Love the vivid hue on this pseudo-'80s number, which just seems really surprisingly wearable.

A hip coat to turn an overworked office drone into a city-chic gal about town.

Animal print doesn't seem like it goes with the rest of the collection at first, but the truth is, it's bold without being over the top. Work-appropriate stuff for real women is what Tracy Reese does. So this fits.

Cropped jacket + cropped pants = spring freshness.

This bubbly pattern is made of win.

The orange pedal pushers are just plain cute.

Sunny yellow, in an easy, summery dress.

More intense color, which just feels really optimistic. Everything is gonna be okay!

Not sure about these pieces being styled together, but the top with white trousers or the skirt with a white tank would be spot on.

Reese can do a strong animal print dress, and a whimsical bubble-print dress, and then also a dreamy, soft, light-as-a-feather sheath like this one, in the palest hue.

I can't explain what's going on here, I just know that I like it.

More sweetness and light.

Swingy polka dots, but done in a really different and modern way. Love it!

Steely gray with a structured bodice won't work on all bodies, but it's certainly sophisticated, and even better: Pretty.

Keep the floral frock; lose the gift wrap.

Loving the way this divine dress is constructed: Shows off the collarbones, cinches the waist, has pockets! Two, please.

The lady takes a bow.

[Images via Getty.]

Worried that Alexander McQueen's show, a tribute to his friend and champion, Isabella Blow, was going to be bathed in bathos? Well it turns out that McQueen, who showed in Paris over the weekend, had the collection of the season, or so sayeth the critics. Those same critics were less kind to Nina Ricci and Chloe - except for Suzy Menkes, who seems to love everyone except sworn enemy Marc Jacobs. Below, the major fashion critics take on McQueen, Ricci, Chloe and John Galliano.

"[Isabella] Blow is now with the angels" "emotional sensitivity of the show brought some beautiful homages" "unique pieces" McQueen's harsh attitude to women has not changed. Models struggled down the runway on teetering platforms. It is an inevitable part of his oeuvre that a woman will appear caged - even if the dress underneath is divine" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[A] collection of outrageous beauty" "all a vivid reminder of Blow's eccentric, stylish wardrobe." —Hilary Alexander, The Telegraph

"McQueen mustered the clarity to dispense with smoke and mirrors and show his capabilities in cut, drape, and feathered flourish to an audience near enough to inspect every detail" "his romantic fairy-goddess chiffons put him back in the game of current trend" "McQueen honored his mentor by striving to bring out the best in himself" - Sarah Mower, Style.com


Nina Ricci:
"[A] listless collection that didn't suggest a clear plan" "he achieved... wreckage" "dirty colors" "jackets that looked lifted from a mud room" "stringy hair dangling with feathers" "[b]ut other designers have done the same" "isn't very far from what a cool girl is wearing now" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"Nina Ricci has never been so beautifully realized" "a perfume of a collection that hit a modern spot between romantic and sugary" "combining a youthful stride" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[A] particularly poetic state of dishevelment" "smudged by the murky first light of a city day" "a reassertion of his Belgian identity" "deciding to take the path of underground edginess rather than Parisian chic" "what he's doing for day is the thing to watch" - Sarah Mower, Style.com


John Galliano:
"Mr. Galliano's style is romantic and narrative, typically with an impoverished muse at the center" "for once the models looked happy in their outfits and nobody complained that they were too thin" "looked fresh" "light and friendly" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"Everything in John Galliano's garden was lovely" "However much the designer plants new ideas and changes the landscape (this time it was a carousel and fairground) the effect is always much the same" "this was just Galliano light" "sweet but never cloying" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"Here all was softness, frills, retro bias-cuts and gentle pastels, with the emphasis on roses; printed on chiffon, appliquéd in silk and half-hidden within the folds of a ruffled peplum." —Hilary Alexander, The Telegraph

