Haute Alpine Couture column: Must-haves for fall fashion
Haute Alpine Couture
Special to the Daily |
While the shoulder season brings about a certain pre-winter buzz amongst the locals, planning your cozy outfits for fall is sometimes hard to fathom. Making seasonal fashion transitions doesn’t mean gravitating toward fleece and layers. With our peepers honing in on the newest arrivals and covet-worthy combinations, we’ve got your fall styles lined up with items from the valley’s go-to fashion retailers.
Top and bottom
You may be feeling like Kelleigh Bannen, “all tank top and flip flop,” with the warm, sunny days, but when the wind picks up or the sun hides behind the clouds, you’ll want to have a little something to keep the chilly air at bay.
The Free People Indigo Plaid Tunic ($128, Valley Girl) is a super-soft washed button-down featuring a slouchy tunic silhouette. The easy high-low hem gives a casual fit to the tunic, which can be worn on its own or as a lightweight layer over your favorite tee.
To dress up your daytime look or segue into night-owl activities, the Free People Bainbridge Top ($126, Valley Girl) with peek-a-boo shoulder cutouts is uber-feminine and has a retro touch. The soft, floral-printed top features embroidered details and bell-shaped sleeves.
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Your skinny-minnies are chic all year long and are the perfect backdrop to show off a vibrant top. The Level 99 Tanya High Rise Skinny Jeans ($98, Valley Girl) are standard high-rise skinnys that contour body shape for a sleek, flattering look.
Glad rags
Getting gussied up for a fall soiree doesn’t necessarily mean dense brocade fabrics. Fall dress trends are about movement and flair. Both the Needle & Thread Midnight Embroidered Folk Prom Dress ($698, Perch) and the A.L.C. Josefa Floral Pleated Midi Dress ($830, Perch) bring the styles of Coachella to the fall season.
The quintessentially British Needle & Thread has a gift for creating beautifully embellished pieces that defy the seasons. The signature long-sleeved Midnight Embroidered Folk Prom Dress has been updated with autumnal floral embroidery and cut beads for subtle shimmer.
The A.L.C. Josefa Floral Pleated Midi Dress is a blooming favorite this fall. The plunging V-neckline, cutouts (sides and back) and airy accordion-pleats give this piece plenty of movement.
bridging the seasonal gap
It’s too soon for turtlenecks, but the fall nights will boast crisper temps and you’ll want an extra layer that doesn’t quite scream down jacket yet.
The BB Dakota Women’s Elias Washed Lamb Moto Jacket ($359, Blitz) bridges the gap between cool mornings and warmer afternoons and can also be the perfect tag-a-long for evenings out. The moto-inspired leather jacket features quilt paneling throughout for an edgy flair.
The fur vest trend hasn’t shied away and will be a total must-have to complete your fall ensemble. For veggies at heart, the faux fur Love Stolen Alicia Vest ($122.90, Valley Girl) in white will give a patterned top the right amount of glitzy confidence to make heads turn. For those of us who appreciate the warmth of a furry friend and are not worried about the PETA-inspired backlash, the luxuriously, soft real fur vest from Blitz Boutique ($395) will elevate your chic-radar to a whole new level.
Booties and handbags
A rocking pair of booties is just what the autumn fashion fairies are wishing for you. Jazz up your style with the Coconuts by Matisse Lambert Fringe Bootie ($92.90, Valley Girl), which can be worn with your skinny jeans, leggings or a sweet, floral dress. Free People’s signature cutting-edge Boot Hybrid Heel Bootie ($198, Valley Girl) is a rustic-style ankle boot with strappy leather accents.
The fall runways revealed hands-free handbags perfect for tooling around town and taking midnight selfies. Both the Latico Lindon crossbody purse ($144.90, Valley Girl) and Latico Willis fringe crossbody purse ($124.90, Valley Girl) feature worn-inspired leather that is soft and adds a free-spirit touch to your outfit. For a more polished look, the Ted Baker London Metal Trim Backpack ($369, Blitz) and Rebecca Minkoff Boston Circle Bag ($195, Blitz) lend a clean, minimal style and tap into the wine-colored palette trend of the season.
No-makeup makeup trend
As celebrities continue to make statements by choosing to bare it all for Instagram selfies, it’s no wonder the no-makeup makeup trend from the spring and summer is still going strong as we head into fall. This doesn’t mean you should clean out your cosmetic bag and toss all of your color. A more natural look using highlighters and bronzers will give you a glowing report, even when the sunset comes earlier and earlier each day.
“When I first started Cosbar, a customer told me she didn’t wear makeup because she’s a skier. But makeup isn’t only about color,” said Lily Garfield, founder and chief merchandising officer for Cosbar. “Bronzers and highlighters are great all year round.”
Garfield said using a bronzer gives an autumn, sun-kissed look that adds just a punch of color. She suggests keeping lips and cheeks in the same color family, as well.
“For highlighting, frame the temple, upper cheekbone and swipe the bridge of the nose,” Garfield said.
Highlighting pens, such as the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch ($42, Cosbar), can be used on the upper lip between lip and nose, as well as underneath your lower lip at the indent on your chin.
“A dot of illuminator blended on the upper and lower lip areas will give you a fuller looking lip,” Garfield said.
Worried about the highlighter drawing attention to your lip crevices and make you prone to lipstick bleeding? Garfield suggests softening the lines first with Lip Perioral Renewal Serum by Revive ($115, Cosbar).
“The Lip Perioral Renewal Serum can be used all around the upper lip; tap it in with your finger so it fills in wrinkles,” she said. “The product is great — it features antioxidants and helps rehydrate the skin around the lip area.”
Mending your locks
The sun here in the Vail Valley is strong all year round but can really wreak havoc on your hair during the summer.
“With fall here, it is very important to be hydrating hair with extra attention right now,” said Gabrielle Sirchio, hairstylist at Spa Anjali. “Most of us have spent the summer outdoors, in the sun, in bike helmets and at the pool, and our locks are dried out, damaged and parched — pretty beaten down come September.”
Rich conditioning treatments are needed in the fall, and Sirchio suggests a deep-conditioning mask, such as the Brazilian Blowout Acai Deep Conditioning Masque ($42, Spa Anjali) and a repairing shampoo and conditioner such as the Kevin Murphy Repair Me Wash and Repair Me Rinse ($43, Spa Anjali), which strengthen and repair hair while gently removing impurities and moisturizing tresses.
“The Brazilian Blowout deep conditioning mask is my go-to once a week after shampooing and in place of a conditioner,” Sirchio said.
If you want to hold onto summer for as long as you can, Sirchio likes to add a few low-lights early in the season while you still have your bronzed glow from the summer.
“Many clients like to go darker, but sometimes, getting a few extra low-lights in early fall is the best answer. Then, when you have more winter coloring to your skin, you can think about major changes such as going darker or doing something completely different, such as cutting off damaged ends and going for a new shorter, lighter haircut,” Sirchio said.
With an eye for uncovering the most sought-after trends, Jennifer Geisman fuses her expertise in public relations and the beauty and fashion worlds to deliver styles and trends each month in Haute Alpine Couture. Send comments about this article to kdriscoll@vaildaily.com.
