Winter white from Kenneth Cole Reaction.

No white after Labor Day?  Please.  One of my favorite trends of recent years is the white or cream-colored winter coat.  Living in an urban area where I go everywhere on foot, they’re 100% impractical.  Which is probably why I love them so much.  There are few things as gorgeous on an awful winter day as a woman chicly bundled in a winter-white coat, defying the elements and the gray street slush.  Sure, they require a little extra effort to keep clean, but they’re that little bit of luxury and cheer in the most depressing of seasons.

I, um, already own one (a long Soia & Kyo coat from a couple of years ago), but that has not kept me from desperately lusting after this great number from Royal Underground.  (The chevron detailing on the sleeves?  Shoot me now.)  After the jump, the results of my vicarious romp through the online stores in search of this season’s best.

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Nothing like a bright tartan print to perk up your winter!

We, um, won’t count the number of winter jackets I own.  But suffice it to say that after filling wardrobe holes over the course of the last several years, I don’t have a reason to buy winter coats this year.  This has of course not kept me from shopping for them.  What I don’t have, aside from an excuse to buy more coats, is a coat in one of this season’s great plaids.  Admittedly, there are a lot of ways that plaid can go bad.  But some of these coats are gorgeous, rich, and interesting — just the little something different your winter wardrobe needs.  After the jump, some of the best of this season’s offerings.

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Brace yourself, ladies, it’s here! In a celebration of fashion presumably intended to give the flagging industry a boost in the current economy, Vogue and CDFA are sponsoring a full out fashion extravaganza tonight featuring events at hundred of stores throughout the city. Frankly, there are so many stores participating here and across the country that you hardly need a guide – just wander into your favorite fashionable boutique or department store starting around 7 and there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself with a glass of champagne or shaking hands with a designer. I’ve personally gotten invites to events at Mackage (free one-on-one style consultations with Philip Bloch and in-store blow-outs), eryn brinié (performance by singer Kate Earl), Trina Turk (champagne, plus the designer herself at the LA boutique), Theory (a special installation of their FW 09 looks plus cocktails from Belvedere vodka), plus half a dozen department stores, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!  Even if you’re not really looking to shop, it’d be a shame to miss what promises to be a heck of an event.  If you’re looking for more guidance, here’s the official website, and the NYT’s article of yesterday.

Can’t wait!  Hope you all have the chance to get out and enjoy it tonight!

Whoo!  Welcome to September, everyone.  I’m sure we have more of the dog days of summer ahead, but for today, the cool breezes coming in through my window feel fantastic, and have me all ready to break out my cutest fall jackets.

Thankfully, it being September, the fashion gods are all conspiring to indulge my mental shift in seasons to the fullest.  In an act of perfect timing,  the folks at Mackage have opened a pop up store in the Meatpacking District to showcase their gorgeous jackets and coats for the next month.  Located at 829 Washington Street (between Little West 12th and Gansevoort), this, their first ever free-standing retail location, is a prequel to their first permanent store, scheduled to open in Paris in November.  Luckily for New Yorkers, although the temporary store will be gone at the end of September, there’s still hope for a permanent Manhattan location down the line.  In WWD, Mackage designer Elisa Dahan said “This is definitely an area we have been interested in for a while.  New York for me is the number one place where I would like to have a retail location.  We really wanted to give it a try.  We love the Meatpacking District.  Now that the High Line is open, the Meatpacking District is back on the map and we definitely wanted to be a part of it.”

So seize the day and stop by the store to check out Mackage’s fall line.  What could be more stylish for an autumn stroll along the High Line?  The store will be open through the end of September and then will be disappearing, so don’t miss it!

Dear God, a corset-belted trench from Mackage? Someone tell me again why I don't need new coats? Please?

So, what I said last week about not needing new spring coats?  That’s still true.  I don’t need anything in that line.  Not really.  I am nonetheless confident that none of you are going to be surprised to hear that this did not stop me from continuing to scour the stores, online and physical, to find all the best of this season’s offerings.  Last week I was jacket-focused.  Now that New York’s real spring weather (see e.g., rain) has started to show up, however, I’m starting to hear the call of the ultimate spring classic: the trench coat.  A great trench coat is the ultimate way to pull together a spring look while remaining prepared for the vicissitudes of the weather, which can change from minute to minute in the cruel months of March and April.  Had I mentioned it’s snowing as I write this?

Lily and I went to the Soho Bloomingdale’s, where I tried on every trench in sight and Lily styled me, and, well, afterward I continued my addictive web surfing for online fashion to find all the most difficult to resist coats to torment myself with.  My haul follows after the jump.

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