"[A] gamely dizzy performance of typical Galliano-esque high jinks" "Galliano is motoring on reinterpretations of his classics" "it happens that this is a season in which that looks right" "the narrative wasn't a groundbreaker, merely a device for trotting out Galliano's standard pretty, printed, flouncy dresses" "Galliano is still in the game" —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Chloe:
"But could Mr. Andersson have starved his hungry audience more? The shapes in the collection were so undefined, so indistinct that you had the feeling the same dress was going by again and again" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"It seemed smart to take Chloé back to its roots - while still pushing forward. It has most recently been pitched as a brand for women who want to stay forever innocent on the cusp of maidenhood and maturity" "...this season proved that [designer Paulo Andersson] is not trapped in that vision." —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[R]etro-cuteness cauterized by an intrinsic graphic modernity" "something fresh" "a few rare thoughts about how to make transparency passable on a daily basis" "there was a lot of repetition" "reverted, in a contemporary way, to the old-time Chloé of the early seventies, when Karl Lagerfeld [designed it]" - Sarah Mower, Style.com

Balenciaga:
"[A] blockbuster image for next season" "Using futuristic methods of pattern-cutting with ultra-sound waves and laser technology" ""thronging" technique" "carved with icy precision" —Hilary Alexander, The Telegraph

"How many designers would have the temerity to use something as bourgeois as a flower print, and then build an entire collection around it?" "If you're wondering why you should care about a collection that is so plainly ageist (it's the prints and small shoulders, not the hemlines)... Consider the impression of seamlessness made by the designs, though in fact there are seams. We may just be looking at the future." —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"So this was Balenciaga in full bloom" "another of Ghesquière's short-sharp revolutionary essays in couture technique" "standout shoulder lines, hand-span waists, and belled (almost panniered) hip volume" "undulating folds sutured together with curvilinear topstitching" "But would this be wearable? What a silly question...Nicolas Ghesquière is one of the very few who can have his cake, sell it, and sit back and watch the rest of the market scramble for the crumbs." —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Comme des Garcons
"[T]here was a purpose to her chaos" "superbly captured the randomness in our culture and, at the same time, the impossibility of attaching a moral standard to it" "incredibly free and deft" "it all made lovely sense" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"[F]rills tumbling down trousers like cutout streamers, semidetached squares of striped fabric and half capes as folded angel wings at each shoulder" "cartoon-like quality" "chaotic, yet it was filled with a manic energy" "But do not ask Kawakubo what that means for modern women. She just sends out her extraordinary clothes." —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"Wherever you find fashion trends, must-haves or what's hot you can be certain you will never find Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons." "commanded by a mysterious internal voice, known only to her" "collection concentrated...on" "the art of subtracting and reducing a garment to its barest essentials, re-constructing it with only the bare bones...and then contrasting it with another item of clothing that, at first glance, appeared to have no relevant relationship whatsoever" "might have been worn by an extremely directional Swan Lake corps de ballet" "clothes as brilliant, dreamlike scarlet specters" —Hilary Alexander, The Telegraph

"[S]omething deliberately demented" "a bewildering mash-up of layers" "How to make sense of this? Don't try: The madness was the message" "Then, of course, it all fell into place as a figurative observation of the state of modern urban consciousness" "within all this there are near-sane simple pieces Kawakubo will fill her stores with, and sell, too" "there is no one to touch the free-thinking experimentalism Kawakubo can bestow on fashion." —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Junya Watanabe:
"[S]imple but effective" "infantile fascination this season with diaper pants" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"[G]auzy, drape-y beauty" "made summer dressing seem, for the first time this season, beautifully effortless" "simple materials tethered to bands of utilitarian tape" "the only clue he gave afterward about his starting point was, 'It all goes back to Africa'" "delivered a rare sequence of delightful surprises" "one of the season's most sensitive interpretations of overground trend from an underground source" —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Jean-Paul Gaultier:
"[S]ome solid looks" "reprising the pirate theme made the presentation seem old hat. He, too, has a thing for diaper pants." —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"Jean Paul Gaultier's shows are turning into a formula (Bring on the drag queen poseur puffing on a pipe!) and that is a pity" "riff on "Pirates of the Caribbean"" "he now needs the courage to send out a collection that can stand in its own right, without the bells and whistles and pistol-head umbrellas" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[A] jolly, rollicking romp" "female versions of Johnny Depp in breeches" "All the familiar accoutrements of the buccaneer wardrobe were included" —Hilary Alexander, The Telegraph

"Captain Jack Sparrow is alive and well" "all that was missing was the gold teeth and the eye liner" "Like the Black Pearl, Gaultier's ship gets around" "The pirate conceit gave this layer-loving designer an opportunity to really pour it on" "instead of his usual solitary finale bride, Gaultier sent out a veritable bridal party in bohemian crochet, eyelet, and lace, or creamy clouds of tulle" "The pirate tale was thrill-a-minute, and, picked apart, filled with plenty of wearable booty." —Nicole Phelps, Style.com

