Clothes For Women

　　We still talk about the middle-aged woman who wore super-short leather miniskirts with stilettos to work in the newsroom.

　　She’s not here anymore, but we do have a woman who wears her tops so short, you get a shot of her belly (toned, thank goodness!) if she raises her arms. And there are men and women who have struggled with jeans that are a little too low-slung.

　　Our company, like many others, has a pretty relaxed dress code – the newsroom is especially casual. But occasionally, an employee takes it too far.

　　”Dress codes are just as much a part of the workplace now as they ever have been,” says Heather B. Brock, an employment attorney with Fowler White Boggs, P.A., who counsels companies on dress code issues. “A dress code is part of the code of conduct of an employer in most situations.”

　　Carmen Alverio, Human Resources generalist for the Florida Communications Group, advises employees to dress appropriately for what they have coming up that day.

　　”If you’re meeting with clients, you may want to wear a jacket,” she says. “But if you’re going to spend the day at your desk, business casual is fine. It’s up to each department. Some departments are stricter than others.”

　　But even the best corporate rule-followers can be confused by what’s allowed on “casual Fridays,” Brock says.

　　Relaxed “Fridaywear” became widespread in the 1990s, especially among dot-commers who enthusiastically adopted rumpled khaki shorts, T-shirts and sandals while working in their Silicon Valley offices.

　　What started out as “OK, you don’t have to wear a tie,” quickly became, “Uh, dude, the flip-flops are pushing it.”

　　Not every company went quite so far so fast. The Walt Disney Co. recently relaxed its dated dress code by allowing women to be bare-legged (bye-bye, pantyhose!) and wear sleeveless tops and open-toe shoes (as opposed to plain pumps). Men can now wear casual, untucked shirts.

　　Of course, what is considered “acceptable” office attire any time can depend on your line of work. Shorts and T-shirts may be OK in really creative jobs, such as the arts, or if you spend a lot of time outside in the summer. But suits and ties are still the norm in banking and financial services, Brock says.

　　And even in the most casual environments, employees should use common sense.

　　Necklines and hemlines should be appropriate for the workplace, not a nightclub. Wearing clothing that reveals your bra (or lack of), panty lines or boxers is a bad idea. Ditto for distressed jeans, skinny jeans, sheer clothing and spaghetti straps.

　　As for the pantyhose debate, going without them is usually acceptable, but Brock says they are still “good form” in more conservative lines of work, such as at a law firm or a bank.

　　”But even in those fields I see more and more pantsuits, and less stockings in the summer months,” she adds.

　　Flip-flops remain one of the biggest office no-nos.

　　”They have no place in an office environment,” Brock says. “They make a noise, they’re distracting, and they also sometimes can lead to something that might seem quite silly … but you’re exposing your feet, which in these hot summer months can lead to some not so great odors.”

　　Bottom line: “Dress as if you’re coming to work,” Brock advises. “That’s why they call it work; it’s harder than when you’re having fun.”

　　Brock offers these tips for staying classy and cool on the clock.

　　Do this:

　　Read the company dress code before you start work and follow it. (Look at yourself in a full-length mirror before you leave for the office. You might not be pulling off that look as well as you think.)

　　Dress for the job to which you aspire.

　　Pay attention to how your boss dresses.

　　Wear clothes in good condition that are clean and pressed.

　　Express your individual style for after-hours, non-work events and weekends.

　　If jeans are OK at your office, wear a pair with a higher-waist, more conservative fit and darker denim than you might choose for home.

　　Choose your work attire in a summer weight fabric instead of trying to stay cool with sheer clothing or by wearing less.

　　Not this:

　　Don’t wear clothing that could offend a co-worker or customer.

　　Casual doesn’t equal sloppy – be comfortable, but sophisticated.

　　Don’t use casual Friday as an excuse to expose body parts or undergarments.

　　Avoid wearing low-rise or skinny jeans to the office unless you’re very young or in a very creative environment.

　　Don’t wear leather to the office unless it’s shoes, a belt or a bag.

