The best of fall dressing in the city

I've got boots! They're just the right mix of stylish detail and well built practicality, so I'm pretty sure they will define my look this season. If you see a stylin woman in Chinatown in Cole Haan boots, that will be me. Also, randomly, I've been wearing dark sunglasses at night and for some reason that is my current "thing."

@Uraniumfish really?? How can you see with those sunnies in the dark?

Fantastic! I've gotten really into "jeggings" - denim leggings that look like jeans, but have the comfort and fit of leggings. Great for when I just want to roll into something in the mornings without much effort.

@ajadeidealist Yeah, you have to be slim like a gazelle for those things. I don't think I could make them work; I'm to short to be gazelle-like.

@uptowngirl I can see, just not the details. But who needs details at a party? A couple of drinks have the same blurring effect.

@Uraniumfish LoL remember this big Corey Hart hit from the 80's-Sunglasses at Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXw4qqQqTrY Ah the 1980's...MTV played music then not reality shows...

Wait, MTV played music? What an interesting idea...

@Uraniumfish LOL

I think they should just change their name to RTV. They don't deserve to be called MTV any more.

@Uraniumfish so true.. how did this unhealthy obsession withe Reality TV even com about? maybe its the voyeuristic tendency in all of us?

Good point, @uraniumfish. My other fall obsessions: pea coats, scarves! I've just bought a velvet traveling cloak though, so perhaps that will be my latest show-off purchase.

@ajadedidealist wohoo that sounds very stylish.

I sorta became obsessed with the LL Bean hunting boot so I had to order a pair for the upcoming snow season. I love pea coats too, but you have to buy the J Crew thinsulate ones if you want to wear them past November.

@uptowngirl - it's something between Park Avenue dame and Renaissance fair. I'm hoping it sticks to the Park Avenue side of the fashion spectrum...

Jeggings?!?!?! It kills me when I see people wearing those. Somehow it's never the gazelles who seem to opt for jeggings. I myself prefer to don either jeans or leggings...just not both. @JenMac I have the shearling-lined Bean boots - they are the only snow shoes that I don't find incredibly ugly, just sort of ugly.

Awww, don't say that, @BroadwayBK! I love my gray jeggings with knee-high suede black boots!

@ajadedidealist and @BroadwayBk I am unfashionably sticking to my bootcut jeans, I am no gazelle and skinny jeans/ jeggings just don't work for me.. though I must admit I am actually missing dressing for fall/ winter. This morning its 46F in Hong Kong , the first real winter day but it doesn't seem that cold though I think I will have to wear a jacket for the first time in all my months here.

I have been attending spinning classes religiously so I'll be just fine in skinny jeans, but I don't understand the jegging fad. Most girls who wear them just don't do it right (can jeggings be done right?!). It always ends up looking like those girls who wear leggings as pants - so wrong. @ajadedidealist If you can pull it off, go for it. Do you wear a longer top with them? I would feel too naked otherwise.

To be honest, @BroadwayBK, they look exactly like my skinny jeans - no difference whatsoever! Maybe it's the material, etc., but nobody can tell that they're not jeans unless they look closely and view the lack of buttons.

@BroadwayBk @ajadedidealist Even though jeggings/leggings/skinny jeans have been all the rage in 2010,the fashion forecasters predict flares are coming back for 2011 :)

@ajadedidealist You must be very svelte. I can certainly tell when non-svelte girls are wearing jeggings. @uptowngirl Good riddance. The boot cut jean did get a nod on some E! fashion show I was forced to watch a few days ago.

@BroadwayBK aha ..so I am fashionable again!

@uptowngirl Boo.. I never want 70s fashion to go out of style.

Hah! regarding some comments above about MTV, did anyone read the recent news blurb that MTV actually dropped the "music" from their logo and their ratings jumped as a result? Sigh.

I knew they did that earlier this year, but did the ratings really jump? The logo change didn't really coincide with much of a change in programming.

Here's the article: http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/amplifier/42947/mtvs-no-music-strategy-pays-off-with-soaring-ratings/ Not that dropping the music is what made the ratings go up, just that apparently it didn't do a lot of harm,

@Uraniumfish then why not drop the M in MTV make it RTV or something?.

The logo kind of looks better without it.

@BroadwayBK even then I feel a bit sad.. after all my music tastes all those years ago were defined by MTV

@uptowngirl I know...

But whatever MTV is now, it still defines pop culture, like it or not. I suppose it's always sad when something you grew up with changes into something unrecognizable. MTV is like a gentrified neighborhood - the edge just keeps wearing away.

