Whether designers decided to delve into their signatures or experiment with new ideas, the Fall 2009 season was all about shouldering, er, soldiering on. From tennis ball shoulders a la Balenciaga to extreme princess sleeves a la Dolce & Gabbana every strong shoulder in the book was brought out and altered to fit each designer's aesthetic. Although we saw strong shoulders mostly in Paris, they were apparent throughout the season. Donna Karan showed a great American interpretation of this trend with her signature wrapped jersey dresses--her shoulders might not have reached Margiela proportions but they were prominent nonetheless. Check out our trend gallery below, with the strongest shoulders of the season.
We've been going around in circles with draped trousers and strong shoulders for a while now, and this season is no exception. This morning, Balenciaga revealed an utterly polished version of the look which made us sigh "only in Paris" over our morning coffee. Earlier this season, in New York, Temperley London gave us an exaggerated version--fit for a London It-Girl--and Marc Jacobs gave us a truly American rendering with denim and colored metallic. No matter which style you identify with, it seems the options are still plentiful.
Call us boring fashion conformists but Louis Vuitton (by Marc Jacobs) and Marc Jacobs were two of our favorite collections from the Spring 2009 season--Marc Jacobs is king of creating an aesthetic motif that crosses both of his lines without so much overlap that they feel part of the same collection. Because he is so skilled at creating these threads between collections, and because his collections are so often well-received, it feel likes Jacob's dictates the fashion language for each season with Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton anchoring both sides of the spectrum.
What's lovely about his mood this season is that, unlike Fall for instance, there's a great deal of mix and match that consumers can continue to play with. This opportunity couldn't come at a more appropriate time as many of us, from all incomes, will have to swap out our more expensive purchases for more affordable ones.
Here's our shortlist of Jacob's key ingredients to the Spring 2009 season. Click on the link for an example of the look in either the Marc Jacobs or Louis Vuitton Spring 2009 show.
Call us boring fashion conformists but 
Prada
Empreinte
Isotoner
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