　　Don’t wear tank tops to the office. (This applies to men and women.)

　　New York Fashion Week, the first blitz of highly publicized runway shows featuring looks for spring 2011, is seven days away.

　　But last month at MAGIC, an industry trade event, the forecast was clear: simple, clean-cut, almost back-to-basic classic clothes sans flashy trims and decorations. The trend has already surfaced in designer goods for this fall.

　　It’s clothing for troubled economic times — updated country-club-preppy classics that incorporate straightforward two-color stripes, gingham checks, the softest of pastels and the most popular print, pretty tiny florals.

　　Unlike the twice-yearly fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris, the Vegas confab brings more than 1,400 clothing manufacturers to vast convention halls attached to casinos and hotels along the glitzy strip. They sell men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear and accessories to thousands of buyers from specialty boutiques and department-store chains, including Dillard’s, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s and Macy’s.

　　It’s a virtual fashion incubator, fusing diverse trends. Among the most important trends at the recent show was the move to a less-is-more aesthetic.

　　”The No. 1 request we get from buyers is, ‘Help me find what’s new and fresh,’ ” says Chris DeMoulin, president of MAGIC, an outdated acronym that once stood for Men’s Apparel Guild in California, where the trade fair started in 1948. Held in Las Vegas since 1989, the show features a vast array of venues with more than a dozen exhibitions including shows for street wear, premium denim, skate and surf, off-price and kids’ clothing.

　　Lately, the coolest trends for women and men have been dark and dangerous – skulls everywhere, tortured denim and endless black. But next spring, we’ll start to see the light.

　　Even denim dressing is getting a makeover – or more correctly, a make-under: Blue jeans are losing their jewels, studs and sequins. And they’re not torn or slashed.

　　The trendiest new T-shirts are plain, void of screen-printing treatments such as foil and burn-outs, crystals and ominous graphics.

　　The most savvy fashion professionals see the start of a seismic change, says Jaclyne Brander, owner of Fred Segal Fun in Los Angeles, the epicenter of SoCal-cool for 25 years.

　　Brander was especially drawn to the specialized trade fair called Project, where cutting-edge style is sharp and sophisticated. Here, cool-looking people were selling to equally cool types who buy for upscale trendy stores. They were eliminating sequins, embroidery, snaps, zippers, cargo pockets, ruffles, flounces, poufs, jewels and maybe even tattoos.

　　Over-the-top extravagance now seems relevant only to Housewives of New Jersey types. Fashion is trending more conservative partly because conspicuous consumption has slowed; now more consumers want basics with a long closet life in lieu of quick-turnaround, disposable fast fashion.

　　Molly Lucas, a sales manager who promotes Los Angeles-based designers, has also noticed the shift. She predicts overdone garments will soon be considered “fashion extravagances.”

　　”It used to be that women were covered in trends,” Lucas says. “Now it’s about simplicity and wanting to wear your clothes for more than one season.”

　　Brander calls it timeless and trendless. “It’s just the opposite of disposable clothing,” she says.

　　Charlie Browne, co-designer of the emerging label Man vs. Machine, promoted his updated and minimalist preppy looks.

　　”There is nothing grungy and dirty anymore,” he said.

　　Browne modeled an asymmetric zippered vest and skinny tie over slim Bermuda shorts, a collection he called “futuristic prep.”

　　It was a Mr. Clean look, and it drew crowds.

　　For a city known for its Renaissance paintings that feature plenty of women wearing little clothing in a continent that seems to wonder why many Americans fear nudity, it may come as a shock to many that Venice, Italy has banned the above Bulgari ad, starring actress Julianne Moore from its scheduled billboard duties.

　　“An advertisement showing a nude woman on a divan is not appropriate for St Mark’s Square,” Mayor Giorgio Orsoni said.

