5 Style Moves to Steal From Fashion Week

Fringe has never been particularly interested in sitting still. Tasseling its way across jackets, skirts, bags and just about anything else with an available hem, it was one of the more animated characters on the Fashion Week streets.

And thank goodness for that. After several seasons of clothes behaving themselves, there’s something rather delightful about an outfit that moves independently of its wearer. The trick is not to overthink it: one fringed piece is plenty. A tasseled bag with tailoring, a swishy skirt under a knit, or a jacket that arrives approximately half a second after you do. Shake it off, indeed.

The sweater has been relieved of its primary duties. This Fashion Week, rather than being worn on the upper half of the body — how predictable — shirts, knits and jackets were tied around waists with pleasing frequency.

Part emergency layer, part styling device, there is something wonderfully practical about the whole affair. Too warm? Tie it. Too cold? Untie it. Outfit looking suspiciously simple? Tie it again. After years of sweaters being carefully draped over shoulders, perhaps it was only a matter of time before they migrated south. Your waist would like a word.

Few items have been written about quite as extensively as the striped top. Sailors wore them. Picasso wore them. French women allegedly wake up wearing them. At this point, there is very little left to uncover in the rich cultural history of horizontal lines.

And yet, Fashion Week made a compelling case for going back to basics. Stripes appeared underneath jackets, poked out from layers and were thrown into outfits where a plain white T-shirt would usually reside. That, really, is their greatest talent: doing exactly the same job as a basic while looking considerably less basic. If in doubt, stripe it out.

Red is hardly breaking news. We’ve spent several seasons painting bags, tights, sneakers and entire outfits in the stuff, and still it refuses to leave.

What has changed is the dosage. On the Fashion Week streets, a little red went a surprisingly long way: a sock here, a bag there, perhaps a sweater tied somewhere unexpected. Think less tomato soup, more Tabasco — a few drops are often all that’s required.

Should you find yourself standing in front of the mirror thinking an outfit needs something, might we prescribe a small but potent dose of red?

For several years, fashion has been communicating primarily through an extremely complicated language of discreet logos, expensive fabrics and items that only reveal their provenance to those already in the know. Apparently, we’ve grown tired of whispering.

Enter the slogan tee.

Words, logos and graphics were back on chests during Fashion Week, usually paired with clothes far more serious than the T-shirt itself. And therein lies the appeal. A slogan tee underneath a beautiful blazer, with a polished skirt or poking out beneath a coat has the useful effect of making everything look a little less precious.

After years of quiet luxury, fashion has something to say again. Sometimes it pays to spell it out.