Fall Denim Preview

The dog days of summer won’t last forever, so in the final days of August, you may find yourself heading to the air conditioned stores with thoughts of cooler weather just around the corner. Soon, it’ll be time to pack away the white jeans, pastels and floral prints, but what to replace them with? Ah, there’s the question of the season! Here are some ideas.

Coated Jeans

Designers are constantly trying to reinvent denim, and that’s great news for fashion forward men and women looking to refresh their wardrobe and stay comfortable at the same time. Metallic threads are being woven into jeans — check out 7 for all Mankind’s latest selections for women and you’ll see rose, gold, and even cheetah prints in shimmery, body hugging styles. For men, an old, brief trend from the 70′s is back — cotton jeans dyed, dipped and coated, like Doctrine Jeans’ fall men’s collection that has actually been coated in TEFLON!

Skinny Ombre Jeans

The idea behind skinny jeans is that they let thin people show off their legs and help the rest of us look a size smaller in body hugging, slimming cuts. Dark colors are more slimming and this fall we have so much to choose from since this season’s colors are primarily charcoal, bronze, chocolate and dark burgundy. Ombre is the newest trend for fall 2012, with graduated dark to light tones. When the color is darker at the top and lighter at the bottom or darker on the edges and lighter in the center, the effect is as slimming as it is fashion-forward.

Patterned Jeans

Patterns are hot this season, too. But unlike the floral prints of spring and summer, fall and winter are seeing corduroy-type stripes, checkerboard prints, zig zags and other angular patterns. Vertical stripes and zig zags, as always, make you look taller and thinner, while more intricate patterns like Ziggy Jeans’ checkerboard print can widen your look. Style tip: it’s always best to pair patterned jeans with a solid color, and contrast vertical patterns with a shorter top and wider patterns with longer tops to even out your look.