Tag Archives: runway

Next of the best of Spring 2015: Lace cardigans

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Next of the best of Spring 2015: Lace cardigans

The Spring 2015 collections have been soooo mesmerizingly beautiful. If I hadn’t already sold or donated nearly everything I owned, I’d be inspired to do so now, and to start over with all sorts of pretty, girly things, like those seen at Chloé and Sea in particular. So I’ve loved looking at these shows — really, one of the best overall seasons in ages — despite their having been almost entirely devoid of knits. Sob! So tragic.

What few sweaters did appear have been forgettably basic, and maybe that’s why these two stood out from the, umm, crowd. But however you want to look at it, if you want to be on-trend sweater-wise for Spring, think in terms of a sweet lace cardigan, as seen at Michael Kors and A Détacher.

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IMPORTANT REMINDER: Tomorrow morning I’ll be announcing the third winner of our WIP of the Week for the #fringeandfriendsknitalong. So don’t forget to share you knits!

First of the best sweaters of Resort 2015: The Row

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First of the best sweaters of Resort 2015: The Row

Of the (not very many) Resort 2015 “shows” I’ve seen so far, my favorite is yesterday’s collection from The Row. Also one of my favorite Row collections to-date, it strikes me as a Diane Keaton–Margot Tenenbaum mashup (as modeled by Patti Smith), which, y’know, swoooon. Beautiful separates and coats — I could live in this outfit right here — but the knits throughout are just impeccable, from little tipped co-ed tees to big ribs and bouclé to a cable turtleneck that looks like meringue, from which I’m somehow not recoiling.

First of the best sweaters of Resort 2015: The Row

Next of the best of Fall 2014: Lemaire’s never-enough knits

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Best knits of Fall 2014

I’m a little choked up over Christophe Lemaire’s Fall 2014 collection, but I’ll try to make this coherent. There are three major knit trends this season, at home and abroad: tunics and sweater dresses, a preponderance of knitted legwear (swants and such), and elaborately layered and/or multi-tiered knits. It all comes together beautifully and wearably at Lemaire, where there are not only loads of denim culottes and flawless shirtdresses and all manner of things I’d die to wear, but also models absolutely swathed in knits — from the voluminous sweaters and sleeved-adorned scarves tied around their necks down to the ribbed footless tights pulled down over their ankle boots. Can I just refill my empty closet with this whole collection, please? I’d be happy and done.

Best knits of Fall 2014

Memorable knits of Fall 2013, European edition

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sculpted sweaters at Burberry and Carven ... and other great knits of Fall 2013

Somewhere there is a blogger as obsessed with leather as I am with knitwear, and she’s been rubbing her hands with glee over the images from Europe’s Fall 2013 collections. Leather shirts. Leather tunics. Leather dresses. Leather skirts. Leather pants. So many leather pants. Which isn’t to say there weren’t some great knits — but they were certainly not the fall stalwart one expects. Quite a different scene from NYFW.

Still, some notable knits (in no particular order):

— There were sweaters with articulated boobs at Burberry Prorsum and Carven, above, for better or worse.
— There were more and more thin turtlenecks in London, under and over everything, including a whole host of dresses at Issa, but the best was probably this pared down look at Bottega Veneta.
— Preen Line showed an interesting take on the sweater-poncho.
— I completely loved the simple berets with all the buttoned-up clothes at Margaret Howell.
— And also the great big scarves at Bouchra Jarrar.
— Joan Smalls looked amazing than in this slinky Missoni sweater dress.
— The fuzzy charcoal sweaters at Dries van Noten were fantastic, especially the ones with jewels attached in unexpected places.
— Loved this plaid pullover at Jil Sander.
— One of my favorite collections of the season was Christophe Lemaire, and you should take a close look at the sweaters in looks 12 and 21. Can I have both outfits? Pretty please?
— And of course there were some beautiful knits at Céline, where “clouds, yarn and fluff” were apparently among the inspiration. The standout was this ivory pullover, but look at this, too, please.  Also: Tell me if you think all those amazing dresses are felt, or what.

What else did you see that caught your attention? If you missed the New York roundup, right this way. And, unrelated, this week’s ICYMI post is Things that make me want to crochet.

