Favorite Fashion I loved (for Spring 2010), Movies I watched, Books I read, Places I went.

1) Tie Dye: Proenza Schouler

2) Beau Chapeau: Carine Roitfeld’s Hat

3) Bambi Sequins: Erin Fetherston

4) Film Premiere: Coco Before Chanel

5) New Talent: Chadwick Bell

6) Hot pants onesie: Erin Wasson RVCA

7) Suede biker jacket: Phi

New Rainbow Room: Boom Boom Room

9) Street Style Book: The Sartorialist By Scott Schuman

10) Artery Art: Brian Reyes heart arteries print tshirt dress

11) Book Signing: I Love Your Style by Amanda Brooks
Amanda will do book signings at Chanel in LA Wednesday, September 23rd and in Chicago on the 30th.

12) 25th Anniversary Party: Paper Magazine

13) Denim: Waris’s jean jacket

14) Midnight Snack: The Standard Grill

15) African prints: Marc by Marc Jacobs

16) Cargo Safari Look: Altuzzara

17) Lips Dress: Philosophy di Alberta Feretti

18) Rage purse: Marc by Marc Jacob’s orange baby bucket bag with gold studs

19) Leopard print bootie: Christian Louboutin at Barney’s

20) Leather shorts: Alexander Wang

21) Nude leather dress: Elise Overland

22) Lingering Trend: Boyfriend blazer /tuxedo jacket

23) Flash Dance sweatshirt revival: Charlotte Ronson

24) Sequined Coat Dress: 3.1 Phillip Lim

25) Best entire show for wearable street style:
a tie between Boy By Band of Outsiders and Rag + Bone

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At last: fall is arriving. In fashion terms, autumn means tall, gorgeous boots; it means delicious layers of cashmere. Ta ta, ugly gladiator sandals; hello, luscious leopard-print swing coats.

What it also means: those mega-issues of Vogue, Bazaar, and W have been weighing down newsstands and crippling postal-workers across the country.

I don’t know about you, but those phonebook-sized magazines scare the hell out of me. I’m too exhausted from negotiating the first 800 pages of ads to drag myself through the editorials.

So to learn more about what the fashion world has dished up for us this fall, I took the easy way out and called up stylist, trend expert, and Huffington Post contributor Kate Schelter (www.kateschelter.com). Here is her shortlist of five major trends that designers and retailers are peddling this season:
1. The tuxedo shall reign supreme.
An appropriate homage to the recently-departed design master Yves Saint Laurent, who introduced Le Smoking to watershed-moment acclaim in the 1960s. This autumn, practically every designer under the sun — from Zac Posen to Calvin Klein – has reinterpreted that Victor-Victoria sensuality.

above: Erin Fetherston, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com

above: Zac Posen tuxedo dress, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com

On that note, Schelter reads me a delicious Catherine Deneuve quote about the masculine-feminine tension in YSL’s designs:

“Saint Laurent designs for women with a double life. His clothes for daywear help women to enter a world of strangers … thanks to their somehow masculine quality they give her a certain power, arm her for encounters which may lead to disputes. However, for the evening, when she may chose her company, he makes her seductive.”

above: Yves Saint Laurent’s original 1966 Le Smoking tuxedo suit

With that in mind, go forth and smolder.
2. Beyond Le Smoking, there will be a major glut of menswear-reinterpreted-as-womenswear.

Suits, suits, everywhere – but nary a padded shoulder.

“This is a very empowering look, but it’s less of a Working Girl moment,” says Schelter. “It’s sexier.”

above: Band of Outsiders, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com

Look for suits made from materials like silk, as opposed to chunky, tweedier threads:

above: Chris Benz, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com

Also, those roomy, slouchy ‘boyfriend blazers’ with rolled up sleeves “were everywhere” — from Balmain to Rag&Bone – worn over threadbare t-shirts:

above: Alexander Wang ‘boyfriend blazer, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com

Omnipresent as well: mens’ shirts reinterpreted as dresses, seen here in wunderkind Alexander Wang’s fall ready-to-wear collection:

above: Alexander Wang shirtdress, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com
3. High-octane color.

