know when you leave the house wearing what you usually wear in August and realize that you are freezing and that you don't have a coat or gloves and you are cursing your hubris? I'm there. And I'm making changes.

I've been catching up on my fall reading and would you believe it? Sweaters are back. So are extremely wide-legged pants. We won't see that in Portland for another year or two due to skinny jean love, but it will happen eventually. Long skirts and Helmut Lang pants are back too (cropped, slightly flared). Camel and oxblood. Capes. All good things. But sweaters? Really? Aren't sweaters back every fall because it's cold? That has to be the most irritating thing about fashion. Yes it's cyclical. But it seems that the cycles are getting tighter and tighter (90s are already being referenced hard), and yet, you can't just recycle because everything is being tweaked and the original version looks dated.* It's not like you can just pull out your pilled-up sweater trench with the knitted belt from 2003 and look fresh.

Here's what I want to see more of when it comes to sweaters:

Novelty sweaters: Yes. I can't help it. I love these. I have three in my closet right now. I'm also a sucker for novelty prints. That's why I own a polyester shirt printed with trains. Polyester is gross and it makes you sweat, but there were trains on it. I couldn't say no. Airblaster has a yeti sweater and H&M is pushing that squirrel sweater with a furry tail.


Sweaters with elbow patches: Right? Durable. And they remind me of serious professor types. I don't have any, but I've always been into the idea. I saw some guy wandering around on the Burnside Bridge with one of these sweaters on. He didn't look like a professor but he did look awesome. Come to think of it, I also saw a woman hanging out on the bridge with Fair Isle leg warmers (another trend for Fall 2010). Fashion visionaries out there.

Giant, all encompassing, cape sweater things: I like the idea of wearing an enormous blanket around like it's an outfit. Like this look from Wunderkind. Why wouldn't you want to look like a Scottish/viking wizard warrior woman?




* Kyle Arthur. Cargo pants are already back. But they are cut skinny now. I can't imagine anything more horrid.