Fall Fashion Snack Before the Feast

Have you ever made a meal of tasty hors d'oeuvres and felt satisfied? That's me after devouring InStyle's Your Look special issue for Fall 2014. Arriving, as it did, before the thud of September issues hits the doorstep ("Whoa, watch out for the right foot"), the 120 pages were a tasty treat and easy to digest.

InStyle is not just giving us this preview out of the goodness of their hearts. The issue isn't an "advertorial"— advertising content given in a journalistic style to mimic editorial content. It's more a sponsored "one-shot"— a one-off issue brought to you by Unilever and its fine family of beauty products. OK by me. I'm a fan of Dove and Nexxus anyways.

What the editors of InStyle have done is got me excited about Fall, a hard thing to do in the middle of a Texas summer. There are 30 Ways to Update Your Look, including go for the color claret (now being called Sangria) (nothing says Fall like a burgudy lip), wear one earring (haven't done that on purpose yet), wear socks with winter sandals (nevah), belt your scarf (interesting).

And here are the trends:
> Turtlenecks
> Winter pastels
> Neutral plaids
> Wrap coats
> Wide-leg pants
> Midi skirts
> Shearling jackets
> Jewel-toned leather
> Embellishment
> Sheer
> Prints of animals (as opposed to animal prints)
> Quilting

Sparkle plenty

I'm glad I don't have to throw out everything I own and can even bring back some that have been lingering in the back of the closet.

There are to-die-fors, like a pink funnel-neck scarf coat by Thakoon for $2,990 and a few pages of lovely lingerie. There's beauty info of course and a nice interview with Diane Kruger, more beauty, then a feature on looking good on the street (the better to attract The Sartorialist or Bill Cunningham).

Diane Kruger channeling Faye Dunaway

There are four pages of interesting color combinations:
> Red + sand + chocolate
> Cobalt + maroon + navy
> Olive + gray + navy
> Cognac + mauve + grape (that last particularly luscious)

We've got shoes, some dress formulas by type, delicate jewelry and how to look slouchy not sloppy. As befitting anything Fashion, the end page pokes fun at Pharrell Williams' hat and Anya Hindemach's cereal-box clutches.

You know that's not all. When the September issues are opened there will be more trends and more after that. But thank you, InStyle, for the delicious Whitman's Sampler.