BURNT ORANGE CABLE KNIT

Cable knit sweaters are always a perennial fall favorite but this year they seem to be the go-to sweater of choice. Who doesn't love a cable knit sweater? They're cozy, warm and can be polished when worn over a buttoned-up button-down. The perfect marriage of style and function! Style.com makes a lovely suggestion on how to dress up a cable knit sweater and Urban Oufitters has some trendy options. Shown here, sweater and leopard heels Forever 21, shirt H&M, jeans Urban Outfitters, bag Target.

NEUTRAL SOPHISTICATION

Sometimes when nature's colors are bright, we feel like keeping our clothing neutral. We thought Tera here channeled similar concepts as Jason Wu with his Fall 2011 runway collection. He stayed pretty neutral with black, cream and shades of nude, but the overall effect was extremely sophisticated and sharp. Tera's outfit also falls within this neutral realm of sophistication, but she's definitely added some youthful flair with the graphic t. Also take note of the dark navy tights with the grey booties. It definitely would've lost some of its lovely neutral softness if it was black from the knees down (which most of us would have expected). Obviously Mr. Wu thought similarly when he paired navy pants with a black stripe sweater and soft patterned blouse. And yet sometimes pairing the unexpected can bring such nice results. All hail to navy and neutrals!

COATS

One of us good girls has a serious weakness for coats. Reason being, when you live through winters in a cold place you start to realize the coat becomes your semi-uniform. This same good girl saw all of these fabulous coats last February at the Burberry Prorsum (Fall 2011) show and started salivating. The myriad of bright colors, plaid, fur, and fitted trench-type looks were enough to set her out to bankrupt herself. Definitely feel free to view the collection here. Also, as you're getting ready to purchase your winter coat, don't be afraid to be a little daring. We here at Thread Ethic are excited to start unveiling some of our favorites soon. (I'll just give you a little hint...it involves Ebay and fur...)

RED FALL 2011

Fashion is having a red moment this fall. Of all the bright colors designers are loving lately red seems to have really hit the spot. Not brave enough to wear the color head to toe? Just work in one red piece and mix neutrals around it. We've been wearing our favorite red pieces with tan, camel, grays and browns. Topshop has a very cool pair of red corduroy skinny jeans. Shown here, jacket and sweater Gap, blouse Forever 21, jeans Fire at Nordstrom, clutch bag Zara.

TUXEDO CASUAL

In the past we've only dressed this blouse up with chunky pearls, slacks and skirts. This time we decided to dress this front ruffled blouse down with trousers and oxfords, and quite liked the effect. Blouse Zara, trousers H&M, oxfords Target. Zara has a lovely tuxedo inspired blouse right now for those of you interested....

GRAY SHIFT

This is actually a dress we pulled out of the back closet. We wore it a lot a few years ago when trapeze/sack/mumu dresses were all the rage. We updated this hybrid between a sack and shift dress by adding a bright belt, leopard scarf and cage heels. Dress H&M, belt Nordstrom, heels Forever 21.

LOUIS VIUTTON SPRING 2012

Need we say much? We were both in agreement on how fun this line is. We're just in awe at what Marc Jacobs continues to do. Seriously, how do you manage to have two of your own lines, design for one of the oldest houses in fashion and keep coming up with collections that continually push the edges of fashion and creativity? What we love about this line is not only the 60's inspiration, but really how he changes the shapes of that inspiration. If you look through the collection (here) you'll see those 60's shapes are not really fitted the same way we'd expect to see them. Pieces are tailored to fit boxier, more loose, and with a sort of structural freedom. And really - the colors... they make us look forward to spring even though we haven't even hit winter! Enjoy!

DAYTIME LACE

Who says lace is only for the evening? We say, not so! With a t-shirt, day bag, blazer and booties lace looks cool, not prim. Lace in all it's dress codes is perfectly on trend for fall but try giving the daytime variety and try. See examples of how to add a touch of lace to a look here.

LONG AND LEAN

Harper's Bazaar summed up Fall for this year as "long and lean."  Because of this, skirt lengths have been dropping - definitely a breath of fresh air for all of us modest girls. We've shopped for pencil skirts over the past few seasons, and to our dismay, have found them to hit around 3 inches above the knee. How nice it is to finally see them hitting the knee at Zara (called "sheath skirts" here, here and plenty more here). But what we're absolutely loving are the "past your knee" pencils. Almost all of Jonathan Saunders showcased this length; we've seen Victoria Beckham sporting it for ages and now creating a line around it here and here. And lastly, the biggest man in fashion, Marc Jacobs, was definitely inspired not only in skirts, but also in dresses. (Seriously, there are too many to show, you might want to just view the amazingly beautiful collection here.) So since it was warm a week ago in this part of the country (can't say that now) we decided to break our viewers in with a more casual version of the look.  But look out! A richer Marc Jacob's inspired outfit is waiting to be created for these pages now that the cold has set in.... (Zara platforms, Urban Wear skirt, both tops H&M)

EVERYDAY CHIC + A LITTLE COLOR

I found this girl at a fashion show I attended and thought she was a great example of pulling a look together with classic, chic pieces - nothing crazy here, just good taste. I especially love the bright bag with all the neutral pieces, and her choice of tan heels instead of black.

THE SILHOUETTE

So gorgeous, right? I spotted her away from the crowds, doing her own thing. I love the clean lines and minimalist feel to her look - the shape of the dress and hat do all the talking. Is this too strong of a look for you? Then maybe just try dark tights and lace-up booties with with your fall dresses and skirts. You can find similar grey, lace-up booties at Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters.

FEATHERS AND DENIM

Not brave enough to wear the feather trend on your clothing like they did at the Fall 2011 shows of Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen? Then sport them on your ears, as feathers are still having a moment going into the fall season. Denim everything is also still a trend with staying power for fall. Tera is wearing a denim dress with warm weather sandals now but can easily transition this piece into the fall and winter months with cold weather boots, tights, jackets, sweaters and even fur. Here her dress is vintage from Etsy, sandal wedges Forever Young and feather earrings are Aldo (and seriously...isn't she so cute in that last picture?).