You're So Money: Fall's Big Fashion Trends
How to fashion your winning look for fall.
Sept. 29, 2007 Special to ABCNEWS.com — -- Michael Macko, men's fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue, is rarely shocked by what comes down the runway during fashion shows.
"Menswear," he explains, "is so slow to change. [It's] very conservative."
Not so this fall.
"Designers are doing something different," he says. "I was taken by the extremes this season--and how designers dared to be theatrical."
Check out the fall fashions at our partner site, Forbes.com.
New looks, though, pose risks: What won applause on the runway can get you hooted off the stage of real life. Says David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, a fashion-forecasting firm in New York City, "For the designers, it's an exciting time; but for consumers, figuring out how to wear these trends without looking foolish can be problematic."
Sweaters with big snowflakes on the sleeves, geometric patterns on jackets, shirts and pants in shockingly bold colors--these and other trends this fall in men's and women's fashion aren't the easiest to wear. Before you put your social or professional reputation at risk by adopting them wholesale, consider if the more reasonable approach isn't to integrate a few gradually, bit by bit, into your wardrobe.
Take color: Bright hues have traditionally been used sparingly in men's wear, mainly in accessories that accent a wardrobe: ties, say, or pocket squares. But this season, "tonal dressing" is all the rage.
Designers have created outfits--shirts, jackets, ties and other accessories--all in the same hue. The idea is that you, once gussied up, would look like the Sherman Williams color wheel: a single dominant color expressed in several different shades.
"If you walk through any major store, you will see retailers displaying light green shirts with darker green jackets while mixing a tie from the same color family," says New York celebrity stylist Robert Verdi. "It may seem like an easy way to buy your clothes, but it can get tricky. [Always have] one dominant hue in the family and then incorporate other lighter hues around it. For example, you could wear a light purple shirt and combine a deep purple tie and have the outfit look completely polished."
