Halleluiah. Brights like amethyst, magenta, emerald, saphire, teal and mustard are on their way to perk up a traditionally dark Autumn palette. While neutrals like black, winter white, grey and brown still reign supreme, bold ‘80’s hues make a retro return. It looks like fire engine red will take a bit of a back seat to hot pink and burgandy, but this should not deter us red-lovers. Red is a classic basic colour and if you love it – wear it.

My recent post on vanity sizing generated a lot of discussion. I talked about the popular interpretation of this trend, which is that the industry is pandering to our egos as we get larger as a population, but Kathleen from Fashion Incubator offered a different perspective. It is worth bringing this out of the comments and into the main page because Kathleen is a pattern maker and has a true insider’s viewpoint on production as it happens in factories today.

Kathleen’s main point is that, far from being about our egos, the evolution of the sizing curve is driven by efficient material utilization…

“Consider: most manufacturers cut a size range of 6-14, nearly all do, if not, 8-16. Now, sales wise, the vast majority of orders are in the center of the size spread. Now, as the average person gets heavier, over time, sales begin to weigh in (excuse the pun) on the upper end of the size range so the size spread is off kilter. Now why does this matter? It matters because of marker design and allocation (arcane as I said). To make an efficient marker (keep fabric waste to a minimum) you need balance. For every size 6, you need a size 14. For every size 8, you need a size 12. The 6/14 and 8/12 balance each other in a marker. So, if you have orders for too many of the larger sizes and not enough of the smaller sizes because people are getting fatter, you don’t have balance because now you need 3 size 12’s for every size 8 or 2 size 14s for every size 6. So, you change the sizing structure. This way it rebalances.”

Read more detail in Kathleen’s comment itself, or take a look at the related entries on her blog:

• Fit and sizing entropy
• Sizing evolution

No doubt the industry uses our egos as a powerful marketing tool (and I’m still suspicious of those “skinny mirrors”), but they also drive profits by reducing production costs. And regardless of the industry’s motivation, this sizing evolution trend will probably continue as long as we are getting larger on average. My advice to men and women who are faced with being “sized out” of American clothing labels (when the smallest size available is too big) is to shop European and Asian clothing labels instead.

Gone are the days of non-leather shoes and handbags being unstylish, unfashionable and uncomfortable. In fact, these days some of my favorite shoes and bags are plastic. With sites like Ragazzi Vegan, Vegan Unlimited, Vegetarian Shoes and Bags and Luna Boston, there are options to suit all fashion personas. Non-leather items have the added advantage of being cheaper and more lightweight. Large leather handbags in particular can weigh you down, which makes the vegan choice super practical. It’s fabulous that animal friendly can be fashion forward and trendy. 

Wonderful shoes and bags from various online vegan sites. Luna Boston is a dash more pricey, but certainly a cut above the rest.

As you might have gathered from the length of my “raves” list yesterday, there was little this season that we couldn’t adapt to suit who we are. As always, it’s a matter of knowing how to sift through new trends in order to add just enough of “right now” to our existing wardrobe. Here are the items that didn’t make it through my filter:

• Hectic high heels that soared at 3½ inches or more were the order of the day. Many of them were beautiful, but most were impossible to walk in. While ballet flats were also in abundance, there was virtually nothing fabulous in-between. I’d have enjoyed seeing a wider selection of 1½ to 2 inch heels.
• Hippie tops were everywhere and often unflattering. While easy swing tops can be adorable, the wrong empire-cut top will do little for your look. Well endowed women battled with the empire seam cutting straight across their bust line instead of sitting comfortably underneath the bust. Also, these tops often stopped just above the widest part of your thighs which made them impossible for the pretty pears among us. In general, shoulder lines were sloppy and back ties were too long and frequently juvenile-looking.
• Black and white and other neutrals, like brown, tan and navy, continued to play a significant part in modern-classic and urban collections. Red shone through as a bright basic, but that was it. I love the clean and classic black and white look, but I would have also loved see a colourful assortment of clothing beyond the eclectic and boho-inspired styles.
• Crocs emerged a lot earlier than Spring 2007, but they certainly got a lot of attention over this last season. The company is doing exceptionally well and “making massive fistfuls of money with its wacky little shoes”. The trademark plastic molded shoes have their place, but it isn’t as everyday footwear when you’re out in public.

There were also a couple of missed retail opportunities:

• A deeper assortment of fabulous shrugs, cropped V-neck cardigans and tasteful bolero jackets might have made a killing if they were available alongside the multitudes of sleeveless dresses. The additional cover-up would have made frocks more wearable for work and air-conditioned environments. 
• Pants without side entry pockets are universally more flattering. It was a tall order finding pants  (especially white pants) without any pockets this season.

Overall, it was a fabulous season, but feel free to attack Spring and Summer 2007 a little more before we close the door and concentrate on Autumn. What do you think was missing this season?

Beautiful shoes with insanely high heels.