Welcome to fashion week, easy dichotomy edition. Let me lay this on you: You're probably either a scarf person or you're not. DKNY's spring collection is definitely for that first category of woman.
Which is just great if, like me and the Conchords, you happen to dig any aesthetic element heavily informed by air hostesses in the 60s.
Work-appropriate sportswear and separates, nicely produced in realistic colors and cuts is DKNY's bailiwick. And that for the most part is exactly what Donna Karan delivered yesterday: neat suits, blouses, and dresses in an organized progression of khaki, red, camel, navy, black, and sky blue.
There was one very nicely tailored blazer, for example, that was part black and part navy. Is not wearing those together even still a "rule" anymore, or has it gone the way of not wearing silver and gold together? Regardless, it was a cool touch.
Also cool were the khaki trench dress and the blazers with one ruffled lapel.
The shoes, it should be noted, seemed to pose a significant challenge to many of the models. The heels seemed loose in their sockets — they were bowing and shifting underneath the weight of each footfall, which meant that most of these girls were essentially walking on their tip-toes.
An accessory that performed more admirably was the scarf. Nearly every single outfit was matched with a long silk scarf, worn folded around the neck and tied in back so that the tails hung down like a long, swishy ponytail.
There was also a lovely set of scarf-inspired dresses and blouses. The scarf print was gorgeous, and mixed in with the more structured pieces, I thought these looks were a nice nod to the spring season.
These dresses make me anticipate that warm, sunny day in late March, when you first go outside without tights on and all you want to wear is some colorful little slip of a thing.
And if you have that moment, you basically have spring.