Keep It Simple, Carin

Carin Wester denim jacket and chinos, Peter Jensen x Weekday tassel tee, H&M sandals, Post Fire Dew scarf, Slow and Steady Wins the Race sunglasses and bag.

During Stockholm Fashion Week, Carin Wester presented an enormous collection consisting of her Women's line, her Men's line, and her handmade limited edition line called W. In addition to sending over sixty looks down the runway, Wester opened the event to the public, resulting in one of the largest shows of the week.

While the Men's and the Women's lines are always shown together and appear to share the same inspiration, fabrics, color stories, and everything else that would ensure that they go hand-in-hand, there are still some crucial differences. The Men's collection always appears somewhat outre, even though it contains plenty of simple and clean items to balance it out. This season's stand-out pieces included a floor-length dress and see-through lace tops that added large dollops of cross-dressing, as well as outrageous feather necklaces and statement making hats. On the other hand, the Women's collections always appear clean, restrained, and relatively simple. Natural looking makeup and hair, combined with minimal accessories and styling allow the pieces to speak for themselves, but rarely create the same attention-grabbing spark that make the Men's clothes pop. In fact, if you don't look closely, you're likely to miss out on everything that makes Carin Wester's line so desirable. There is plenty to want in this collection, including an oversized leather jacket with pouf sleeves, gorgeously flowing maxi-dresses, and a pair of pleated silk trousers that unbutton up the sides.

While I'm not always captivated by the designer's runway presentations, every single time I go to Stockholm, I return with more pieces from her line. I think I've added more Carin Wester pieces to my wardrobe than from any other Swedish designer--even those who I believe I love more. Why is that? There is something understated, yet stunning, refined, yet effortlessly cool about the individual items Wester creates. Even the boldest statement pieces are never over-designed. This visit I picked up the perfect fitting pair of chino pants and a denim moto-jacket. Both are items that I've been longing to add to my closet, but have, until now, been unable to find the perfect versions...

Runway photos courtesy of Kristian Löveborg and Berns Salonger

-Tiffany