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Among the best of the best of Fall 2013 knits

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A.L.C. Fall 2013 sweaters

I’m trying to get caught up with the Fall 2013 collections from the big three Europe fashion weeks — so far Paris is killing me! — but I keep getting drawn back to the A.L.C. collection images, and these sweaters in particular, which I either missed or they released after the official end of NYFW? Anyway, great basic sweaters, flawlessly done with interesting details, and beautifully paired. I even like the pink giraffe-spotted one. But that color-blocked turtleneck above is just heaven. Definitely one of the best of the best of the season.

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On a separate note, you may have noticed I’ve started featuring one worthwhile post from the archives each week in the right rail of the blog. Since a lot of readers don’t see the right rail, I’m going to try making a note of the selection within Monday’s post. So, this week’s ICYMI post is The other breed of colorwork.

The next big hat trend — but what’s it called?

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Victoria Beckham giant knitted hat

Is there a name for this kind of Russian-y rolled-brim beanie? The mega version above was worn by half the models at the Victoria, Victoria Beckham show, but I’ve been noticing them popping up here and there. Witness the bright pink one on street-style darling Miroslava Duma, and the vintage YSL green number on Refinery 29’s Christine Barberich. I don’t think I’ve ever stumbled across a pattern, so if nobody beats me to it, I might have to work one up. Because I’m telling you: all the rage next year.

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Best of Fall 2013, NYC

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10 Crosby Derek Lam Fall 2013 sweaters

I’ve decided to contain all I have to say and show about NYFW this time to a single post, so it’s a bit of a doozy. First let me say this: There are two big stories in Fall 2013 knitwear, judging by the NY shows this past week. First is the prevalence of the thin stockinette turtleneck sweater. It was shown under and over just about everything, in collections of every persuasion. At Victoria Beckham, which had me drooling from start to finish — Victoria Beckham! — the neck showed up repeatedly on its own (i.e., minus the sweater) with other kinds of garments entirely, e.g. 16. I think it’s safe to say 2013 will be the year of the turtleneck. The other story may ultimately be one of demise. I dare someone to try to count the number of beanies that walked these runways — so many that it may lead to instant beanie fatigue. (I’m suddenly feeling a whiff of it myself.) Also: quite a few blanket wraps. Yay!

The first show I looked at was 10 Crosby Derek Lam, always among my favorites, and I knew in an instant that I’d be declaring it best of show, knitwise, even before seeing anyone else’s. Victoria Beckham may wind up taking the lead in my mind as it all gels, and I also lingered quite a bit over some of the sweaters at Jil Sander Navy — particularly the cape-cardigan that looks strikingly like a sketch of mine on the pinboard over my desk. In other words, something I personally have been longing for. And I also really loved all of the sweater-and-leather and sweater-and-sequin combos at Rachel Zoe. Looks 11 and 22 are my idea of formal wear. But I’m sticking with 10 Crosby for the top slot here. I love the individual pieces shown above — the backwards cardigan (which makes me slightly nostalgic for the ’80s), the nude-and-black sweater and sweater dress, and the zizag tunic-dress are all wonderful. But it’s how they’re paired up — especially with all those amazing boots — that really makes me swoon. And this piece below? This is love:

10 Crosby Derek Lam Fall 2013 pullover

Beyond all that, here’s an A-Z compendium of the other knitwear highlights from the shows:

— all the sweaters layered into the amazing looks at 3.1 Phillip Lim
— the poncho dress (not knit, but could be) and the denim dress with ribbed tights and crocheted market bag at A Détacher
— the phalanx of beanie-hoods at Alexander Wang
— the floral ball skirt with turtleneck at Alice & Olivia
— (and I might pretend-wear this getup to the Oscars this year, minus the jacket, hat and surroundings)
— the black socks, scarves and beanies at Assembly (so many head-to-toes in this collection I’d kill for)
— the fact that there was a stockinette beanie on every single girl at BCBG Max Azria
— the few simply beautiful sweaters for both sexes at Billy Reid
— the textile-blocked bomber jacket at DKNY
… wait, what were we talking about? Oh yeah …
— a jaw-dropping sweater at J.Crew (and I’ll take this one and this one)
— the silhouettes sweater at Libertine
— these three easy sweater looks at Lyn Devon
— M. Patmos, of course, especially these layers
— the extremely groovy blanket wrap at Mara Hoffman with the giant eye on the back
— this one look at Michael Kors
— and another great sequin-sleeved sweater at Tory Burch

Of course, there were lots of great shows that weren’t particularly notable for their knits. And several of my usual favorites left me cold (no pun intended) this time around. I’d love to hear about your favorites — or if you think there’s something I missed.

Happy clicking, and happy weekend!

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