Fashion Forum

by: Laura Milligan

Next week, Fashion Weeks around the world kick off with Copenhagen, Berlin, New York, London, Milan and Paris, plus LA, Vancouver and other cities that have lower-profile but still exciting, innovative shows. If you’re an editor, writer, photographer, blogger, or just hanger-on (no shame), how are you going to decide what to wear to the most fashionable events in the world?

Refinery 29 editorial intern Beverly Fong

Believe it or not, you’ll want to dress sort of like you do every day, except a bit more nicely. Unless you have a hired car, seat assignments and your own mini-portfolio on Style.com, Jak & Jil or The Sartorialist, you’ll kill yourself either by tripping in your high, pointy heels or freezing to death in your sequined cocktail dresses. Here we’re outlining a few tried and true guidelines that have worked for us in Copenhagen and New York, and then listing other Fashion Week dressing guides elsewhere on the web. Cheers!

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Chanel Fall 2006; Photo Source: Style.com

Average December Temps: High of 37; Low of 24

Average January Temps: High of 32; Low of 18

First snowfall of 1″ or more (average): December 2

Chicago is a popular vacation spot and business travel location, and whether you’re into baseball, shopping, the art scene, or food, you’ll be a happy camper in Chi-town. The second largest city in the United States is a veritable fashion and shopping mecca for the central part of the country, and thanks to Michelle Obama’s wardrobe supplier and boutique owner Ikram Goldman, the city is now more highly regarded as a style force than ever before.

The one major problem afflicting fashionable girls in the city is the harsh weather, which usually strikes in November and can last all spring. So how can you pack for wind chills of below freezing (and below 0); or expect to complete a shopping marathon in a snowstorm? Whether you’re headed to the city for business or for vacation, keep reading for tips we’ve collected from some of Chicago’s most fearlessly fashionable experts.

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Resort is sort of the random step-sister collection that falls just before the holidays, traditionally designed for the richy rich ladies who could afford to jet to Palm Beach or the Bahamas as a pre-Christmas getaway. But now, resort collections are being blended into regular wardrobes of regular (paycheck hefting) women. In the November issue of Harper’s Bazaar, Meenal Mistry marks resort as “an army of new highly wearable, season-spanning clothes that marches into stores” just when you need a little cold-weather pick-me-up. “They’re pieces with which you form an intense emotional bond,” Net-a-Porter director Holli Rogers tells Mistry in the piece, which is why anyone today has a right to shop resort. Read the rest of this entry »

Why is layering one of the best parts of fall and winter for fashionable girls? Because it’s one of the few dressing “techniques” that allows us to show off our natural styling prowess and experiment with new looks. Whether you live in Miami or Chicago, there’s a way to layer — with shorts and boots or with cashmere sweaters and scarves — and you should remember that layering offers you the opportunity to personalize every piece of clothing you wear. It’s not easy mixing and matching patterns and textures, but that’s what makes it fun, as long as you keep everything in moderation and don’t leave the house looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

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Sperry Top-Sider Sausalito Waterproof Leather Boots

Think you can’t get through a rainy day on both fashion and function for your feet?  Think again.  These days, you have any number of options that will let you jump those puddles in style.

Galoshes

Why not bring a little sunshine to your day with a fun pair of galoshes.  Rain or shine, they’re great for outdoor concerts, running errands, or just hanging out.  Wear ‘em with everything from leggings to a cute mini or a dress or tuck a pair of your skinniest jeans into them. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time to break out the cozy sweaters and cords!  Nothing says fall better than a crisp drive through the country’s best display of autumn splendor – New England.

If you are lucky enough to make it to this region of the US in September and October, you can take any one of dozens of recommended fall foliage tours in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont that can range anywhere between 30 to 200+ miles. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s warm.  It’s sticky.  And it’s raining?!  Sometimes the forecast just doesn’t call for galoshes and trench coats when it’s 90 degrees and a 90% chance of rain outside.  Here are a few key ways to keep dry and stay cool. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you’re sad to see the lazy days of summer pass you by or psyched for fall’s marathon of holidays and back-to-school shopping trips, the wardrobe transition from summer to fall is a challenge unto itself. End-of-summer sales trap you into adding to your warm-weather wardrobe while tricky weather patterns make it impossible to dress comfortably until fall officially settles in. Read the rest of this entry »