I felt myself coming down with a serious case of the "I have nothing to wear"-s before New York Fashion Week this September. My sweaters felt stale. My jeans seemed way too out of step from fall's denim trends. My tote bags slouched in a way that read more "overstuffed" than "intentional." And when I looked around at beloved-but-controversial street style trends, I didn't see outfits I wanted to copy and paste into my own closet. Just when it seemed inspiration would evade me all season, J.Crew's fall collection came to my rescue—but not from my usual scroll on its store app.
Instead, the epicenter of each fall's best preppy pieces took over 190 Bowery, a downtown New York City landmark; decorated it like a cross between an Ivy League Library and an editor-in-chief's walk-in closet; and filled it with some of the city's best-dressed residents. The likes of Emmy-winner Anna Sawai, writer-actress-director Cazzie David, SNL star Chloe Fineman, and lifestyle icon Martha Stewart all stopped by in a mix of fall trends and true-to-them staples. (Think: a varsity striped sweater and leather mini skirt here, a suede trench coat styled like a mini dress there.) The result? A living, breathing catalog, modeling a J.Crew fall collection I could instantly envision myself wearing, too.
