Style Watch

From the Trade Shows
Revenge of the Cossacks

what are the big fashion items for fall? On the runways of Milan and Paris last month capes, fur hats and over-the-knee boots were the accent items that will separate the serious fashion devotee from the merely stylish. Capes, either short and swinging or long and luxe, were featured at Prada, Fendi, Louis Vuitton and Chanel. Big fur hats, with or without tails trailing down the back, showed up at Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Blumarine and Louis Vuitton. And the boots? Try Roberto Cavalli, Celine, Chanel, Dries Van Noten, Dolce & Gabbana and, well, just about anyone. The trick to the mix is to limit yourself to no more than two of the three items. And if you want to invest in just one, the tall flat boots are the trend that will last. Wearing all at once is a look best left to the Russian army.

Design News and Events
Get More from MoMA

Style-savvy New Yorkers have long depended on the Museum of Modern Art design store for last-minute gifts that don’t look like last-minute gifts. Now their website, www.moma-store.org, has been expanded to include historical information and biographies. The site sells contemporary classics that are part of the museum’s collection, and stuff for home, office and the kids. Some items, like the Corbusier chaise longue, are too large to be shipped abroad.

Seen on the Street
Denim Distress

There’s no point in denying it any longer: jeans are a wardrobe staple. No matter what age, no matter what nationality, no matter where one may fall on the style barometer, odds are there’s a pair of jeans lurking in most everyone’s closet. But for the trendy, getting the right brand, color, length and width is a science that requires precision. For the last few years, the mode in denim was dark — so dark that fashionistas were having their jeans dry-cleaned, lest they fade. But no more. Distressed denim is now the stylish option. So get out your oldest pair, chop off the hems, pin up the holes and throw on a thousand-dollar coat. Violà! The newest in street chic.