Tracy Reese Fall 2014

Tracy Reese just gets it. She understands how real women dress. That’s women, not girls. Tracy Reese dresses women.

Her fall 2014 collection was yet another chapter in a story of growing mastery of what dressing women is really about.

Increasingly, Reese has offered her women sophisticated options; this time around, one ofhte big focuses was on ways to wear a dress. While styling certainly played a role in Reese’s interpretation —dresses with cardigans, with pullovers, with shiny gold boots were just some of the options seen, Reese’s interpretation also extended to the variety of the dresses themselves.

Here, with a color palette of primarily black/white, goldenrod and maroon, Reese presented a rich variety of dresses and separates, seemingly one for almost every type of woman and occasion. A graphic black and white print, also seen in a cape (one of the trends for this season overall), looked boardroom perfect in a coatdress. A winter scene complete with bare trees and a luscious sunset went from arty to funky when seen in a skirt (topped by a cozy fringed pullover) and in a knit sweater dress.

Florals, long a Reese signature, appeared as well, the best of these in a classic sleeveless A-line frock. Twists on a classic herringbone tweed and dresses embroidered with bursts of color added to the sense of balance between the exuberant and more restrained sides of the Reese woman.

And the daytime separates, overall, were a particular strength whether in a comfy cardigan, a terrific pair of relaxed fit herringbone trousers, or a fringed color blocked sweater.

For evening, there were several party-ready frocks including an elegant gold cocktail dress, a true  statement piece for the Reese woman who is smart enough to know that all work and no play is no way to live life.

—Karyn D. Collins