Dior
"[A]lluring androgyny" "Marlene Dietrich" "Billie Holiday, Josephine Baker and the Great Gatsby" "1940s-style dresses had accentuated shoulders and below-the-knee hemlines" "epitome of early Hollywood glamour" —Hillary Alexander, Telegraph

"[T]he man-woman thing exemplified by Marlene Dietrich" "variations on the top hat showed a seductive way" "more John than Christian in the ultra-glamorous take on Galliano's signature bias-cut dresses" "let the couture and its major theatrics go to turn out a seductive but simple collection that, with its racy tailoring and lacy delicacy, will please rather than provoke." —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"Sting's "Englishman in New York" set the theme" "a light, nonintellectual revival of all the patterns John Galliano has amassed through his ten-year career at Dior" "twenties-through-forties styling" "this wasn't one of his camp-hysteria evasions, nor was it one of his more passive-aggressive collections of bottom-line merchandise" "pretty, accessible things" "a knowing nod to the current feel for pajama dressing" "missed the flair and humor Galliano can muster at his best" —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Balenciaga
"[V]ivid floral prints" "old-fashioned couture fabrics" "full of thought and invention" "incredibly precise and clear" "a strong fashion statement" "push[es] our imaginations" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"[A]ll about the extreme beauty" "21st-century techno treatment" "extreme, ultra-modern volumes" "catapulted into the future" "The silhouette was of a short dress with rounded shoulders and hemline" "it was a magic carpet ride." —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune


Vivienne Westwood
"[U]ltra-hourglass dresses and jewelled "trapeze artist" costumes" "what the offspring of a marriage between Marilyn Monroe and an English aristocrat would have looked like" —Hillary Alexander, Telegraph

"[I]nimitable blend of cheek, sensuality and historical histrionics" "tribal, tough and rock 'n roll" "a twinkle in the eye, a sway of the hips and a dress designed to cup the bosoms" "reveal as well as conceal, with a bodice swooping down, a skirt cut to rise in a half moon up to the thigh and beyond" "fringe...looked more Las Vegas showgirl than English aristocrat" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[T]here were a lot of different, seemingly unrelated looks packed onto the runway" "buttons askew over unfastened dresses" "twisted ball gowns" "holographic sequin dress with padding at the hips and bum" "A beautiful mess? For members of Westwood's tribe, yes. But to the uninitiated? It just looked nutty." —Nicole Phelps, Style.com


Comme des Garcons
"[C]razy-wonderful" "layered coats and bloomers in Crayola colors" "about a cartoon-absorbed culture as randomness" "kooky ikat print, deconstructed bloomers in ruffled pink and yellow cotton, and roomy coats with built-in bags. Loved those for the Food Town." —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

As Milan winds down, some of our favorite fashion critics [Ou est tu, Robin Givhan?] waxed not-so-poetic on what they've seen over the past few days. Gucci was universally slammed. Marni, Ferragamo, Dsquared, and Missoni got words good, bad, and ugly all thrown at them. The poison pens are out, there, and we're looking forward to the start of Paris Fashion Week on Monday - who shall be Cathy Horyn's next victim? In the meantime, we mourn those slain by Horyn this week.

"[A]nother Gucci glam slam for after dark" "energetic attempt to turn rock chick into rock chic just didn't happen" "pert party dresses and 1960s graphics...just seem so passé" "for people who party harder than they work" "many of her instincts are good" "parade of cute, commercial outfits" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[A] difficult thing to categorize" "boyish checked shirts, and the odd little cropped biker jacket, including a noticeably good one in black snakeskin" "unrelenting combination of black, white, and a particularly harsh sunflower yellow" "the show was bumpy" "an off moment" —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Marni:
"A dungeon might be more fun than some of Consuelo Castiglioni's sad sacks" "cruelly linear shapes" "take some expensive cotton, print it with a streaky esoteric pattern and then make a shift that's gathered in random places" "If this weren't such a cool label, you'd wonder how much design or thought was involved." "just seemed boring" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"[T]he story of the season" "the colors were a modern art riff" "intriguing example of the Marni duality" "plasticized finishes have lost their shock value" "powerful collection" "interpretation of the new fashion volumes" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[A] staple formula" "one of the brands upon which Italy's pride as a style leader rests" "Castiglioni took the don't-mess-with-success approach" "easy-on-the-body loose-waisted shifts" "wonky-but-right abstract gathers and tucks" "seen before" "cute petaled cone hats" "didn't seem overly concerned with breaking too much new ground" —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Missoni:
"[F]resh" "sensuous lightness" "terrific tunics and smock dresses" "[o]ccasionally it worked" "hard to see what connected a baby-doll dress of beige silk knit and stone-embroidered chiffon with a mustard tunic of lace-cut cotton" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"[A] friendly-scale line of highly identifiable knits and prints" "a bit of this and a bit of that" "has a place in a sunny holiday setting" "any piece would make a girl stand out at a relaxed party" "Missoni would do better to devise a more intimate way of showing them" —Sarah Mower, Style.com




