[If I Were a Buyer] 3.1 Phillip Lim SS10 RTW

In the world of fashion, a Buyer, like Erin Mullaney at Browns, is one of the people who, after the dust has settled on the fashion shows, makes things happen. They are part of the select group of people who filter designers’ masterpieces into wearable, sellable pieces. They are the people who help select which colors, styles and trends make it to the stores and which don’t.

The way I see it, there are three ways a Buyer can approach a designer’s line. 1) They can go with their own gut feeling about trends, wearability, price range, target customers, etc. 2) They can use specific market analysis of consumer tastes and a barometer of how consumers are reacting to market conditions. 3) They can find what they feel the designer did best and channel that into the public. Ideally, I think it should be a little bit of all three.

Because I don’t want to aimlessly watch the fashion shows in my copious amounts of spare time, I’ve decided to go through the shows I watch and pick out what I think would be 5 key pieces a Buyer would pick out, ideally approaching the project from all three perspectives. And, it really doesn’t matter if I’m right or wrong because, well, I’m a total nube at this.

Anyway, to start off, I give you 3.1 Phillip Lim SS10 RTW as shown in New York.

1. Ruffled Dress – This year, in a few instances, Lim followed the general trend of turning over-sized night shirts into dresses. For the most part, however, he preferred embellished mini-dresses. This one is perhaps the most wearable because it has no obstructions in front and, instead of accentuating the hips, with the black bands, makes them appear smaller.

2. The Tank – Over half of this season’s collection involved separate tops and skirts. The loose fitting tank with embellishments would go with anything–jeans for class, fun skirts for dates and dark pants and heels for night. Stylish and universal.

3. The Altered Trench – Several Shows this season featured some form of a trench coat. Most of the others in Lim’s line this season were boxy and covered up everything beneath them. This one, however, keeps a flattering neck line, reveals a bit of the dress underneath and adds some variety with the cropping and asymmetrical buttons.

4. The Gold High Waisted Pants – High waisted pants and skirts are ubiquitous in this year’s collection but this particular pair, with the gold and the rolling at the ankles, makes the look softer and more feminine, which is good for people who aren’t as rail-thin as models. These are almost an update of a pair Penelope Cruz wears in Vicky Christina Barcelona.

5. Red, Sleeves and High Waist - This look strikes me as the epitome of Lim’s SS10 line. It has the high waisted pants, the little barrettes in the hair, the boyfriend jacket with Rosie the Riveter sleeves (response to economic environment?) and the plunging neck line to reveal skin in the same way as short sleeves. This would probably be too much in one look if it weren’t pulled together by the red. It’s time to move on from Hillary and Heidi’s hot pink pantsuits and slip into the red. We’re on the back end of the recession. Time to get to work.

(photos via NYMag.)