Shopping the Real Clothing Trends for Fall 2008

Shopping for fall clothes while it is still 80 plus degrees outside can sometimes be a real buzz killer unless you are headed out the door with an overjoyed Fashionista like my daughter. She gives shopping its own life that is expertly orchestrated in a symphonic fashion by her.

I am only allowed to follow.

Last Saturday began early for me as I was applying my new fall cosmetics in preparation for a day of shopping for my new fall Clothes. I created a vision in my head of the garments that would be returning home with me and rewarded with earning a supreme prime location in my closet. Oh! the excitement that is stirring in me when all of a sudden my daughter tells me that she needs a White Dress for her Sorority Initiation Ceremony. Are you kidding? White Dress? Fall? is my only response as I realize that this day will not live out my selfish vision. Oh well, it will come another day as it doesn’t matter that much when I can spend the time with my daughter. We will shop the sale racks for the little white dress as well as check out the hottest fall clothing trends for my Fashionista daughter Alexis, the college freshman.

FUN! FUN! FUN! Would be all I have to say when I shop with my over enthused new clothes junkie, shoe addict, never enough purses, “I proclaim my own style” daughter. Yes! It’s true that the apple does not fall far from the tree when it comes to this one.

She always has a budget which has made her an extremely Savvy shopper. We will first head to the finest department stores that St. Louis has to offer to include Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom’s. Alexis will scout out, touch and sometimes try on the clothes of her dreams and then focus on duplicating those looks at stores that offer quality as well as volume suitable to her personal budget. These stores this season will also include TJ Maxx, Marshalls, DSW and Target and if she has extra money then she will head to Macy’s and Express.

Sometimes she will splurge and this season it happened to be in Nordstrom’s shoe department. She found a trendy, hot, sexy (her word) pair of flat, knee high black boots that she knew could be teamed with straight leg jeans, short skirts, bohemian long skirts and that very short dress with some fabulous colorful tights. She had me convinced that they probably would go anywhere and quite possibly should be in the “Must Have” category,

DSW happens to be her next stop as she laughs and says that she looks best in shoes so we should continue on the roll. Normally, I would not recommend shopping for shoes before clothes but Alexis enjoys nice shoes and will gladly work around them. She purchases a beautiful black suede pump complete with a stiletto heel in a gold patina metal as well as a Multi toned pump in brown, deep green and black with a slight platform and a few rivets yet still sophisticated. On to Marshall’s where she finds an absolutely gorgeous shoe that is a four inch grey suede bootie with a criss-cross strap detail. This year many of the shoes will actually make the outfit because many have intricate detail which creates the “WOW” factor. Don’t underestimate the coolness of Target for many of the hottest trends. While we were at Target, she chose a modified multi gray & black toned hound’s-tooth pencil skirt. We then whisk off to shoe department where she found a pair of Patent Oxford deep Red pumps with a great detail and a buckle. At this point, she wants to look for plastic headbands and chooses several with some detailed with gems, stones or chains in multiple widths to accessorize her new trendy fall clothing purchases.

Have you been to a TJ Maxx that has the designer department? Ed Hardy happens to be a very strong staple trend on college campuses and you will find T-shirts, hats, jackets and even scarves available in the designer department. Trench coat jackets are abundant and a must have to complete even the simplest pair of jeans. She chose a fitted trench coat in a deep metallic brown with a buttoned belt. Dresses were on her mind as she bolts to the dress rack only to find multiple dresses by her favorite designer Max Azria that label under BCBG, Max, Max Studio. Alexis struts out of the dressing room with five fabulous short trendy dresses in all the right colors to compliment her new shoes. At that point, she decides that she needs (what a word) a short black swing jacket to be worn as a wrap for one of the dresses as well as teaming it with skirts and jeans that she already owns. The Trench Coat and the Black Swing jacket will be a considered staples and extreme versatile additions to her wardrobe.

Time to head to Macy’s as she feels the need to splurge once again on a loud pair of animal print tights that she considers an accessory. She wanted many other pairs although recognized that she would be able to purchase them at a much better price at Target. I just love it when she uses her head. On to Express where she buys a Black Sweater Coat with an elbow length sleeve and a sleek little patent belt. I look forward to purchasing that coat for myself this week-end.

I finally ask her what she plans on wearing to class?? My sweet daughter replies that when she wants to look cute she will wear jeans teamed with T-shirts but that her usual daily campus class wardrobe will be a hoodie with sweatpants or pj pants.

Okay, so you have probably figured out that I really never shopped for myself that day. I got to spend time with my daughter, have lunch and learn a lesson on how to configure that quite youthful look into my own wardrobe. In the end, I had to remind her that we were shopping for that perfect little White Dress for her big day that turned up a Macy’s all alone on the sale rack at the rock bottom basement price of twenty one dollars.

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