Avion Feminin’s presentation. Jim Wetzel of Jake is obsessed with the red-blouse-and-skirt look.

It’s almost Paris Fashion Week (the kick-off is in five days), and I’ll be blogging here every day from the shows. If you don’t follow the fashion calendar (and trust me, I won’t hold it against you), Milan is happening at this moment.  Before that was London, and before that, New York. Since I wasn’t in New York (our fashion director Stacey Jones was, of course), I thought it could be useful and fun to get Jim Wetzel of Jake to send a virtual postcard with his impressions (see below). If you loved what you saw on style.com, and are wondering what you’ll be be able to buy at Jake in the Spring, this could provide some hints.

For my part, I’ll be back soon to discuss the Hedi Slimane article in Le Monde (a link for French readers) that everyone’s talking about, how I prepare for Fashion Week from a sartorial standpoint (please tell me, do I buy the bubble mini from Vanessa Bruno?!), and also with a word or two on what people are wearing on the streets in Paris right now.

À bientôt!

Postcard from Jim:
It seemed that the message of New York Fashion Week was a return to “the Lady.” Silhouettes were more shaped, figures more flattered and glamour more pronounced. Gone is the swinging 60’s gamine, replaced with the sexiness of La Dolce Vita. We saw long slinky skirts at Richard Chai that hugged every movement of the model. At Avion Feminin we were delighted with secretary-sexy pencil skirts. The color story at Chris Benz was unbelievable! With vignettes at the New York Yacht Club, Chris’ collection was pure Technicolor dreams amid taxidermy trout and vintage fishing reels. Down on the West Side were we pleased to see doo.ri’s take on beautiful in a bare gallery space. One-shoulder tops paired back with shorts and Swarovski-encrusted bangles dangling from wrists. These were just a few of the highlights of our fashion-packed week!

Photograph: Courtesy of Jim Wetzel