D-Squared:
"[G]leaning the top notes of a supermarket tabloid and spitting them back to us" "a knucklehead version of Dolce & Gabbana" "popular fashion fantasy of an auto-repair garage" "you might wear at Cannes if your film career was tanking" "Rihanna looked fabulous and the gross guys in the front row grinned their heads off" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"Rihanna...took to the runway for a very believable turn as a top model" "a lot of skin for a 9 a.m. show" "pretty standard stuff" "theme, loosely, was party girls and the grease monkeys who love them" "wasn't all trash and vaudeville" "cheap yet satisfying thrills" —Nicole Phelps, Style.com


Ferragamo:
"[O]n the wild side" "just a whiff of Africa" "sophisticated clothes" "accessories are king" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[S]eized on the seventies" "hopscotching back through the decades...probably wasn't the best tack" "not without its better moments" "[t]he clothes could stand to be more distinctive" —Nicole Phelps, Style.com

Prada: "Deeply erotic" "some will probably declare it not their Prada cup of tea." "The colors too drab," "too sexually ambiguous." "we are struck less by her references than by her complex view of women and women's lives." - Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"Fairies? At Prada?" "so sweetly unchallenging you (almost) can't recognize her" "literal connections between past and present were contradicted" "this is a woman who never loses the plot." -Style.com

"[W]eird and wonderful" "mythical" "eerily beautiful." "Full of surprises" "light and pretty fairy dresses" "took fashion on its mystery tour." "some of the loveliest summer dresses... that we have yet seen in Milan."-Suzy Menkes, IHT


Jil Sander: "Gumby-like silhouette" "supersaturated color" "ingeniously simple dresses" "light and airy" "starched or glazed" "some...so dense they looked frozen"-Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"putting the credibility back into Jil Sander" "there are difficulties" "The crop of the jacket might work on a flat-chested beanpole model, but on a woman with a real-life bosom?" "super-skinny pants are not the most forgiving" "hot pink, orange, and vivid royal blue seems unlikely to hit the spot" -Style.com

"[B]reaking the mode" "beautifully shocking" "vivid colors" "poetic" "in an abstract way, brilliant" "Can I handle a sheer cover-up on the subway?...Do my nipples look good in this?"-Suzy Menkes, IHT


Burberry: "[L]ean and aggressive" "slim skirts" "Chrome Hearts" "But is it fashion or just branded merchandise?" "What you don't find in this collection, really, is Mr. Bailey's distinctive voice. Instead you hear all the competing gimme demands: more luxury, more stuff on stuff." -Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"[L]uxury warrior" "the sexiest version of Burberry yet" "an accurate riff on nineties body-con dressing" "stirrings of the heavy-metal revival" "play[s] it to an international audience"-Style.com

"[S]ense of cool young London..had gone from the collection" "has rightly moved a long way from those checks" "skimpy ruched dresses were ultra glamorous" "But something was lost" "Bailey needs to migrate to his homebase" -Suzy Menkes, IHT


Giorgio Armani: "You've got to admire Giorgio Armani" "small jackets with silk pirate pants" "a tank dress with legs." "For him, this is fashion. And because he is Giorgio Armani, with brand power, they will find an audience."-Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"[D]idn't pack quite the knockout punch" "some lovely clothes" "unusual pants" "endless variety of covetable tops" "I Dream of Jeannie evening jumpsuits" "less formal, but no less special" -Style.com