　　While Moore may not have clothes on, the smiling, playful lion cubs seem to diffuse the expected sexual charge of the photo. That, of course, wasn’t enough for the folks who oversee what is posted around their city…

　　“I take account of the fact that Venice is part of the real word…but we cannot accept these Hollywood-style images. There are intelligent sponsors, and we need to come up with advertising that suits Venice, not Times Square,” President of the Venice Foundation added.

　　Bulgari will post an ad of a fully-clothed Moore modeling the jewels instead.

　　The winner of the best show Emmy for the third year running has both the US and Britain hooked. Veronica Lee explains her addiction to the Mad Men.

　　So, Mad Men, the US drama set in the golden age of advertising, won the outstanding drama series prize for the third successive year at the Emmys, America’s prestigious television awards, at a star-studded ceremony in LA on Sunday night. This makes it one of the most successful dramas of all time (The Sopranos only won the prize twice).

　　They love it Stateside, but viewers are also passionate about Mad Men here in Britain (it’s also won best international show at the Baftas for the past two years). There must be many who, like me, clear our diaries for the evenings it is shown on BBC Four, yet who weren’t even born during the period in which it is set.

　　What, then, is the great appeal? Mad Men’s focus is narrow: it covers about a year a series. The first series was set in 1960, and series four, which comes to BBC Four next week, kicks off in November 1964. It was set initially at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City, moving to the newly created agency co-founded by Sterling Cooper’s creative director Don Draper (Jon Hamm). Draper is at the heart of Mad Men, and through the prism of his relationships at work and home, we see the rapidly changing world of 1960s America.

　　Leaving aside for one moment the deeper human dramas the series portrays, and the political and social history that Mad Men so skilfully reflects, there is much that is fun and attractive in the show in purely superficial terms. It looks gorgeous and the characters lead lives of an enviable decadence. The men wear slim-cut suits and have neat haircuts, the women wear fashions that show off their figures, and the characters seemingly never stop smoking and drinking – even Don’s wife Betty (January Jones) was knocking back whisky and puffing away when heavily pregnant.

　　Yet the clothes are also there to teach us something: they tell us, vividly, how the world has changed. Men dressed in sharp suits because it was expected of them – soft, comfortable, collars were to be worn only at weekends at the country club – while women, whose dresses (never trousers) showed off their breasts and bottoms to great effect, dressed to be admired by men, for whom giving compliments on a new outfit or hairdo was obligatory.

　　As to the heroic levels of smoking and drinking, they remind us that Mad Men depicts an era before political correctness, the size-zero debate and the constant lecturing we endure about living a healthy lifestyle. In contrast with Mad Men’s live-fast-die-young hedonism, we live in an age where adults have been infantilised to such a degree that grown men and women carry a bottle of water (complete with teat-like spout) with them at all times. Who is to say that Don Draper and co had it entirely wrong?

　　Such subtle social history lessons are symptomatic of Mad Men’s sophistication. The series’ finest selling point is the quality of writing, acting and production, something sadly missing from much of our own TV output. This wasn’t always the case, and older readers will remember some wonderfully good dramas on British TV, whether one-offs or series by luminaries of the craft such as Alan Plater (Fortunes of War), Alan Bleasdale (Boys From the Black Stuff) and Dennis Potter (Pennies From Heaven).

　　Few good British writers today choose to work in television, except perhaps on soaps, and prefer the theatre, which is superior in this country to America’s recent offerings. Where television drama is concerned, however, the Americans beat us hands down. In shows such as The Wire, The Sopranos, ER and Hill Street Blues the quality of the writing is breathtakingly accomplished; and this was recognised in another Emmy won on Sunday, by Mad Men’s creator Matthew Weiner and his writing partner Erin Levy.

　　The subtlety, cleverness and wit of Weiner and Levy’s work is a joy to behold: there’s no lazy exposition for them and accordingly we are able to see the actors’ craft as they are made to work. The scene in series three where Betty Draper realises that her husband has assumed a false identity and is not the Korean War hero she thought him to be is a case in point: alone in his office, she discovers documents that reveal his true identity and the degree to which their life together has been a sham. It’s a masterclass of acting as we see every one of Betty’s emotions – shock, anger, revulsion – flit across January Jones’s face as the scene plays out.

