the it lists – fashion & trend blog

Shift dresses are the cousin to the LBD, as far as most women are concerned.  Whenever you aren’t quite sure what to wear to the office, an event, or any night out – you know you can pull out your shift dress and still look pulled together and chic.

Don’t worry,  I’m not going to tell you shift dresses are out – quite the opposite!  Back with a vengeance and have a new playful spin on them.  Prints! The printed shift is being seen all over the place and is making quite the statement.  Look for ones in fall’s must-have prints: houndstooth, checkered, herringbone and don’t forget exotic animal prints like peacock, cheetah and zebra.

Some of the best shift dresses this season are from Elie Tahari who always uses the most divine fabrics and color palettes and manages to keep the fit simple and sexy every time.

Printed shifts are busy enough, keep the rest of your outfit simple & stick with solid color shoes, belts and accessories.  Skip the necklace – double up on bangles and rings.  It’s “the” dress you reach for this fall.

1. Capes /Capelets (or a cropped military jacket with bell sleeves)

2. Stacked Heel Shoes

3. Fab Kneelength Flat Boots

4. Animal Prints

5. Multibuckle Belts

6. Layers of knits

7. Red Splashes

8. Cropped trouser (& a pair of slouchy trousers) – with a crisp white shirt

9. Pencil skirt – with a crisp white shirt

10. Jet Jewels & Luxe Gold ala Tiffany’s Frank Gehry (Guggenhiem Architect!)

Dresses: It’s the season of the dress. A sweater dress is the best choice (and you can warm up with leggings underneath. Legging rules – cover your bum!).

Gold: Gold hardware, around your neck (layers of chains), shoe details, and fabric. It’s a rare woman who can mix silver and gold -so be safe and retire the silver for a little while.

Boots: Knee-high or little booties – just keep in mind the heel is flat or chunky (no stiletto). Cuffs & buckles galore.

Skinny Pants: With so much layering volume on top, you want your bottoms slim. The only skinny I’ve ‘really’ liked is the velvet skinny.

Menswear-inspired Trousers: If skinny and leggings don’t do it for you -your answer is plaids and pinstripes in wide-leg or long Bermuda short-style.

Sweaters: Since skinny is the look below – the counterbalance is big up top. Oversized flowing knits.

Red accents: Red is the No. 1 accent color for the season, says Gregg Andrews, a fashion director at Nordstrom. Buy a red coat, or a red handbag. Wear red lips.

Black accents: Coordinate jet onyx beads and crystals with just the right sparkle to subtly stand out on black.

What are you are coveting for Fall? Or what  are you already living in for Fall? Post your answer on your blog and send me a link to it in the comments of this post by September 25. Your links and summaries will be posted here on The it Lists for the October update.