Hmm. I think of MTV more like the gentrified neighborhood that has reverse-gentrified to a center of shady activity. Is there no limit to how terrible reality TV can be?

@Uraniumfish sigh .. so true..

Shady activity? The shows on MTV are mainstream as all heck and are marketed to a mainstream audience rather than hip, music-loving kids. It's as gentrified as it gets.

NYC fall dressing success story: I found a (real!) Brooks Brothers coat (retail about $600) in a charity shop in England for 12 pounds ($20) - they didn't realize what they had. Now I sure feel fashionable walking down 5th Avenue!

@ajadedidealist that's fantastic girl you get the most awesome deals though I remember my dad who is a huge Brooks Brothers fan once scored one of their non iron shirts which usually go for $80 for about $10 at an export surplus store in Singapore.

I'm thinking this might be a good time to hit up Century 21 for some designer discounts, what with all the post-holiday markdowns and all, maybe I'll find something good. It's on my to-do list this week.

Oh, and: somebody please tell me where I can buy a bathing suit! I've got a new gym membership with pool and there isn't a single bathing suit to be found in all of new York friggin' City! I thought maybe a sporting goods store like Modell's on Court Street would be okay, since I only need a functional one-piece for the pool, not anything super glamorous, but - man! - they had exactly three items, not in my size, and so hideously ugly I couldn't begin to describe. At this point I would pay a ransom for a simple bathing suit in a neutral color like black or navy. Help?

@Uraniumfish Last winter I ordered simple, tank swimsuits from Lands End on the recommendation of a friend and they have served me well on all my forays into the pool during the year. You may want to try your luck online or then Bloomingdale's and other stores must have their resort collections in already for many people go on beach holidays during February.

Just came across this slide show of NYC's fashionistas shoveling snow after the blizzard. Had to share it with you all. http://www.dnainfo.com/20101227/greenwich-village-soho/fashionistas-couture-outfits-not-exempt-from-shoveling

OMG: "It has to get done, even if you're wearing Ralph Lauren straight off the runway." Classic fashion person attitude. I doubt many readers are feeling sorry for her.

@Uraniumfish Where did you look for a suit? Because every catalog I get in the mail has a new swimsuit line in it, so I'm assuming it's the time of year when these things are at their most expensive?

@BroadwayBK youre right about that they sure are..

Here's another winter in NYC fashion story http://www.dnainfo.com/20101228/greenwich-village-soho/rubber-boots-become-fashionable-on-sohos-slushy-streets

@BroadwayBK I guess I never thought of buying a suit online, thinking it's the kind of item you have to try on to make sure is okay. Guess I'll have to go that route. I really haven't seen anything in-store, though. at Macy's they had all the leftover bottoms from the summer bikini lines but no tops!

@BroadwayBK I guess I never thought of buying a suit online, thinking it's the kind of item you have to try on to make sure is okay. Guess I'll have to go that route. I really haven't seen anything in-store, though. at Macy's they had all the leftover bottoms from the summer bikini lines but no tops!

@uptowngirl I know! The rubber boot syndrome in SoHo cracks me up, but there's nothing else to be done on those awfully paved, slushy streets.

@Uraniumfish I've had to send more than one swimsuit back to the online store I ordered it from - it is something you have to decide on after trying it on, but it's really only a slight nuisance to return things via mail. But now is the time when the new swim lines appear in stores, so if you just wait a few days you may start seeing what you're looking for.

@Uraniumfish BroadwayBK is right .. cruising season is round the corner so you should see those suits in Macy's soon enough. It sometimes drives me crazy how department stores follow fashion seasons for instance you see winter clothes appearing in August when its the height of summer and spring lines debuting in the midst of winter. I just find it so crazy..

@uptowngirl When exactly is cruising season?

Cruising season, you guys?

@Uraniumfish, Broadway BK I am sure you are aware of cruise season also known as resort which rolls around before Spring? I know tons of folk who go away on cruises in February to escape the harsh weather and the stores seem to cater to their needs I presume?

I'd love to take a cruise when my health gets better. Hmmm. Maybe the Bahamas. Maybe the Caribbean. Maybe go to the Bermuda Triangle and get lost. :)

@hhusted go for it I say getaway from the freezing temps..

@Uptowngirl: Yeah, but when I go, I plan to stay so I won't have to face freezing temps every year. That would be great. Live in an area where it is always warm. How nicely sounding that is.

@hhusted oh yes I totally agree as I grow older I begin to hate the cold even more..

@Uptowngirl: That's right. Us older people need to be pampered and caressed with the warmth of the sun and temps, right. :)