　　The writers also drop “bombs” – hints at events yet to come – that may not reappear until a season or two later, and so reward not just loyal viewers, but pay respect to our intelligence, that we will recognise how Mad Men’s interweaving stories link up. One example is the photograph that we see in a flashback early in series one, of Don (played by Richard Whitman) as a young boy; it reappears to be explained only in the scene described above, two series and dozens of episodes later.

　　Another strength is that Weiner tackles big subjects and momentous events – divorce, illegitimate birth, abortion, homosexuality, the Kennedy assassination and the Korean and Vietnam wars – only to serve the human stories, not the other way around. It is in these individuals’ stories that we see how the 1960s really did change everything.

　　For instance, the liberation of women is shown through the parallel narratives of sex siren Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) and plain-Jane Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss). In the past, Joan has had an affair with her boss, the supremely sexist agency chief Roger Sterling (John Slattery). Joan, as was then the norm, stops working when she married, while Peggy, who also starts as a secretary, later becomes one of the agency’s best copywriters. Joan may believe sex will get her everything, but it’s the unworldly Peggy, who secretly has an illegitimate child adopted by her sister, who achieves success through genuine ability in the work place – if at the cost of motherhood.

　　The impact of Mad Men is not only quantifiable in the awards lavished on it, but also commercially and socially. The show’s highly stylised look has already had an effect on design in America and the UK. Angular, Sixties furniture is now to be seen on sale in Ikea and Habitat, while the curvy clothes Joan and the others wear have reached our high streets – fashions that fit real women’s bodies, not those of stick-thin models.

　　Some of my friends now hold house parties where they dress in Mad Men-inspired clothing – sharp suits for the lads, girly dresses and pearls for the lasses. Only the really keen (or foolish) among them join in the Mad Men drinking game, where they match, shot-for-shot, how much a designated character drinks in one of the episodes.

　　But fun and games aside, ultimately what keeps us interested in any drama is its stories, and Weiner has created such compellingly drawn characters that Don, Betty, Peggy et al would be plausible had they been set in any era. Theirs is a world that, on one level, is far removed from our everyday lives, but one that we recognise in our own relationships and workplaces. We, too, see the same hunger for success, the double-dealing and backstabbing, along with the joy of friendships that last decades, the marriages that work against all the odds and the pleasure to be gained from being good at our job or being a devoted parent.

　　And in telling those stories with a deep humanity, sassy humour and fabulous outfits, the creators of Mad Men have hooked us on a series currently without peer on either British or US screens.

　　Turning up to a job interview in a tight top or with cleavage on display is the quickest way for a woman to blow her chances, according to research.

　　The next biggest dress-code mistake is a black bra underneath a white top.

　　The research also showed that men ruin their prospects most swiftly by turning up in a badly ironed shirt, high-waisted trousers or comedy tie.

　　Dress for success: A survey of 2,000 employers showed that turning up to an interview with too much cleavage on display was likely to go against a person’s chance of getting the job

　　The survey of 2,000 employers, commissioned by high-street clothes store TK Maxx, also found that a third of bosses make a decision in the first 90 seconds of an interview.

　　Experts warn today’s extremely competitive job market means it has never been so important to dress appropriately – with hundreds of people applying for each post.

　　A third of employers make a decision in the first 90 seconds of an interview.

　　And 65 per cent claim clothing could be the deciding factor if two candidates are neck and neck in other areas.

　　The survey of 2,000 employers was commissioned by high street clothes store TK Maxx.

　　Recruitment manager Kieran How, from national recruitment firm Eden Brown, said it was best to “play it safe” at a job interview.

　　He said: ‘I have never known such a competitive job market. In some sectors there are hundreds of people applying for each job.

　　’It is vital you give a good first impression by wearing the right clothes or you may have ruined your chances before you’ve even opened your mouth.

