The Autumn 2008 Winter 2009 fashion season is one full of
attractive jewel colours, opulent fabrics, contrasting knit
textures and exciting prints.
This season's clothing colours are deep and intense. If you choose
the garments carefully to suit
your skin tone, they create a
shot of complexion enhancing colour. For instance, blues and purple lift the
eyes, reds add a natural warm blush, whilst gold reflects highlights onto hair. Iris purple is one of the few
colours that look good on every skin tone from palest blonde
females to
raven haired women.
We saw on the
fashion colour mood boards how fiery tomato red
and iris purple are two of the hottest colour trends of autumn. These two colours also merge to form rich cranberry tones that
blush with the colours of crushed berries. Add sea green, old dusty rose, taupe, burnt orange, peridot
green, yellow
ochre and the result is a rich palette the starting point for a whole
host of jewel coloured clothes. All the clarity of the
most beautiful hues of the world's loveliest coloured gemstones
are there - peridot, aquamarine, topaz, sapphire, tanzanite,
amethyst, tourmaline, kunzite, ruby pink, garnet red, yellow
citrine and smoky quartz.
Blues are strong clothing colours in the autumn of 2008, with inky blues making a welcome return. The
blues range from moonlit night skies, royal sapphire, iris,
deepest kingfisher teal to soft turquoise. Watery citrus
greens, yellow toned olives, cardamom and avocado greens are truly
autumnal when mixed with rusts and ochre.
The fashion colours of golden apricot, yellow ochre,
taupe and cocoa pink all develop a hint of pastel ice cream
tones when white is added to the hues.
The inky blues meld into aubergines and rich purples; as you
can see the designers ran through the whole range of
purple/lilac colour, from lilac right through to dark
aubergine, damson and plum puce. These berry tones are the
epitome of autumn fashion colour. Think of rich dark cooked plums or
blueberries, and then think of that shade when
you add cream. Images above courtesy of IFTF, Dior,
Swarovski.
Berry tones are used for every type of garment from jeans to
evening gowns. These jeans right are from a selection of
brands at House of Fraser.
Fashionable clothing colours start with the reddest of berries and then moves through the purple tones of damsons and blueberries.
Left - Plum berry tone sweater knit from Wallis.
Wine corsage Bardot jumper £25.00 - Wallis Autumn/ Winter 2008
Exclusives.
High street retailer Wallis has introduced 'Exclusives', a
capsule collection which, in this era of credit-crunches and
penny pinching, gives fashion-conscious customers the chance to
update wardrobes without breaking the bank.
Knitwear signals the move from summer to autumn, and Wallis has
everything from little embellished cover-ups and sleek knitted
dresses through to more chunky knits. They also have wraps and
checked cardigans which offer a lightweight and modern
alternative to the traditional coat.
Polo-necks, a very flattering season staple, are available in a
range of colours with various sleeve lengths and button or
corsage details.
Dior showed a range of red garments that moved through tones of
orange, coral, tomato red to hot deep pinks.
The high street has responded to Dior's fashion colours, and is still
favouring that old chestnut of a 'lady in red' for every last
dance at the Christmas party.
Far left - Debut Red Carpet corsage one shoulder dress £140/217
- Debenhams Christmas Partywear Autumn/Winter 2008.
Centre left - Wilhelmina Dress £200/339 from Monsoon
Autumn/Winter 2008 Womenswear.
Centre - Debenhams Womenswear Autumn/Winter 2008 Pierce Fionda
Flamenco ruffle prom £150/232.
Centre right - Monsoon - Amanda Frill Dress £160/271 Monsoon
Autumn/Winter 2008 Womenswear.
Far right - Monsoon Christmas 2008 Originals - no details yet.
One of the favoured fabrics by mass retailers is high-sheen and satin.
The high street has picked out particular clothing colours for autumn
2008. For example, inky blues in the purple based tones,
and sea greens in the cooler tones.
The dress is still one of the most popular garments that women are
buying, so these fashionable blue toned styles below illustrate some of the choices for
party and evening that
are available.
Slinky bra dresses, prom gowns, sheath dresses,
puffballs and slips mean there is a fashion dress for every
shape and every age.
Details of garments above - High street cocktail party dresses
from Womenswear AW08 collections and in tones of blue starting
far left:-
Far left - Inky blue satin silk dress with flower detailed
shoulders £95 by French Connection AW 08 Womenswear.
Centre left - Royal purple evening dress by Debenhams.
Christmas Partywear Debut corsage dress £85/132.
Centre - Strapless Inana Dress £180/305 from Monsoon Originals
Autumn/Winter 2008 Womenswear.
Centre right - Turquoise bra dress - Debut sequin dress £80/124
Christmas Partywear Debenhams
Far right - Teal empire line satin Nancy Pleat Dress £110/186
from Monsoon Originals - Autumn/Winter 2008 Womenswear.
The blues of the oceans can be watery greens and aquamarines. They can also be the deepest ocean blues that reflect the
brilliant sunlit sky or reflect the green plants living beneath
the surface. This means there are many shades of sea
blue-greens in Autumn 2008 fashionable clothes.
Above far left - Dorothy Perkins - Teal exposed zip back dress
£30 45, Diamantι bracelet £15 19.
Centre left -Autumn/Winter 2008 Collection (Womens) by New Look
- Dress £35/55, Bracelet £8/12, Tights £8/12, Heels £35/55.
