NYFW Round-Up #7

NYFW is coming to a close, lady.  It's been a fun, stressful, and beautiful week.  Here are some last looks from the Big Apple before it all heads over to Londontown.

Ralph Lauren, Jeremy Laing: Ralph Lauren went out to the wild, wild west once again, and lots of beautiful but standard prairie-inspired looks ensued.  This look, however, really caught my eye.  Pairing a flannel and a sequined pencil skirt sounds ridiculous, but in this limited color palette it actually makes sense.  The belt adds a bit more Western flair and accentuates the waist nicely.  I really love this.  You could transition it from day to night very easily.  Jeremy Laing had another practical take on sheer (like Proenza Schouler yesterday).  The tube top and high-waisted mini show too much skin on their own, but when you layer that purple, Grecian dress on top it all suddenly becames very chic, and not too sexy.

Oscar de la Renta: This man never disappoints with the ball gowns.  Don't get me wrong, I love the rest of his stuff, but if his show was just the ball gowns, I would be a happy camper.  Here we've got two extremes in the ball gown category, dark and dramatic, and quirky and girly.  This first dress is very over the top, almost evil Disney movie villain, but in such a gorgeous way.  Coco Rocha looks fab in it, no?  The asymmetrical neckline keeps the voluminous skirt from overwhelming the whole look, and the touches of white peeking out in the towards the hem keep the overall look from being too heavy.  The second gown reminds me so much of Alice and Wonderland, which the stylized red roses and the stiff swoop of the hem.  It's very refined and elegant, but there's a slightly cartoonish edge to it that makes it feel young and fun.

J. Mendel: J. Mendel's inspiration this season was apparently ballerinas.  I like that I can see that inspiration, in the fluid, lean lines of the clothes, but it doesn't scream SWAN LAKE at the top of its lungs.  The white dress is very summery and flirty, almost a bit like a tennis dress.  The sheer, asymmetrical pleating adds a modern Grecian twist, and the pop of red from those adorable Louboutins keeps it all lively.  The grey dress is so subtly sexy.  Long-sleeved minis are definitely still on-trend, and the cool neutral hue of this one works so well with the intricate, fluid pleating and draping on the dress.  What I really love is that both of these are so sexy in such different ways.  Sigh.  So purdy.

Naaem Khan: Naaem Khan consistently delivers eccentric, lady-like glam.  Just take these two looks for example.  The yellow gown has a very simple, flattering cut, but the black, faux lace print looks so organic and almost savage against the pale yellow, like an overgrown garden.  This second look reminds me a bit of Tory Burch, with the blown-up ikat top and the a-line skirt.  It's a fun, modern take on preppy, and the styling there is impeccable.  I don't understand the hair, though.  It's like a beehive got trapped in a wind tunnel.

Images from style.com.