Fall fashions burst of bold colors, designs

Fall always has been my favorite time of the year. The landscape becomes a brilliant array of colors, the air is crisp, and the clothes are fabulous.

Thoughts of fall always bring me back to my childhood — the days of back-to-school shopping and new fall/winter clothes. With the coming and onset of fall comes a richer color palette, exciting textures and layers and greater opportunities for accessorizing.

This year is no exception. In fact, the looks and trends for the new season seem far more exciting than in recent years past. With the coming of the new millennium, designers are paying more attention to detail, thus providing fresh styles with a more special and unique feel.

As the manager and buyer for Carter Chase (a clothing boutique for women in Boulder), I caught a “sneak peek” at the latest fashion trends and styles long. It’s wonderful to now see these ideas and concepts working their way realistically into everyday wardrobes both in small and big ways.

While we all know that not every woman can pull off the sometimes-outrageous looks we see on the runways and in fashion magazines — especially here on the casual streets of Boulder — modern looks and trends can be incorporated into every woman’s wardrobe.

* Clean, tailored styling is a hit no matter what the season, but this fall it seems the only way to dress. This is not to say that one can’t accessorize or have fun with one’s outfit. It just means that all of the pieces need to fit together.

* Skirt lengths run the gamut from mid-thigh to toe grazing, while more and more women are embracing the cocktail length, or mid-calf, just below-the-knee skirt.

* The same can be said for pants, where long fluid pants, skinny, ankle-length cigarette pants and wide-leg floods all find one fashionably chic.

* Coats come in all lengths and shapes, but a simple way to spice up a classic is to belt it. Pair any and all of these lengths and looks with a knee-high boot, and look out Coco Channel!

* Color is of the utmost importance this fall.

The soft pinks of this past spring and summer have made way for red as the must-have color of the season. Other bright jewel tones — such as various oranges, wines, fuschias, purples, turquoise and teal blues — also are popping up all over the place to add some much-needed pizzazz to the basic black uniform so many of us sport on a habitual basis.

Gray is still an important neutral in that it adds some dimension to the aforementioned black, and spans a whole color chart alone. Charcoals are big, as are the metallic silvers and pewters being used in more and more in clothing and accessories.

In addition to color, texture is playing a significant role in the fashion scene for fall 1999. Smooth fabrics, such as silk, satin, tencel, bemburg and other microfiber blends, as well as various nubby, fuzzy and shaggy knits of all varieties are making a splash this season, worn together or separately, creating a look with both a traditional, yet modern take.

This combination — a sort of tailored femininity — is a great look for both casual and more formal ensembles. Stretch fabrics — and there are many to choose from — share another great fall staple, since they can be dressed up or down (although signs for the millennium point up), and still allow for optimum movement and comfort.

Embellished fabrics also are making their presence felt this season. Be it through trim and all-over beading to embroidery to fringes and ties, clothing is taking on what some are calling a “Neo-Bohemian Chic” aesthetic.

As the world is becoming more globally aware, fashion, too, is turning to new neighbors. “Ethnic” influences — Asian, Indian, African or Native or South American — also have become important factors in our most recent fashion movement. As mentioned previously, it is this attention to detail and borrowing from traditional clothing — such as brocades, embellishments and beading — that gives these clothes a traditionally feminine, glamorous, gypsylike look, but a surprisingly modern and individual flair.

With a new season of clothes comes a new season of accessories, and this season’s accessories encompass some of the coolest fashion trends this clothes/jewelry horse has seen in years.

Say goodbye to the minimalist days we’ve enjoyed for the past few years, throw away your rhinestone butterfly hairclips and say hello to beads and crystals. Again.

This movement toward beaded purses and jewelry also stems from the aforementioned “ethnic” inspiration in recent fashion trends, as do the new other new trends in bags, shawls, scarves, hats, gloves and footwear.

Sari brocades, kimonolike fabrics, patchworks and sweater knits all add unique touches to basic outfits, right alongside those ever-popular animal prints we’ve grown so fond of over the years.

As I have said, clothes this season have clean lines and great fabrics. The season’s emphasis is a mixture of comfort and glamour; modern fabrics, modern cuts based on traditional ideas, and embellished, traditionally feminine touches.

All of these trends need not be worn together, however. A chic woman can wear a cinched black coat with a red scarf and a giraffe print bag. Another can wear a plum-colored silk ball skirt to a cocktail party, paired with a fuzzy wool sweater and a beaded evening bag. A gray pantsuit with a turquoise top underneath and a funky beaded necklace can go from the office to dinner with just the change of a shoe. It’s that easy!

I love the fall. I love the colors. I love the smell. And boy, oh boy, do I love the clothes.

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