Fashion Week, Day 2: The Thing About 'Wearable'

Here's the thing about clothes that are wearable: we all moan about designers showing more wearable fashion, then when they do, we complain how boring it all looks. It's the modern woman's fashion conundrum.

After seasons of extremes (microminis or maxis)  and impossibly skinny bottoms, designers are turning out dresses in knee (or longer) lengths that more women can wear to the office and after hours. And instead of ridiculous neon colors, designers have turned to soft neutrals and non-offensive beiges. Weird asymmetrical 3D effects, bold ruffles and obvious retro reworkings? Gone, gone, gone.

So we should be happy when so much that comes down the runway looks like it could easily slip right into our closets, right? Yes and no. Yes, we should be happy that so many pieces -- the softly draped dresses at Costello Tagliapietra (pictured, left), the gorgeous blouses at Jason Wu, the easy shifts at BCBG -- are understandable for so many of us. But then again, wearable pieces sometimes lack the excitement and raw emotion of extreme fashion. When there aren't designers out there pushing the boundaries of what we consider pretty or questioning current silhouettes, lengths and fabrics, it all makes for a pretty boring season.  And bored consumers usually opt to just make do with what they have in their closets rather than run out to buy the latest looks. (Photo Credit: Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)