Making It Work in the Palisades: NY Fashion Week 2014

New York City is the center of American fashion, but what does that mean to the Palisadian woman whose lifestyle is the antithesis of urban?

NY Fall/Winter 2014 Fashion Week has bombarded us with ideas of what to wear in the coming months, but how do we make it relevant to us – particularly when our climate does not require the hefty gear necessary in most of the country? Fortunately we can pick and choose between the trends and adapt them to our own needs. It wasn’t always so.

The fashion designer used to have the final word in how a woman dressed. When Monsieur Dior cinched in the waist and added a crinoline to a full skirt after WWII it was deemed “the New Look.”

They might have called it  “the only look” just as easily. From that moment on, the celebrated silhouette trickled down from the Parisian couture house to the housewife, becoming the prevailing look for over 10 years.

Fast forward to London’s swinging ‘60s, when Mary Quant encouraged women to have fun with their wardrobes. With the invention of the mini skirt and hot pant she liberated a generation – and whether or not those short hemlines were suitable, they were worn because “that was the style.”

Fashion today is big business and some designers have become household names. However influential they may be, they no longer dictate. We decide what works based on what appeals to our taste and priorities.

So, in the spirit of choice the Palisadian-Post has sorted through hundreds of images from “NY FW2014” in order to simplify the task for you.  While some designers will always march to the beat of their own drum – Thom Browne and Jeremy Scott come to mind – most designers have a common thread running through their collections.

Here are some of the trends you can look forward to incorporating into your own wardrobe when the temperature drops this fall.