Fall Fashion Reveal** Part I

I'll take this Celine dress please: one each in black, navy, gray and the color above. Merci par avance.

Autumn is my favorite season. When I was a child, my parents and I would fly from Buffalo, NY, to New York City to shop for my back-to-school clothes -- we stayed in a hotel (!), room service (!) just like Eloise, a play, a musical, dinners in restaurants (!) -- it was almost too much excitement for a little girl. I loved every second of it.

My parents were older and I think they often forgot I wasn't a miniature adult. Lucky me.

My mother guided me so gently in the proper vestment direction that I thought I made all my own wardrobe decisions. Then my father would tell me what extraordinary taste I had and how divine I looked in my new clothes which called for a celebratory dinner en famille in some swank restaurant.

I think, scientifically speaking, this is called "imprinting." In any case, the experience made an enormous and lasting impression upon me.

Celine. Note the leather detail on the sleeves. That's what sets it apart.

A classic, an investment, but if choosing between this Celine and the one above, I'd take the one above.

Dear Mr. Armani, Would you be so kind as to let down the hem on the pants? I'll take the suit. Thank you so much; it's perfection.

As August wanes and September beckons, I want to shop. Every year at about this time I long for something new.

Giorgio Armani -- just the jacket.

Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Hermes. Maybe not, but it is pretty.

Hermes.

Nina Ricci. So not me, but I'll try it to see whether I can break out of my mold.

Today then, I shall begin my -- alas virtual -- fall 2011 shopping expedition. I plan to approach the task the way I would if it were not virtual, that is to say: fill-in, fill-out and add excitement to what is presently in my closet. In other words, shopping the French way. I will not choose random items -- unless one, and only one piece, is so extraordinary it cannot be left behind. I will be freshening and expanding the possibilities of what I already own.

Very French indeed.

Louis Vuitton. Skirts only. You probably think I would take the black, but I wouldn't. I'd take the blue. (I already have a black sequined evening skirt.)

Here's the plan: from now through September I shall pull clothes into my fantasy dressing room and by the end of the month I will have culled through them and made my decisions on what I will "add" to my wardrobe. By all means, tell me what you think. Tell me what you like.

**An Explanation: Yes, I had planned an entirely different "Reveal" for today -- you know I would never trick you with taunts and teases. I had to postpone it because two important elements are missing. I promise to keep you au courant. I apologize.