　　’Some bosses may like to see a pretty girl in a tight-fitting top flashing a lot of cleavage but you rarely know who will be interviewing you.

　　’It is advisable to play it safe by wearing well-fitted, ironed clothes in neutral colours.

　　’Men should shave, avoid comedy ties and pay just as much attention to their appearance as women.

　　’Recently I had one man turn up for a job interview wearing a stetson hat and cowboy-style tie because he thought it would be a good idea to stand out.

　　’The client refused to take him seriously and sent him home after ten minutes.

　　’Job interviews are not the place to try fancy dress or to show off your most revealing party clothes.’

　　Job seekers were marked down for wearing bright and trendy colours, with seven out of ten employers saying they do not appreciate people trying to be fashionable.

　　An overwhelming 81 per cent of employers said wearing a suit to interview suggests you are organised and efficient.

　　Helen Gunter of TK Maxx, which is stocking a new range of professional workwear for men and women, said: ‘The jobs market is competitively fierce.

　　’One thing that can give candidates a boost of confidence before they even walk through the door is knowing they are wearing the right outfit.

　　’We are receiving a huge delivery of smartwear for both men and women all at up to 60 per cent of the recommended retail price.

　　’There really is no excuse for fluffing the interview before you’ve even answered the first question.’

　　I’m getting a little frustrated with this season of “PR” for two reasons. One, that extra half hour is clearly being spent on Garnier product placement (yeah, I can buy crappy hair care at Target just fine without getting beaten over the head with a marketing message, Lifetime) and two, the judges are clearly being told which designers are off limits — at least, for the time being.

　　And yes, I know, it’s a reality TV show, you can’t expect talent to be the sole reason for who stays and goes, but I dunno, I used to feel like “PR” was a little above the pack. And now? Well, let’s just say I look forward to seeing some of these designers making T-shirts for Christian Audigier.

　　But let’s get started! So, once everyone concludes bitching about Michael C.’s simple-but-winning dress (c’mon, relax you whiny babies, be happy you didn’t get aufed), it’s time for the next challenge, which features two teams of six ripping each other’s spines out and using the vertebrae as interesting skirt detailing. Oh, wait, they’re going to design something before they actually kill one another.

　　An average of 41.9 million women over the age of 18 watched the Super Bowl last February – more than watched the Academy Awards this year – and 45 million women watch NFL games each weekend, according to Nielsen.

　　With that in mind, the NFL is looking for new ways to keep women engaged, and has launched a new line of women’s clothing meant to be fashionable and sporty, writes The New York Times. Articles of clothing include animal print T-shirts, fleece sweatpants, fitted jerseys, and customizable jeans.

　　A campaign to promote the “Women’s Apparel, Fit for You” line of clothes will break with a TV spot during kick-off weekend (Sept. 9-12). A print campaign, featuring headlines like “Finally. Love your team without looking like you’re on it,” will begin in October and will run in magazines including Shape, InStyle and People.

　　A web component will feature an updated Facebook page and a Twitter presence, as well as a sweeps component: a microsite – soon to be found at www.nfl.com/women – inviting women to post videos of themselves looking stylish in NFL gear and entering to win a trip to the Super Bowl.

　　The NFL is not the only entity creating NFL-branded apparel. Victoria’s Secret has launched a line of clothing including T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and tank tops, branded with NFL team logos, writes the Orlando Sentinel. These are now available at Victoria’s Secret stores in the cities which are home to the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins, and Carolina Panthers.

　　Women are increasingly enjoying football: They make up about 50% of the NFL’s fan base, compared to just 43% four years ago. And women’s apparel has become the league’s fastest-growing business, according to the Huffington Post.

　　ONE morning early this month, Kate Ciepluch, the fashion director of the online retailer Shopbop, assembled members of her buying team in a conference room in the company’s offices on Broadway in SoHo.

　　Everyone in attendance was in her 20s or early 30s; Ms. Ciepluch, blonde and tomboyish and dressed in chinos and a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off, is 28. She was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin in Madison when she started at the company, in its original Bop store, then moved to New York to become a buyer after it went online, in 2000.

