My “raves” list was long because there was little this season that we couldn’t adapt to suit our fashion persona, body type and lifestyle. As always, it’s a matter of knowing how to sift through the trends and add the right amount of “right now” to our existing wardrobe.

Here are the items that didn’t make it through my filter:

• Ridiculous heel heights were frustrating. Shoe and boot styles were sweet, but often made unwearable with 3 to four inch heels. I draw the line at one pair of pretty “sitting shoes” in my wardrobe.
• Ankle boot season was disappointing. Other than fun ‘80’s inspired slouchy styles, ankle boots were drab. There were plenty of styles with interesting features on the ankle part of the boot, but this is a wasteful feature when the detail is covered by pants or jeans. Interesting design details on the toes of boots are better for this look and there weren’t many of those around. I guess that this season’s ankle boots were meant to be worn with dresses and tights.
• An abundance of unflattering voluminous pieces gave the trend a bad reputation. Billowing sack dresses and overly roomy pieces are unflattering, and there were a lot of them.
• Trapeze jacket overload. The style has flooded the market and there wasn’t enough variety in the jacket category.
• Light grey and acid wash denim for women. I’m not a fan. I do like light grey jeans on blokes though.
• Too much black for the party season. I’d have welcomed more non-black holiday party pieces.

There were also a few missed retail opportunities:

• A deeper assortment of fab looking shoes and boots with one to two inch heels always go down well. It’s interesting that these lower heel heights were not overlooked in Europe this season.
• Winter skirts were few and far between. Knee length skirts go hand in hand with knee length boots and are a great alternative to wearing dresses.
• Denim skirts are a missed opportunity every season. I’m looking forward to the time that they become a fashion statement again.
• Pants without side entry pockets are universally more flattering and they are still hard to find.
• A greater assortment of jackets that weren’t trapeze or baby doll in style would have satisfied all body types.

Bring on your rants for Autumn & Winter 2007 before we close the door and concentrate on Spring 2008.

Adorable winter booties with hectic heel heights. I rest my case.