With the weather cooling down it is time to reorganize closets and drawers, putting away lightweight and sleeveless shirts and replacing them with heavier materials and sweaters. One of my favorite fall and winter 2011 items are cable knit sweaters. Cable knit is not a new trend, in fact it has been a mainstay for centuries but there is nothing better than a  knit sweater on a cold day.  Just because the sweater is cable knit does not mean that it cannot be fashionable or slimming. Not all of these types of sweaters are going to be big, bulky and oversized.

Click here  for great cable knit sweaters

The most common cable sweaters you are going to find are ones that are on the casual side. These sweaters are available in multiple lengths.   For Fall 2011 many of these sweaters are cropped or on the shorter side of full length. One of my favorite is the Juicy Couture Cropped Crew Neck Cable Sweater which comes in a light Khaki as well as a pink. This sweater has cable knit and baubles making it a very fun and playful sweater. Even though it is called a crop sweater it really is not that short. For most, the sweater will end at the waist. You can wear this for work with a skirt or dress pants if your office is not too strict with its dress code. Another great cropped cable sweater is the Jenni Kayne Cable Sweater. The thing that sets this sweater apart from most of the other cable knit sweaters is that the pattern goes horizontally vs. vertically which is how most cable knits are done. I love the neutral blush color of this sweater. It looks great with a leather skirt like the model is wearing but it looks like it would be a very cozy sweater to wear with a pair of jeans when the temperatures really dip down.

Click the link at the top of bottom of the page for these and other great cropped cable knit sweaters

I love ombre and when I saw the Bird by Juicy Couture Ombre Cable Turtleneck Sweater I immediately had to order this sweater. The ombre oversized cable knit in the front is great but I love that the back has ombre banding as well as the thick turtleneck. Now if I could only get the temperatures to drop enough to be able to wear this sweater, I will be very happy.

Click the links at the top or bottom of the article for Cable Knit Sweaters

Though I have yet to buy one, a cable knit sweater dress is on my must have list for Fall / Winter 2011. I have narrowed down my favorites to two. The Tibi Cable Knit Sweater Dress has banding at the waist giving the dress more of a shape than most other sweater dresses and the thin cable knit pattern also makes this a very figure flattering dress. My other favorite is the Pencey Cable Knit Sweater Dress. This is a much more casual sweater dress, it even has shredding at the bottom hem. It is also 6 inches shorter than the Tibi dress. Both have their advantages and hopefully soon I will decide on which one will be part of my 2011/ 2012 wardrobe.

Click the links for great cable knit sweaters

I have only shown a few of the hundreds of great cable knit sweaters available for the 2011/ 2012 season so take your time in the search for the perfect cable knit for your wardrobe.

Click here  for great cable knit sweaters

Click Here For Great Madewell Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories

Madewell is a brand that has been around since 1937. Originally a workwear company based in Massachusetts, Madewell  started out as a denim jean company that made highly durable long lasting jeans of the highest of quality. Eventually they expanded to clothing other than denim. Perfectly fitting tee shirts, chambray shirts that can be worn for a variety of occasions, and timeless leather boots and bags are only a  few of many great items that can be found from Madewell.

One of the unique aspects of Madewell is that each type of clothing has its own label so your jeans will have a different label than your shoes or bag does but the common thread is that all of them are going to be high quality and long lasting. The main label is Madewell which is used for all of their denim like jeans, jackets, and shirts. Buckley labels are used for clothing that has a vintage or menswear vibe to it. Examples of Buckley clothing are vests, blazers, and trousers.  Perfectly fitting tee shirts and tank tops come with the Hi-Line label attached to them. 1937 Accessories is self expanitory but if you are unsure, it is used exclusively for the ultra cool shoes, bags, and jewelry.  Wearmaster is used for heritage inspired outerwear made from the softest of wools or tumbled leather. Sweaters and Cardigans have Wallace labels on them. New Haven labels mean that the clothing is tailored, workwear blazers or vests. The last label is Rain-O-Shine which all of the rainwear falls under. Every time a signature look is added to the Madewell family you can expect to see a new label created.