“Color blocking was really important for this season,” says Schelter. Many collections featured “big colors like mango orange, saffron yellows, pinks … it’s like getting lost in a Ciao Bella ice cream store,” she adds.

above: Chris Benz, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com

above: Marni, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com

On a less encouraging front: neon colors are back too. Marc Jacobs’s neon bags (with names like “acid yellow”) are still in vogue; fingertips will be going day-glo.

At least it will be harder to get run over by a car at night.
4. Simply irresistible: The Robert Palmer look has been resurrected.

Says Schelter: “We’re seeing the return of the supertight little black dress, referencing Alaia, exentuating the female form.”

above: Herve Leger, fall ’08 ready-to-wear, photo from style.com

Actress Rachel Bilson gave a preview of this look at a recent New York City party:

above: photo from Patrick McMullan

I wanted to die as we looked through runway images of the elastic-y, fat-thigh-showcasing new fare, but Schelter was reassuring: “Don’t worry; there are different degrees of covering up this season.”

Thank God for le smoking.
5. Costume jewelry is de riguer.

Now, this is a very happy, humane trend indeed – flea market chic will be hitting the big time at last. Expect to see big, wonderful, shining brooches and necklaces and bracelets everywhere.

Lulu Frost necklace

“Costume jewelry is the new statement piece, whereas it used to be the ‘It’ bag or shoes,” says Schelter. “But don’t wear it prim and prissy; layer it on.”

Yes, ma’am!

Kate Schelter, photo by Patrick McMullan

Toms Shoes

2. Essie Nail Polish in Short Shorts When you’re not covering your toes with Toms, paint them neon pink, to go perfectly peeking out from your black Alaia strappy heels.

Who wears short shorts? We wear short shorts!

3. Bumble + Bumble Surf Spray Who you callin’ Surfer Girl? Whether you live at the beach and actually know how to surf, or never leave your Tribecca loft, this product will give your hair the just-swam-in-the sea-and-air-dried-on-the-beach texture and feel.

4. Neutrogena UltraSheer Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 80 Do what your mother says: cover up and protect your baby soft skin from the sun. This UVA + UVB blocker is so light that you don’t feel it at all, and it doesn’t let in any harmful rays. Editors choice of Allure magazine, it is also endorsed by the American Cancer Society. Another tip: squeeze some zinc oxide onto the bridge of your nose, and across your cheekbones, life guard style, to really create an opaque shield.

5. L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Now that you’re covered in sunscreen doesn’t mean you must forgo your tan. Quite the opposite. Layer on this self tanner and watch your inner bronze blossom. Try mixing half and half with a basic body lotion and the effects are a little more subtle and elegant.

Work your inner Brazilian

6. Rope Bracelets Need we say more? A classic that will surely say “I’ve been at the beach all summer” even if you haven’t been at all.

Naughty Yachty!

7.  Ice Cream Memorial Day through Labor day, the best ice cream one can experience is served up at Four Seas in Centerville on Cape Cod. Bordering the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, this is where Caroline Kennedy’s ice cream was from that was served at her wedding. Try Mint Chip, Coconut, Mocha Chip, Fresh Peach and Peppermint Stick. The lobster roll is the best one I’ve ever had.

Best Cape Cod lobster roll and ice cream

8. Alex Katz Beach Towel By Works on Whatever. Soft, plush and stylish. Wide enough to sunbathe a deux. Available at The Standard Hotel in Miami or Shop Works on Whatever.

Works on Whatever towels

9. Hugo Guiness canvas tote from John Derian.

10. Hermes Eau d’Orange Verte Refreshing, lite, and lemony. You can’t over-do this when it’s hot out.

Fragrance as refreshing as a Hendricks gin gimlet