"It's hard to believe that [what was] sent down his runway...had been created with the conviction that it might alter the way women think about their wardrobe" "simply too absurd" "strangely awkward shorts" "seems to have confused the source of pleasure"-Robin Givhan, Washington Post

"[H]eavy on the bloomers and sarong-tie pants" "handkerchief hems... floated on too long" "quintessentially Armani" "his most loyal clients...might even learn to love." "a particularly gentle and elegant version of the tropical isle theme"-Suzy Menkes, IHT


Bottega Veneta: "[T]oo prosperous a brand for its designer" "plays it safe" " classic summer dresses" "more in the world than the worldliest people"- Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"[E]xemplary illustration of...restrained, minimalist, functionalist design" "relevant" "delicious" "virtually colorless" "doesn't take a Ph.D. to analyze" "goddess draping" "you'd need a heart of stone not to think, There goes something gorgeous." -Style.com

"[I]f women wanted their wardrobe to go unnoticed, they would...go to Banana Republic" "At Bottega Veneta...a woman...should get...more from her clothes" -Robin Givhan, Washington Post

It's shocking, we know, but some people take Fashion Week really, really seriously. Designers shudder and quake in anticipation as the world's top "fashion journalists" pull out their best and most pretentious purple prose reviewing the Spring/Summer 2008 collections. In our final primer on what the major critics" have to say about the shows at New York Fashion Week, we've got Zac Posen, Heatherette, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and Betsey Johnson. First up, red-carpet favorite Zac Posen drops a touch of 'Little House on the Prairie' onto the runway.

"lacks...restraint", "inspired by Pilgrims, Amish, Mennonites and Shaker", "restraint was positively mandatory", "at his best with his day wear", "flirtatious white ruffles", "expressed a sweet exuberance" — Robin Givhan, Washington Post

"unlikely inspirations", "big-sky romance", "a softness that his more overtly sexy work lacks", "strayed into dangerous pastures", "as poufy as storm-whipped clouds", "more than a little showy", "a country no-no" — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

"vaguely safari", "smart, modern and controlled", "a lack of restraint is his biggest problem", "his greatest indulgence is the big, splashy finish", "more like the twilight zone" —WWD

"short and sweet", "endearing youthfulness", "wheat sheaves shaped as crystal brooches", "rural spirit", "puffy with volume", "thoughtful" — Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"evoked the wheat fields of the Great Plains", "dramatic beauty of the wind-tossed, open sky", "hand-painted and shadow-dyed", "bold and dramatic as a thunder-clap", "shot with lightning shafts of colour and extravagant shapes" — Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph

Heatherette
"fun", "surefire", "the models look like wayward brides in a sort of backward couture show", "big red-white-and-blue dose of Americana", "picnic-table print", "Wearable? Sure, a little" — Meenal Mistry, Style.com

"send-up of the U.S. of A.", "delightful high-energy romp", "wasn't all over-the-top camp", "their share of wacky red, white and blue getups", "some chic - and no less whimsical".— WWD

Donna Karan
"classy halter and shirt-dresses", "waist was the focus", "flattering", "recalled... women airing themselves on their stoops on a hot summer night, usually within sight of a man in an undershirt" — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"women as urban warriors", "had the feel of an urban princess", "more comfortable in a garden setting than surrounded by the city's concrete and steel" — Robin Givhan, Washington Post

"worked both sides of the structure/flow divide", "portrait collars", "crisp, breezy", "confident sensuality", "the silhouette was lean and languid or full", "arabesques of silk ribbon" — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

Betsey Johnson
"petticoated party dresses dashed with decorations like sprinkles on a cupcake", "sequins, hearts, laces, and lamé", "deliberate act of indulgence", "huge crinolines", "Empire waists and daisies". — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Style.com

"cacophony of tulle", "no one does a party dress like Johnson", "sparkly", "polkadots and stripes galore", "pink-and-yellow paisley playsuits", 'downright patriotic", "modern-day sailor jumpsuits", "frocks didn't seem to vary much style-wise". — WWD

Calvin Klein
"a job well done", "will gain more meaning with time", "breezy", "egg-wash shades", "the hemlines of the dresses might have been better shorter", "all the models in the show were white", "seems out of touch" — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"equivalent of a sexy whisper", "austere", "unforgiving fabrics", "faintest gray shadings", "sensuous drape", "its strength was in the purity of the design" — Robin Givhan, Washington Post

"spare, clean canvas", "wasn't enough", "quiet repetitiveness", "minimalist in the style of old-school Calvin" — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

"shimmer of silk", "subtle shades of sea and river water", "exceptional", "succeeded in reigniting minimalism", "modern and relevant" — Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

We shop at Forever 21, so maybe we're not the best judges of what's new, fresh, of-the-moment (and other 'Lucky'-isms) in fashion. We have a few Marc Jacobs items, but they were on clearance at Century 21 and probably from five years ago, so that's why we've let the critics speak about the fashion darling's show the other night — you know, the one that started two hours late, and pissed off a bunch of people, including 'Vogue' editor Anna Wintour.