Centre - Satin Ruffle Prom Dress by Rare - Autumn/Winter 2008 -
£55.
Centre right - Debenhams Christmas Partywear - Red Herring
Special Edition ribbon detail prom £55/85. Stockist number
08445616161 Shop online:
www.debenhams.com
Above far right - Wallis Autumn/Winter 2008 - Aqua large floral
print dress £50/80.
This lovely dress left is from Warehouse and their Spotlight
collection.
Left - Warehouse -
Dress £80/125, Headband £18/27, Belt £30/45, Necklace
£16/25, Earrings £8/12, Shoes £55/85 all by Warehouse.
It's not just dresses, but coats and knitwear too that get
the teal blue treatment.
Near right - Dorothy Perkins Autumn/Winter 08 - Teal bow collar
coat £75/112.
Far right - Wallis Autumn/Winter 2008 from the
Wallis Exclusives
range.
Teal tie cuff
cowl neck top £25.
Black large waist belt £15.00.
Fabrics for autumn have substantial textural or surface print
interest.
In the colour image of 12 garments at the top of this page, most of the models
use opulent materials such as slinky satin, brocade or velvet. Golden and silver cloth is usual
for brocade, but look out too for brocade in jewel colours, and
there are fine dresses in sea and emerald greens.
Print fabrics with riotous designs, and painterly effects,
compete with folkloric and border print designs. Expect to see
clothes with
roses, flowers, paisley, small neat patterns or hound's-tooth
checks in coloured silks and chiffons competing with rich heavy
plain satins, velvet and silk.
Sequin dresses were a big fashion hit last autumn, but this year
the dress is enhanced with sequin jackets. Embellished jackets, pants and
dresses add a fun twist to an old favourite.
Right and left - Details of sequins and embellishment of
fabrics plus the model in the dress and from Erdem.
This look has evolved, and we now the sequin dress worn with dark opaque
or contrast coloured
tights. This adds a much more careless casual air to what is a
fantastical fitted short cocktail dress rich with embroidery
cording and textures.
These shift dresses below are covered in sequins and beads, and
they too would team well with dark or coloured opaque tights.
Swarovski are world leaders in
producing all types of
top quality crystal and beads. The 2 designer garments
right
have each been crystallized with Swarovski materials.
Far right - Zac Posen, does a surreal take on male evening dress.
To the near left we have a designer sequin and beaded dress that
has been worked in a diagonal chequerboard pattern of multi
colours. In the centre is the high street mass retailer
version of the shift.
The shift tunic sequin dress in the middle is part of the Autumn
Winter 2008/9 New look collection.
Miu Mui hates lace so much she made it into a collection to
overcome her fear of the textured fabric. But this wonderful
material holds no fear for many women and it gives a feminine edge to many
styles.
It is used especially for little shrug like jackets as well as
dresses and easily meets peek-a-boo garments where sheer and
lace can become one look.
Far right - Beaded Lace Bolero £80 - Phase Eight Autumn/Winter
2008.
It's not just lace that is fashionable, but also any fabric that
has an interesting surface, including knitwear.
Knits are newsworthy this winter. There are many forms of texture,
especially extreme chunky knits which feature heavy cable work.
These contrast well against the fine knits, fur trimmed pieces
or the openwork loose stitched
gauzy knits in the finest silk, mohair or cashmere.
Winter
white, soft greys and soft pastel tints are colours that work well for
knitwear. This lovely textured knit with a nod to folkloric
Austrian knits left is by Blumarine. The
soft dusty old rose tone is one of the main colours of autumn
2008. The airy feather weight designer knit tunic
near left by Sinha
Stanic
features similar tones set against charcoal.
If you have already read my
key
trends pages you will know that Autumn 2008/9 is about new colour, about hues of depth
with the
warmth of the renaissance palette.
Summary of Autumn 2008 Colours in Fashion
Each year, and each season within a year has distinctive nuances
of colour.
The
Autumn and Winter 2008/9 fashion colour palette contains lots of
berry tones that run through to inkier shades and includes
crushed damson, dusty pink, rose petal, claret, maroon, rich
aubergine, cranberry, blackberry and midnight sapphire.
You will also see clothes in burnt ochre, cork, putty, bisque,
honey, rich amber, brandy, mushroom and earthy terracotta
compete with auburn bronze, sienna, warm chocolate. Look
out for coloured clothes in the blue-green range, also slate blue, iris and deepest kingfisher
teal see return to the blues of the sea. Others such as olive,
cardamom, pistachio, winter white, gunmetal
grey continue in strength and any of them will enrich your
fashion wardrobe.
Special thanks to prshots
with images courtesy of Aquascutum London, Dior, Debenhams,
Rare, Wallis, Principles, New look, Dorothy Perkins, Phase
Eight, Swarovski, Monsoon, Warehouse and IFTF. Crystal header
image in purple tones is courtesy of Swarovski.
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Sequin dresses were a big fashion hit last autumn, but this year
the dress is enhanced with sequin jackets. Embellished jackets, pants and
dresses add a fun twist to an old favourite. 
Swarovski are world leaders in
producing all types of
top quality crystal and beads. The 2 designer garments
right
have each been crystallized with Swarovski materials.
Miu Mui hates lace so much she made it into a collection to
overcome her fear of the textured fabric. But this wonderful
material holds no fear for many women and it gives a feminine edge to many
styles.