　　Back then, the bulk of Shopbop’s business was in 7 For All Mankind jeans and Juicy Couture tracksuits. Today, the site is a leading purveyor of contemporary fashion — and its power baffles people in the industry. “We sell a lot of stuff on Shopbop, and we’re not exactly sure why,” said Leslie Rubisch, the press director at Alexander Wang. Next to its worldly big sister Net-a-Porter, Shopbop feels stubbornly attuned to its core audience, as though the site has been talking to them since college.

　　“They have tremendous credibility with these girls,” Paula Sutter, the president of Diane von Furstenberg, said, referring to Ms. Ciepluch and the buyers. In fact, on many items Shopbop will outsell DVF’s own site by three to one. As a company, Ms. Sutter said, “you’re crazy not to pay attention to what they do.”

　　If the buying habits of women in their 20s receive a disproportionate amount of attention — the big spenders, after all, are older people with both the means and the responsibilities — they also influence fashion, and have since the ’60s. So Alexa Chung has supplanted Kate Moss and Sienna Miller in influence. And it doesn’t seem to matter that Ms. Chung’s style of mixing her mom’s blazer with a frilly Topshop dress is just another micro-generation of the Kate-Sienna story. “It’s that juxtaposition that the Alexa Chungs of the world are loving right now,” said Sasha Sarokin, a buyer at Net-a-Porter.

　　There is plenty of research about the so-called Millennials — people ages 18 to 29 — to suggest you can’t lump them all together. Not only is this group likely to become the most educated generation in American history, according to a Pew Research Center survey this year, it is also the most racially and ethnically diverse. At the same time, this generation’s 37 percent unemployment rate is certain to affect taste. It may explain an underlying conservatism in fall fashion — penny loafers, camel coats, longer hemlines — that goes beyond “Mad Men” hype.

　　Lately, Hannah Byun, the founder of Hansel from Basel, a hosiery company in Los Angeles, has been wearing a below-the-knee skirt with woven sandals and a button-down shirt, in spite of her boyfriend’s comment that she looks like a Mennonite. That’s O.K. with Ms. Byun, 30, but actually she was thinking of Audrey Hepburn.

　　“Honestly, I feel very ‘Roman Holiday,’” said Ms. Byun, whose fall wish list includes LD Tuttle boots and an Acne military jacket.

　　What does unite this generation is the Internet, in particular online shopping and blogs like that of the street photographer Garance Doré and sites like Polyvore.com, where users play editor-slash-stylist and can see what’s for sale on the top sites.

　　Women like Ms. Byun, or Lauren Wynns, a 27-year-old law student in Washington, who works for a business consulting firm, or Nicky Deam, a 25-year-old publicist in New York, do much of their shopping online. Ms. Wynns, for one, said she now gets most of her fashion information from online retailers like Lagarconne.com, Revolveclothing.com and Shopbop, and from blogs rather than magazines. And because a lot of high-end apparel is hard to find online — compared with the amount shown on runways — it’s not surprising that young women now seem to gauge their interest in a brand not in terms of its prestige or craft but rather in terms of its accessibility. Even if Ms. Wynns could afford their products, she said, “their Web sites aren’t really tailored to a great shopping experience.”

　　You can understand why brands like Chanel want to limit their Web exposure, but what happens to interest if the immediate outlet is blocked? “This is not a generation that will wait to get a number for admission,” said Candace Corlett, a partner at WSL Strategic Retail in New York, a retail consultant. “They’ll find another way to get what they want.”

　　That’s what shopping sites are banking on. And it’s why their buying chiefs, like Holli Rogers of Net-a-Porter or Kris Kim, the founder of La Garçonne, have increased their clout with fashion designers, like David Neville, a founder of Rag & Bone, which has seen sales on Shopbop soar in recent seasons. Maybe these sites haven’t kicked the traditional store buyer out of the front row — yet — but they certainly have changed the game very quickly.