"...expressed perfectly the dislocating values of our culture", "an antidote to the cartoonish Jessica Rabbit sexuality", "stripped-down dresses to break the hold of flagrant sexiness", "erotic", "respectful of women", "beautiful, as well as realistic", "deal openly and imaginatively with sexuality without exploiting it". — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"...could have used a little more time", "on their own, individual elements... were very attractive", "wearable clothes wasn't the point here", "clothes appropriate for warmer weather", "color-blocking, sheer overlays, sequins", "nude and natural colors with bright pops" — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

"Extraordinary", "off-kilter and knock-your-socks-off", "a bonkers surrealist streak", "transparency was a key theme", "Gimmicky? You bet. But also fascinating", "gawky and awkward", "provocative", "sublime performance was about sex", "couldn't look away" — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

"a pseudo-Surrealist stab at fashion", "too-big shoes, raw seams, ugly juxtapositions of table-cloth plastic and metallic lace in virulent hues", "unfinished, underwear-exposing", "the height of designer-label luxury", "failed to impress" — Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph

"not his strongest, but still, it was great", "a succession of mad hair, mad shoes, kooky glasses and zany clothes", "all wasted, batty church secretary in 1953", "rejoices...in the weird and wonderful moments that make dressing unique" — Amy Larocca, NY Mag

"fairy-tale farce", "inventive layerings", "brilliantly fantastical", "will dazzle all as brightly in their retail incarnations", "haute florals and adorable animalia", "hussy sheers", "a delightfully costumed experimental sexcapade". — WWD

Earlier: Marc Jacobs Channels 'Grey Gardens'? We Beg To Differ
WaPo Fashion Critic Robin Givhan's Dog Molests Shoes; Marc Jacobs Is To Blame

It's shocking, we know, but some people take Fashion Week really, really seriously. Designers shudder and quake in anticipation as the world's top "fashion journalists" pull out their best and most pretentious purple prose reviewing the Spring/Summer 2008 collections. In our next primer on what the major critics have to say about the shows at New York Fashion Week, we've got Narciso Rodriguez, Diane Von Furstenberg, 3.1 Philip Lim, Chris Benz, Jill Stuart, and Oscar De La Renta. First up, starlet favorite Narciso Rodriguez, whose design is seen at left.

"ultra specific point of view", precision seaming and architectural construction", "rigorous silhouettes", "a bit of Japonisme", "a natty new masculinity". — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

"nothing short of dazzling", "spectacular", "as structured and precise as ever", "curved architectural seams", "exacting cuts", "clean unfussy shapes". — WWD

"breezy and feminine", "downright funky", "careful proportion", "lingerie feel", "architectural suits". — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

3.1 Philip Lim
"a bit escapist", "Amelia Earhart was on his mind", "obvious statements about the improvisational nature of dressing on the go", "the message wasn't as coherant", "awkward staging". — Meenal Mistry, Style.com

"a top up-and-comer", "day to night", "affordable prices", " touch of embellishment to almost everything", "decorated", "dupioni fringe". — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

Diane Von Furstenberg
"uncomplicated love", "quality of the tropical prints not up to her level", "not distinctive enough in the fashion jungle", "colors evocative of Play-Doh". — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"pleasure in mind", "vacation wardrobe", "explosion of color and pattern", "raucous prints", "may as well be the center of attention". — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

"provocative and pretty", "great expansive vision of orchids and frangipani", "shapes were cut loose and bold", "appropriate energy and bravura". — Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"safari-inspired looks dominated", "particularly fresh""loose, airy dresses", "tropical floral prints". — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

"African prints, embellished with beads", "'Bali Hai'-style, voluminous silk", "bold prints as bright as molton lava". — Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph

Chris Benz
"the muse was a restless 30's starlet", "tuxedo shirts were recast in chiffon", "floppy ease", "a talent to watch". — Meenal Mistry, Style.com

"no one-hit wonder", "plays colors off of each other", "swinging from pretty, ladylike party dresses", "louche pants-and-cardigan combos". — WWD

Jill Stuart
"devilish ideas about angels gone awry", "bad girl wear", "sophisticated silhouettes", translucent organza", "Fun? Yes. Wearable? Not particularly" — Meenal Mistry, Style.com

"overtly fluttery, frippery-filled motif", "diaphanous organza and satin puffs", "bubbled proportions", "tough sell", "delicately ethereal", "some just looked mess". — WWD

Oscar De La Renta
"classic", "stunningly embroidered", "ethnic geometric prints", "of-the-moment tie-dye", "a study in elegance", "understated", "sublime". — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

"chic and authoritative", "a veritable hit parade of dresses", "fully adorned", "feathered embroideries", "strong solids", "some might lobby for a tighter edit,", "endless options for endless occasions". — WWD

Vera Wang
"painterly colors", "patterns like cloud prints on satin", "inspired by togas", "deep insets of organza", "heavy for a spring collection", "use[d] indecisiveness to an advantage." — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"...most intellectual of American designers", "finely wrought", "elegant, asymmetrical", "limpid...soft, washed crepe de chine", "vibrant colors", "romantic best". — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

"Another sojourn to the land of artsy chic", "scaling back obvious intricacy", "air of wistful mystery", "deft and beautiful balancing act", "nonchalant elegance", "each one a graceful knockout", "carefully placed bullion embroideries", "stellar". — WWD

"owns the artsy look", "didn't neatly fit into any emerging trends", "a silhouette that is loose but not unwieldy". — Samatha Critchell, Washington Post

Proenza Schouler
"rough, homespun looking fabrics", "military interpretation", "Balenciaga in the proportions","nags me". — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"decidedly body conscious", "all about the waist and the legs", "a vaguely military air", "tribal feel", "less posh and more street", "explore[d] the idea of contrasts", "as luxe as it gets". — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

"chic military-majorette motif", "big-buttoned structure", "almost-frothy, very leggy", "sophisticated cheekiness", "folkloric tweeds", "retained a hint of the street", "the collection felt wanting". — WWD

"palette of natural neutrals", "menswear details", "shorter length silhouette", "well-edited", "slight military edge". — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

"took to the fashion frontline in military mode", "crisp, rigorously tailored", "scissored to the body with strategic precision", "a female warrior-fantasy element", "global melange", "Ikat-like embroideries", "superb", "attention to detail was meticulous". — Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph

Catherine Malandrino
"craft touches", "beading in hefty grape clusters", "massive blouson sleeves, voluminous palazzo pants, and linebacker shoulder ruffles", "all got a bit much, actually". — Meenal Mistry, Style.com

"highly sophisticated and oh-so-French", "for grown-up ladies", "wonderful stacked heels", "a few overwrought pieces", "on a whole très chic". — WWD

"works that fine line between the intriguing and the wearable", "subtlety is in the fabric", "organza whipped like egg whites into soft shapes", "joyful combinations of pattern and color", "glow of geranium" "tracery of jasmine", "romantic feel of summer in a sophisticated way". — Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"garden's variety of looks", "evoke peacefulness", "mastery of handicraft", "showed her sense of humor", "crossed the line into too avant garde". — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

Preen
"grow[n] in sophistication and surprise", "fresh interpretation", "sexy looseness", "crinkled drawstring jumpsuits", "[the models had no] upstaging the coolness of the look". — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"Versace territory", "graphic body-con sillouettes", "slouchy", "sensual", "Saint Tropez palatte", "active-sport touches", "best is a mash-up of classics". — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Style.com

"sexy tough-chic", "worked on layers", "skin tight, body-conscious", "taut, see-through lace bodices", "tight as a bandage". — Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph

Cynthia Rowley
"conjuring a sporty but stylish tomboy', "mined this vein of sportif chic effectively", "clutter[ed]", "misplaced scarves and belts confused the message". — Joanna Rodger, Style.com

"living la vie sportive — '70s style", "a refreshing take", "slouchily cool", "in the vein of a latter-day Annie Hall", "done without those overly fringed dresses", "made one want to take a pair of scissors to them". — WWD

