CALIFORNIA FALL
There is no place like Southern California in the fall. The golden light, the warm air, the perfectly sharp horizon. It does summer one better, if that’s possible.
It’s no wonder that our designers do fall lines like no one else. There is an ease and a lightness to their clothes that’s refreshingly removed from New York’s fall runways. Corey Lynn Calter’s graphic deep purple pants, Rory Beca’s floaty silk ikat dress, Geren Ford’s ivory ruffled blouse -- these are fall clothes designed with women like Erica Hosseini in mind: down to earth and athletic, with a passion for being outdoors, whether surfing or shopping. She can work a casual wide-leg jean or an elegant silk blouse, with romantically upswept hair and jade drop earrings.
These are clothes to wear now, as summer’s print dresses and gladiator sandals begin to feel a bit tired. The colors are more subdued. Teal transitions into a dusty plum as an accent, yellow dampens to mustard, and gray, navy and ivory round out the palette, but all in fabrics to suit the 70-degree temps.
Dressing for a Southern California fall, no matter how dramatic the trends may be, will always be tempered by the fact that people who live here actually prefer dressing for hot weather. So the look tends to center on layers of soft and hard. Cotton and leather, linen and denim, the mix of weights, textures and blending of one season seamlessly into another is what defines our fall.
“It’s so easy to transition summer pieces into the fall in L.A.,” says Yael Aflalo, who designs the Ya-Ya line of contemporary women’s wear. “I can wear a beautiful long silk dress, sandals or jean shorts for most of the year. A light sweater or an awesome leather jacket will also work for any season.”
It’s no wonder the shrunken leather jacket over the soft party frock has become a Hollywood uniform.
The main thing to remember is balance. The weather is never extreme, so why should our clothes be? If it’s a high-waisted wool trouser you crave, tuck in a thin cotton tank top and, for night, throw on a tailored blazer. Dying to wear a boucle skirt? Just ditch the tights, wear a short-sleeve silk blouse and ankle boots or spectator heels.
And that leaves your legs and arms free to catch some autumn rays too.
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