　　Based on interviews with design executives, like Shirley Cook, the chief executive of Proenza Schouler, three sites stand out: Shopbop, La Garçonne and Net-a-Porter, which has added more contemporary labels, including Isabel Marant, Rag & Bone and J. Crew, to its roster of high-end brands. La Garçonne is perhaps the most narrowly focused, with a boyish persona, as its name implies, while Shopbop is like your self-assured Midwestern cousin who always gets the guy. I sat down with members of each site to ask what’s on young women’s lists for fall.

　　From a rack of clothes in La Garçonne’s SoHo office, Ms. Kim and her buying assistant Mia Kim (no relation) ticked off their top trends, starting with a shaggy fake fur Proenza Schouler coat, about $3,100. “It’s a statement but not too much in-your-face,” as Mia Kim put it. “I would wear it more low key — just throw it on over trousers.” There were other rough fur pieces, in creamy lamb or fox from Vanessa Bruno and Charles Anastase, and shearling-topped Margiela booties that prompted Kris Kim to observe: “We’ve been seeing grunge, but a refined grunge. It’s a little nerdish and bookish.”

　　That could also be La Garçonne’s interpretation of chunky knits (styles by Zucca and Viktor & Rolf have been selling well) and pointy kitten-heel shoes worn with ankle socks, though that look has already been widely documented. The buyers also think their customers want a change from short skirts; they ordered a long tulip-shaped skirt from Rick Owens Lilies (around $500) and an at-the-knee ’70s style in clay-colored Ultrasuede from Le Mont St. Michel (about $300).

　　“We used to do a ton of business in charcoal gray,” said Kris Kim, who started La Garçonne five years ago. “Now the girls have moved on. They want colors — sophisticated greens and peaches.”

　　“Wearable color,” the other Ms. Kim added. “Nothing too bright or shocking.”

　　Net-a-Porter is based in London, but I met Ms. Rogers and Ms. Sarokin in a Greenwich Village restaurant — with their iPad. Both women are American, so that gives them a broad perspective on style. “I think the London girl does look better than anyone else,” said Ms. Sarokin, who is from California. “But are the hipsters going to be as good in London as they are here?”

　　She favors Burberry’s shearling aviator jackets (variations appear to be on many fall hit lists), tailored dark-rinse denim trousers, wedge booties and clogs and Stella McCartney’s clean sportswear lines.

　　Earlier this summer, Ms. Rogers was in New York. “I wasn’t here an evening before I realized, my God, everyone’s wearing these really short, high-waist shorts,” she said. “So I e-mailed the team, ‘Make sure we’ve got that covered.’ ” They got leather shorts from Theory that sold out in days. Ms. Rogers also sees, along with British heritage pieces like tweeds, a wave of Americana, like polos and dark, rolled-up denim. Nicky Deam, who works for the fashion publicity firm KCD, said she plans to extend her shorts into fall, wearing tights and booties. “I’ll make it demure on top so it doesn’t look like I’m working a street corner,” said Ms. Deam, whose main fashion expense is a couple of pairs of shoes every few months, or about $600. Also on her list is a camel coat and leopard-print shoes. “I’m definitely very guilty of going on a blog on Thursday night, finding something new and seeing if I can find the knockoff” at Zara or Topshop, she said. “I think, ‘Well, it’s only $20. I could spend that on an appetizer.’ ”

　　On the wall of the conference room at Shopbop, a collage of fall runway images had been mounted: military, Fair Isle sweaters, blush shades of pink. Yet the Shopbop team, which included Darcy Penick, the divisional merchandise manager, and the apparel buyers Alana Brown and Jane Albiter, had not merely represented the trends; they had also found ways to make them distinctive.

　　For instance, they asked Rag & Bone to make special camouflage-print trousers for them. As Ms. Brown said, “We sell these exaggerated harem pants so well, and we showcase them in a way that’s wearable for a girl in her 20s. Rag & Bone had this great camo print in their outerwear. We kind of suggested it for the pants.”

