The Cyber Fashion Ecosystem

For the past few years, it's felt like a lot of my fashion whims have received immediate gratification from the mass seasonal trends. I remember once around four years ago, I made a list of certain clothes I wanted and was prepared to hunt down in flea markets, since I was certain they certainly wouldn't be available at the typical shopping mall. A few weeks later, I started looking at the new fall products in Piperlime, and - lo and behold, my coveted items were all over their new fall fashion styles.

I had about a five-minute delusion attack where I fancied myself very prescient about upcoming fashion trends - perhaps all the leaders of the fashion industry and I simultaneously shared the same sparks of inspiration this year! - until reality settled in and it occurred to me that the ever-growing prominence of the grassroots, fashion blog community meant that more and more people were collectively soaking in the cyber-vat of ideas, influences, and inspirations. Undoubtedly, the inspiration I had for a certain style dress, or whimsical vintage object must have been distilled from a selection of fashion/style/couture blogs I read on a weekly basis, which in turn were based on the influences of a thousand other blogs. Osmosis is a wonderful process.

Whether it's two women loving the same outfit from "The Sartorialist", or girl-wunderkind Tavi Gevinson or even a low-profile teenage blogger capturing the attention of a single fashion powerhouse, it's no wonder that it feels like nowadays we're reading each other's minds.

A few influences from this summer that, much to my pleasure, seemed to take to the forefront this fall season:

The Equestrian Look

I was slightly obsessed with equestrian-chic this summer, thanks to Elaine Stritch and a certain movie about Coco Chanel....

And this fall I saw the preponderance of crisp'n'clean equestrian all over the market, including a spread in Vanity Fair that heavily featured the equestrian look in their holiday wish lists. Then there was

The Loose, Sensual, Dreamy-Romantic Look

I watched one of my favorites, The Virgin Suicides on a repeat this summer and was continually struck by the clothes, which were schoolgirlish but also had a touch of the ahem, virginal, and coyly erotic. Looking around my college campus and the pages of The Sartorialist, it seems like we've moved from the minimalist, straight-cut lines of the early 2000s to a more whimsical desire to play with movement and form.

American Apparel seems to be playing heavily off this theme in their campaigns, anyways, albeit a bit more heavily suggestive:

Dad's Oversized/80's Patterned Sweater

This trend has definitely been percolating for a few years but I feel like it's hit full blast this year. My dad's oversized green sweater gained notice in my school's hallways last year, and my friend raided the male closets in her own house and emerged with an oversized rugby shirt and a sweater vest that somehow looked appealingly charming when paired with more feminine clothes.

This summer, I just fell in love with Anna Kendrick's strawberry sweater in "Rocket Science". I think it was the combination of its dorkiness, her severely cut hair, strict collar, and a contradictory accessory that changed the entire image - a cigarette.

Not that I condone smoking, but as one of my favorite film bloggers pointed out, smoking will look eternally cool onscreen. Her look is so very Margot Tenenbaum-ish.

And of course, particular sweaters have been making a comeback - chunky ones, Fair Isle, dorky. Below: A divine sweater from Emma Watson's People Tree collection - chunky AND Fair Isle! Want it so much, but lately I've been trying to avoid products that require shipping as a personal eco-friendly initiative.

Overall, I'd observe that this season has really New England-heavy - not faux-preppy, like the burst of Gossip-Girl inspired plaid and horrible bowties we saw a few years ago, and not obnoxious Lacoste preppy either - true New England, with bean boots and hunting/equestrian related clothes - both practical and strangely chic and charming if done right.