Rebecca Taylor
"up to her usual tricks","feminine, delicate stuff", "teetered into too-cutesy territory", "balanced things out with a tomboyish motif", "prim", "glitzy", "slouchy, structured or military inspired", "color choices were refreshing". — WWD

"sophisticated, muter color palate", "ageless looks", "a bit dressy", "abstract peony design...a common thread". — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

Baby Phat
"minus the never-to-be-seen-in-stores fantasy wear", "commercial doesn't mean boring", "gobstopper-sized crystals", "leave little to the imagination", "flashy, at times even trashy" [Say what? - Ed] — WWD

"sophisticated", "asymmetrical", "a lot of draping", "flashy, sexy, and urban", "hints of preppiness", "[crowd was] happiest seeing some skin". — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

L.A.M.B.
"Produced a vacuum. Weren't platform shoes with knee socks last season? The clothes — the too-tight miniskirts, the checkered dresses, the coy black ties — were astonishingly bad, straight out of a mall in Ditzville!" — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"More sincere than most with it's sharp mod looks... Stefani has a passion for fashion that gives a freshness and sincerity to the clothes!" - Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"Sort of a '50s, sexy, preppy punk mish-mash that had a clear point of view. Go figure!" - Robin Givhan, Washington Post

"Her debut...was nothing short of cacophonous... the collection, which looked like the sixties as seen by someone who grew up in the eighties, was altogether more wearable and on trend!" — Nicole Phelps, Style.com [Ugh. "On trend"? How 'Lucky' magazine. -Ed.]

"Highly stylized... A handful of the outfits were costumey...Stefani might be able to pull this off onstage, but the average woman would have trouble wearing it, no matter how cute it looked on the runway!" - Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

"Replete with looks that easily could be plucked from her wardrobe trailer...a master of glam-rockabilly, not to mention leopard prints mixed with adorable basics!" — WWD

Marchesa
"[Their] recognizably English scorn of high fashion that is registered in something as subtle as the droop of a ribbon sash or the nearly chestless front of a pale embroidered slip...Theirs is a delicate balance between getting noticed and pretending not to care, and it can be spoiled by something as common as a crystal-beaded bodice!" — Cathy Horyn, NY Times

"Vignettes of elaborate eveningwear...a magenta strapless gown that mimicked an unfurling flower, with uneven petals of fabric...Many of the colors in the collection also seemed rooted in the spices of the region, including lemongrass and saffron...went for drama!" — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

"The assured collection showed the duo moving away from the red-carpet territory in which they made their reputation....less literal were a pair of strapless styles, one short and one blossoming in tiers to the floor, with heavy gold beading...Marchesa's profile keeps rising. Happily, so do the duo's ability and ambition!" — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

BCBG
"A subtle dusty palette with only the occasional pop of a blush pink...next season's shape — at least for BCBG — is a loose sheath, one that glides over an hourglass shape without sticking to it!" — Samantha Critchell, Washington Post

"Out went the slightly witchy trappings of Fall, and in swept yard upon yard of airy organza, sheer tulle, and liquid jersey. The Azrias played with a familiar feminine dichotomy: the lady and the tramp...the two extremes were a bit jarring...the show's grander themes of 'luminosity' and 'layers of transparency' at times got the best of them!" — Meenal Mistry, Style.com

Badgley Mischka
"Loose swinging hair, scarlet lips and a sexy attitude failed to convince that this brand will spread and flourish until it celebrates a distant birthday!" — Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"...Fluid suitings and jumpsuits in washed shantung and the maxidresses...these inspirations made for an unusual and sometimes jarring combination. Badgley and Mischka would do better for themselves to refine their message next time!" — Nicole Phelps, Style.com

Carlos Miele
"Signature circle motifs, embroidered by peasants in the slums known as favelas, were used in imaginative ways on superlight fabrics...deftly done...Miele has learned to mix North and South America into the best of both worlds!" — Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"Balance was the name of the game...Dresses...were unembellished. Grand gowns were quieted by a pale, pearly hue...there were a few moments of overexuberance...!"— Meenal Mistry, Style.com

"His sultry coral and turquoise gowns with intricate rosettes seemed overdone, but Carlos Miele's more subtle day looks in muted champagne lace hit the right note!" — WWD

More images from Chanel Cruise 2008, after the jump.