　　The designer Nanette Lapore had shown an olive wool dress with knit ribbing and cargo pockets that had been layered over a camel top. But she didn’t get enough orders for the dress and decided not to produce it. The Shopbop buyers asked her to make the $398 dress exclusively for the site. “It’s one of our favorite pieces,” Ms. Ciepluch said.

　　Many stores have trouble selling beige or blush tones, said Ms. Penick, a former Saks buyer. “We tend to sell it better than black,” she said. “We’ve seen a huge response to that shade in blouses.”

　　Winter shorts? “We’re showing them with thigh-high socks,” Ms. Ciepluch said. And she isn’t down on the mini. “I think it’s going to be around, especially how Proenza did it with the cool schoolgirl look. We also loved DKNY, Alexander Wang.” She added: “It’s a great dress alternative, especially for work. It kind of looks like you put some thought into it.” She summed up the fall look as “a smart mountain town styled with city chic.”

　　Jane Son, a 26-year-old publicist in New York, has seen things she likes from several labels, including Proenza, Chloé and Reed Krakoff. She just bought a pair of Acne wedge boots. So she is not stuck on a single label. That shift to a wider focus, brought about by women searching Web sites, ought to tell designers a great deal.

　　“It’s actually forcing the designers to be the leaders in fashion again,” said Ms. Cook of Proenza Schouler. They have to create products that are distinctive, that correlate to a purpose, and that are worth the price being asked, apparently like Proenza’s $375 striped T-shirts, which sell out every season.

　　“The Internet has brought a wealth of information and also boredom,” Ms. Cook said. “All those blogs and new ways to dress and shop. For me, it means we have to be much more on our game.”

　　A group of women market merchants in the southern Tajik city of Qorghonteppa say they are coming under pressure to stop wearing the hijab, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

　　Speaking for the group, Mavluda Muralieva said that two days ago men who introduced themselves as officials from the regional government said the women would have to change their dress as of September 5.

　　That followed a recent visit to the market by Khatlon Governor Ghaybulloh Afzal, who was upset that merchants were not wearing national dress. He suggested those who did not should be barred from trading at the market.

　　Eshan Saidjon Sorbonkhuja, who is Tajikistan’s deputy mufti and also heads the Islamic council in Khatlon province, similarly told RFE/RL that “this hijab is Iranian or Arab, these types of dress are not our [national] dress. Clothes that are European or Russian are also not our dress.”

　　The women have appealed to the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) and plan to appeal to President Emomali Rahmon to intervene. They stress that Tajik law sets no norms for how to dress.

　　Haidarali Sherkhonov, who is first deputy director of the Qorghonteppa market, the largest in Khatlon province, agrees. He has suggested that vendors should wear a special overall and a badge to distinguish them from shoppers.

　　Kamariddin Afzali, the official IRPT representative in Khatlon, said that any directive banning the hijab would be unconstitutional.

　　Women merchants say they would accept the market administration requesting a change in dress, but they will not accept a ban on the hijab.

　　The women merchants said they would not compromise, and if they were forced out of the market, they would go to court to defend their rights.

　　One vendor who wears a hijab said today the women had contacted lawyers who are prepared to represent them.

　　Good Charlotte musicians band members Joel and Benji Madden have teamed up with Macy’s American Rag to design a capsule collection… for women. Apparently, if you’re engaged to a stylish celebrity fashion designer like Nicole Richie, you automatically know how to dress a member of the opposite sex and get her to buy the clothes you “designed.”

　　“I don’t care how a girl dresses, nothing is sexier than a girl who is confident, feels good about herself, and does things her own way… I love it when a girl can take simple basic pieces and wear them with her own style,” Joel said.

　　The line, titled Mad Picks, features ripped denim and boho-inspired items (shocking) and is due in select Macy’s stores on August 25. Check out another image of Mad Picks after the jump.

　　Of course the twins have to be in both advertisements… Not only that, but the model and styling look like a carbon copy of Nicole’s label!