FASHION WORLD: 08/30/22

RITU KUMAR	PAYAL SINGHAL	SANGEETA BOOCHRA	ASHIMA LEENA	AHILYA	SATYA PAUL	SHAZE	AZA	RINA DHAKA	GLOBAL DESI	ZARIIN
Dresses	Dresses	Designer Piece	Kurtas & Kurtis	Kadda	Sarees	Jewellery	Ethnic Wear	Designer	Women's Shoes	Sportswear
Kurtas	Western Wear	Jewellery	Salwar Suits	BangleSet	Printed Sarees	Earnings	Sarees	Dress Material	Jewellery	Sports & Shoes
Jackets	Tops	Bangles	Tops	Pendants	EmbellishSarees	Bangles & Bracelets	Kurtas & Kurtis	DesignerSaree	Fashion Jewellery	Gold jewellery
Tops	Ethnic Wear	Coin & Bars	Leh Cholis	Kadda	Handbags & Clut	Rings	Salwar Suits	Blouses	Bridal Set	Pumps & Pee
Skirts	Salwar Suits	Earings	Western Wear	Acessories	Bags & Luggage	Jewellery Sets	Chunnis & Dupattas	Gowns	Jeans	Spectacle
Jumpsuits	Sarees	Chains	Dresses	Earings	Top-Handle Bags	Sunglasses	Bottom Wear	T-Shirts & Shirts	Jeans & Jeggings	Nightwear

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

These Are The 7 Shoes You Need This Fall

Closed-toe season is upon us — which means that we’re soon due to tap into some of the top trends for fall. While our upper bodies will likely get swathed in layerable knits, denim, and leather, how shall we dress our feet below? Rest assured, we have a few ideas. Now, some of these shoe “trends” are admittedly evergreen: Everyday sneakers and booties, for example, are proven classics. Then there are the likes of squishy clogs or Mary-Jane flats, which are residual summer shoes that ease the transition into fall when worn with a sock and a trouser. We’ve also got occasion-specific footwear, like the disco-esque platform heel, which takes the beloved strappy shoe and elongates its soles to sky-high levels.

Ahead, peep the seven types of shoes we’re placing our bets on for fall. No matter if you’re a raging party hound or a neighborhood troll who needs a slip-on for errands, there’s a fall shoe with your name on it that is sure to help you step into the new season with pizzazz.

Platform Heels

And the category is…Studio 54. These disco-inspired platforms sure cause a fashion statement — just as long as you don’t trip in them! And for the chillier days ahead, put on a pair of fishnet or sheer socks before shimmying your way out the door.

Mary-Janes

It’s safe to assume that the Mary-Jane trend is a natural evolution of the ballet flat — which we all know has since proven to be a versatile (if not classic) silhouette. Add a strap here and a chunkier sole there, and suddenly, you’ve got yourself a fresh (but still timeless) skim-worthy shoe.

Low-Calf Boots

These are similar to the beloved Chelsea boot but rather than coming up short at ankle-length, these rise to the occasion of the calf. A tad more substantial and attention-worthy, these boots are best shown off with generously cropped pants or a midi skirt.

Lifestyle Sneakers

And Harry Styles fans in the house? For those who are curious as to what he’s wearing on his feet every night during his Madison Square Garden residency, it’s all Adidas all the time. Therefore, I simply can’t exclude the “everyday” sneaker in this story. These kicks are purely for fashion — don’t even think about doing anything athletic in them.

Sky-High Boots

In case you haven’t picked up on this yet, thigh-high boots will forever be in any “fall shoe” roundup…but for good reason! They make any outfit seasonally appropriate, especially if you refuse to stow away your mini skirts and shorts until basically the holidays.

Lugsole Loafers

A steadfast shoe trend from last year is the lugsole loafer, which continues to stomp its way into people’s hearts and their wardrobes. Don’t forget to add a pair to your footwear rotation this season.

Comfy Clogs

Sure, we all love our sleek, wooden-soled clogs — but this year, we’ve seen a real uptick in the fugly mule movement. You know when you see them because they spawn from the almighty Croc — they’re squishy, lightweight, and unabashedly hideous. Somehow, though, the urge to slip them on remains strong.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. All product details reflect the price and availability at the time of publication. If you buy or click on something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.

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J.Crew Just Entered A New Era, Thanks To Olympia Gayot

Over the course of its nearly 80-year history, J.Crew has created an aesthetic so distinctive that the brand’s name is practically synonymous with Breton stripes, casual jeans, leopard prints, and over-the-shoulder sweaters that take the phrase “All-American” to heart. For a while it was also synonymous with the name of the previous creative director, Jenna Lyons, whose work made J.Crew an It-brand for millennials in the 2010s. Lately, for fashion fans on TikTok, another name has come to the forefront: Olympia Gayot, the brand’s current head of womenswear and kids design.

With a following of 60,000 people on Instagram, Gayot is the kind of designer-meets-It girl who understands that connecting with her customers online is part of her job in an increasingly digital fashion industry. And so, when Gayot joined J.Crew in 2020, she started using her own style as a way to capture a new generation of fans for the brand. While Gayot doesn’t have a public account on TikTok, as of August 2022, searches for her name on the platform have grown to over 800 million views, with creators and fashion fans dissecting her outfits of the day, which often involve slip dresses, sweaters, colorblocked workwear, and denim-on-denim looks. “She is single-handedly helping the J.Crew comeback with her Instagram stories,” said creator Malia Curi in a recent video as she shared screenshots of Gayot’s outfits. Another creator, who goes by @caitforshort, revealed she hasn’t been “this passionate about J.Crew since the Jenna Lyons days.”

