Milly Pre-Fall 2012

[Stereo_Flo]

You wouldn't notice it at first glance, but every Milly tag also has "An Original of New York" etched in tiny print under the big brand name. Designer Michelle Smith underscored this detail at her pre-fall lookbook shoot, stressing that the Big Apple is integral to every collection. Neighborhood-wise, Milly is typically favored by the kind of girls who roam the Upper East Side, but this collection had more of a sub-14th Street vibe that was refreshing for the label. One could imagine sometime New Yorker Alexa Chung, for example, stomping around Williamsburg in the first outfit: the sweater with a detachable Peter Pan collar paired with a swingy leather circle skirt (Chung, naturally, would add in opaque stockings and fun flats).

Smith focused on fabrics this season and even shelled out a bit more for some of the high-tech materials here, which included coated nylon taffeta, bonded double-face wool, and laminated tweed. These textiles updated classic silhouettes (tab-front cigarette pants or a basic LBD) that may have come across as unadventurous had they been cut from a different cloth. For evening, there was a chiffon tank dress that skimmed the body with a hemline embroidered in hand-cut paillettes, as well as a fun frock with a marabou feather skirt that will be a good fit with the downtown crowd.

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[Stereo_Flo]

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[Stereo_Flo]

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[Crying Diamonds]

Dotted amongst the more mundane clothes are some interesting cuts and details, for example, the black leather pleated dress is sold to me just with that beautiful funnel neck; and the two dresses with the raised front hemline, one with a very elegant cascading back, though the first with the embellished hem wouldn't be particularly flattering on a lady plus the models size.
And I spied a nice little cuff detail on the sort of violet-blue mid-thigh dress, just slicing into a wide sleeve and bringing them back into a long tight cuff with numerous fabric-covered buttons, quite Victorian in style.