Since Madewell started out making denim, it only makes sense that the majority of their clothing today is denim. There are so many different cuts and styles of jeans that can be found but a few of my favorites are the dark wash flat front flare leg Vintage Rocker Jeans, the 5 pocket  Skinny High Riser Jeans with 11″ leg openings, and the Shrunken Chambray Boys Shirt. The Chambray shirt can be worn with so many different looks like jeans, maxi skirts, or pants. The shirt itself is timeless and classic, has worn spots and is in a vintage faded blue color so it will last you more than one season and will look great year after year.

Click the links at the top or bottom of the article to buy these and other great Madewell Denim

Madewell also has many great classic sweaters and cardigans to choose from in a wide array of colors. You can wear these sweaters for work or for fun. These sweaters are great if you want a classic look as well as if you are looking for a lady like look which has been a popular trend for a few seasons now.

Click the links at the top or bottom of the article to buy these and other sweaters

The shoes and boots from Madewell are trendy to a degree but are not trendsetters. These shoes and boots are classic and timeless but have some aspects of the current season’s trends to them as well so you can wear them for more than one season easily.

Click the links at the top or bottom of the article to buy Madewell Footwear

Madwell is close to a century old and gets better with each passing year. If you are unable to get to one of the 26 locations across the US, you can find the brand online.

Click Here For Great Madewell Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories

This past winter it was hard to resist  Spirit Hoods, these wild animal hoods  were seen worn by  celebrities like Katy Perry and Vanessa Hudgens.  The problem with these hoods though is that while they are fun and trendy, they are also too hot to wear in the summer. The solution to this problem is to switch to a similar product that is made to be worn in warmer weather. The Fairground Bunny Got Nailed Wrap is a 100% cotton crochet knit hooded sweater with a bunny head on the top. This slouchy sweater can be worn over a bathing suit or with jeans or shorts with a tee shirt. Come fall and winter you can wear this over a long sleeve shirt making this the perfect year round sweater.

For more details or to buy click the link or picture below

Fairground Bunny Got Nailed Wrap in Orange

Each Fairground Bunny Got Nailed Crochet Sweater is hand-knit so each sweater is unique and will varying slightly from one to the other so shape and fit will be unique to your own sweater. Available in many bright colors you are sure to find one that you want to own.

One of the biggest trends for summer is a retro preppy look and it is easy to achieve this look by wearing Lacoste. Lacoste has been around since the 1930s when they created innovative white knit tennis shirts with a crocodile logo embroidered at the chest. In the 50s the brand expanded to add colored polo shirts, hoping to capture an audience of other sports genres. The popularity grew immensely with this expansion of colors and in the 1980s. In fact, Lacoste was THE MUST HAVE signature piece to any preppy’s wardrobe. It was also in the 80s when Lacoste branched out from shirts and starting designing shorts, fragrances, sunglasses, tennis shoes, boating shoes, sweaters, and leather goods. While the popularity of Lacoste has waned a bit, it is still the signature brand for the preppy look. Lacoste has also gone back to its tennis routes in the past few years due to top tennis players including Andy Roddick have begun to wear this brand on the court.  Now in 2011 the preppy look and Lacoste are a big trend so find a great shirt, sweater, or dress to wear.

Whenever the brand Lacoste is mentioned the first thing that comes to mind is their signature polo shirt with crocodile logo on the chest. This shirt is available in every color of the rainbow and even multiple shades of a color.The womens shirts are made in a fine cotton stretch and have a slim fit to them and are long in length so you can easily wear these shirts tucked or untucked.

Lacoste Womens Aumur Polo Shirts

Lacoste has a great line of v neck sweaters, some are a  solid color with a  stripe accent and others have  all over stripes These sweaters are casual preppy sweater that of course has the signature green crocodile on the chest.  The light weight stretchy cotton is slim fit and has long slim sleeves. This is a great sweater to wear with short, jeans, or over a dress. Since the sweaters are light weight and thin, you can throw one in your bag or tie it around your shoulders until needed.