“It’s been really exciting and inspiring to see people so interested and supportive of both J.Crew and my relationship to it,” Gayot tells Refinery29. “I love hearing the analysis on TikTok as people draw their own conclusions as to how my style relates to the brand.”

Back in the 2010s, J.Crew’s former leading lady, Jenna Lyons, was one of fashion’s biggest trendsetters, making thick eyeglasses, high-low style combos, bedazzled sweaters, and a cuffed button-down some of the decade’s must-haves. For years, her style represented J.Crew’s point of view for fashion fans, who looked to the brand’s leader for inspiration. Still, for all the fame Lyons earned during her tenure at J.Crew, the designer wasn’t as quick to adapt to the rise of Instagram’s designer-customer relationship, only joining the app in 2020, after she had left the company. While J.Crew enjoyed a good run as one of America’s favorite brands for years, by the mid-2010s, it became just another casualty of millennials’ appetite for increasingly digital brands and authentic connections and aversion to all things cookie-cutter… or found in a mall.

NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 02: Jenna Lyons attends The New York Premiere of the Sixth & Final Season of “Girls” – After Party at Cipriani 42nd Street on February 2, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

“We never had a parasocial relationship with Jenna Lyons,” says Chidera Nwankwo, a TikTok creator whose video on Olympia Gayot’s J.Crew has grown over 200,000 views. “The appeal now is being able to almost have that relationship with J.Crew through Olympia.” Nwanko’s perspective is a shared one among Gayot’s fans on TikTok: They see the designer as someone who’s unveiling the curtain of a traditionally exclusive industry and inviting them behind-the-scenes, essentially making them feel like, if they shop from the brand, they’re not only supporting the company, but an internet friend.

@tasteofchidera Olympia Gayot Head of Design for J Crew #olympiagayot #jcrew #jcrewstyle #yummyfashion ♬ original sound – tasteofchidera

For years now, both start-ups and established fashion players have recognized that millennials and Gen Z, who grew up in the era of behind-the-scenes YouTube videos and industry-focused reality TV shows, are interested in the people that make a brand.

This phenomenon has given rise to figures like Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing, who is as popular as the brand he helms, thanks to his social media following, as well as Gen Z entrepreneurs like Frankies Bikinis’s Francesca Aiello and Rogue’s Emma Rogue, who are digital influencers in their own right. Similarly, Gayot is the face of the company, with a separate category for her picks on the brand’s website, as well as her famous mirror selfies on J.Crew’s Instagram page.

While it may all look carefully curated, both Gayot and Derek Yarbrough, J.Crew’s chief marketing officer, say there hasn’t been much strategy behind Gayot viral popularity. “Obviously I wear a ton of J.Crew and try to show a snapshot of behind the scenes, and I am capturing what I’m actually wearing day to day, so it’s great to see people gravitating to it,” says Gayot, who describes her personal style as classic and mainly focused on comfort and longevity. This aesthetic is in line with J.Crew’s return to its roots — seasonless clothing that can stand beyond the trends, a dramatic shift from the ultra-trendy, maximalist styles the brand championed in the 2010s, and that’s largely credited for its decline over the past few years.

Still, that doesn’t mean J.Crew lacks the viral trendiness of the TikTok era. In fact, many of the brand’s heritage staples — stripes, straight-leg denim, and classic button-down shirts — fit in with today’s biggest aesthetics, from Coastal Grandmother and Light Academia to Soft Girl. “I think J.Crew is resonating [right now] because we are a natural fit for many niche aesthetics due to the variety of signature items found within our collections,” says Yarbrough, adding that “Coastal Grandmother” is the best example. “Our classic yet elevated product lens acts as the foundational approach that lets customers thoughtfully build their wardrobe and express their own personal take on classic style.”

Yet, for creators like Nwankwo, the biggest appeal continues to be Gayot’s unfiltered approach. “It’s almost like we all wished more brands would do this,” she says. “She needs to get on TikTok.”

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The Best Fall Dresses, According To Shoppers Who Bought Them

The fall is officially here, which means cue the pumpkin-spiced everything, leafy retreats to log cabins, and, of course, cozy knits. But if you thought the end of summer also meant the end of the dress, let us remind you that there are a number of fabulous fall dresses just waiting to be paired with your favorite autumn-ready chunky loafers or black booties. But which one to pick?

While there are some fall dress trends you can count on to make a comeback as soon as temperatures start to drop (we're talking sleeves, plaid, and sweater-inspired styles), others are more of the minute, like smocked bodices and cardigans that can double as a dress. Whether you want an everyday piece, a fancy fall wedding guest dress, or a work-approved style, we turned to shoppers themselves to help us find the top picks for the season ahead. They've left ratings and reviews across the best-selling styles from all our go-to retailers, like Everlane, J.Crew, Free People, and beyond. We've followed the proverbial breadcrumbs in order to round up 15 of the best fall dresses on the internet right now.

Welcome to Hype Machine, our hit-list of the top reviewed products across the web — according to a crowd of die-hard shoppers. Call this your 4-star-and-up club, with entry granted by our devoted-to-the-goods shop editors.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. All product details reflect the price and availability at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.