Lacoste V Neck Pull Over Sweaters

My favorite of all the Lacoste Summer 2011 items are the polo style dresses. Like the shirts, these dresses are a stretch cotton with buttons and a collar. The Lacoste dresses have a long slim skirt with small slits at the sides and are knee length. You can wear them with sandals, ballet flats, or flip flops. The dress comes in two versions, one is a solid color and the other has a contrasting stripe piping along the collar, button plackets, and the arm holes. Both versions are perfect for a casual weekend day or perhaps a day at the office, if permitted.

Lacoste Short Sleeve Polo Dresses

Lacoste is a brand that has been around for almost a century and should be around for at least 100 more at the rate they are going. As long as they continue to design clothing that is classic and preppy there will be an audience to wear this brand.  Make sure to click on any of the links above to learn more about these great Lacoste shirts, dresses, and sweaters as well as to find other great Lacoste clothes and accessories.

By now you should have realized that sporty stripes are everywhere, in fact there are so many stripes shirts, dresses, sweaters, bathing suits, and jackets that you probably do not know where to begin with deciding what striped clothing you want to buy. Most of the striped clothing from other designers is a basic two color stripe, usually a black or navy blue with a white, but the Spring 2011 Marc by Marc Jacobs stripe collection is multi-colored and bright. There are lot of dresses and shirts with yellow, tuquoise, red, and white among other colors on them.

I love the Marc by Marc Jacobs Simone Stripe Dress. It is so bright and cheery and the belt makes this so feminine. This dress also comes in a shorter knee length version if you would prefer.

If you would prefer something with stripes but not as colorful and perhaps with a bit of a nautical feel to it then the
Marc by Marc Jacobs Schooner Stripe Jersey Dresswill fit the bill. A dark navy with contrasting red stripes at the shoulders and hem and white stripes in the middle. This is a jersey dress so it will be comfortable in the spring as well as in the summer when it is much hotter out. If you like the color scheme of this dress make sure to check out the
Marc by Marc Jacobs Schooner Stripe Jersey Top as well.

While not as bright and colorful as the previous stripe dresses, the Marc by Marc Jacobs Clemence Sweater is quite fashionable. I love the two pockets at the hem as well as the three buttons at each side of the neck.

Upon first glance the Marc by Marc Jacobs Beatrix Stripe Sweater looks like an ordinary grey and yellow stripe sweater but there are contrasting stripes at the sides and under the arms.

My favorite of all the Marc by Marc Jacobs stripe clothing is the Marc by Marc Jacobs Beatrix Stripe Sweater Dress. This is a dress right off the fashion runways and is so dramatic. I love that the stripes are only on th the front and the back is solid and I really love the hem pockets.

Back in the 80s crop tops were all the rage. Even if you did not feel comfortable showing off your stomach you would still rock this trend with a full length fitted shirt or tank top tucked in with the crop top over it. This way you still had the comfort of a full shirt but could still show that you were in fashion with the crop top. I was quite young when this trend was en vogue but I can remember having a few crop tops some of which were neon pink and neon blue. If I remember correctly I even had a crop top with fringe and beads at the bottom.

While it has been 30 years since this trend hit it big, it is back again and in my opinion better than before. I love this time in fashion where the best trends from the past are back in full force better than before. While I am unsure if I will be revisiting the crop shirt look I have found a few great possibilities that you may want to try.

The
Fresh Laundry Crop Top With Lace in Charcoal is a great casual crop shirt that is not a super shirt crop top. While the shirt is casual, it is glammed up a bit since the back has a large lace panel in the back.

The Military look is another big trend right now and the Bobi Terry Sweatshirt in Military is a distressed cropped light weight sweatshirt in a great military khaki color.

The Nanette Lepore Crop Sweater Top in Grey is a loose knit sweater so you need to wear something underneath of it. I like this sweater a lot not only because of the overall look of it but because it gives a certain lever of comfort to yourself with a full length shirt under it.

Though it is not a shirt or a sweater, I could not resist the Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent Sequined Vest in Navy : . This vest is very versatile and can be worn over a tee shirt or a maxi dress.

Want to learn more about any of the above crop clothing? Just click the link or the picture to learn more.

Is the crop look a trend that you will embrace this season? I would love to hear more so leave me a comment.