Romantic departure

Every fall, I sit down with stacks of magazines and look books and flip through them with a pair of scissors in hand, clipping things that jump out at me. I'm thinking about the season for my job, yes, but also for myself. A stylist uses clothes and accessories the way a painter uses paint, blending the season's new ideas into an existing wardrobe. The fun is in learning how to make the trends work for you and maybe even starting a few of your own.

The fall collections are as dark and moody as the economy, and there is a heaviness to much of what was on the runway. Textured lace at Prada, sculpted wool coats at Louis Vuitton, nubby boucle in deep tones of aubergine, mustard and smoky teal at Carolina Herrera -- all seem better suited to a blustery East Coast autumn than a mild Southern California fall.

But that's part of the challenge. Interpreting the trends for L.A. doesn't mean pairing everything with flip-flops and leggings, but rather adding pieces that work with the way we live. A boucle suit would look out of place, but wear a boucle jacket with jeans and a ruffled blouse and it's a natural for the office or a day shopping with friends. A pencil skirt with feather plumes worked into the hem would wind up slammed in a car door, but a dress with a feather collar is Hollywood perfect.

There are other practicalities to consider too. Especially that must-have accessory: money. I've just purchased my first home, and my paycheck priorities have gone from Marni to mortgage in less than a month. It's been jarring -- which is why I'm staying away from over-the-top runway items this season and delving into the middle tier.

Fortunately, it's never looked better. Designers such as Phillip Lim and Tory Burch and brands including A.P.C. and Reiss are hitting trends in a fresh and unexpected way. More than mere runway knockoffs, their reasonably priced pieces ($200 to $850) are stylish unto themselves, so they're fun to wear -- and I can still pay my electric bill. In an economy that's made belt-tightening fashionable, I'm guessing I won't be the only one looking to spend less.

But that doesn't mean scrimping -- especially on imagination. Before you shop for a fall wardrobe -- or pull clothes for a fashion shoot -- you have to dream. There's something about the stripes in the dress Jean Seberg wears in the 1960 film "Breathless" that always put me in the spirit. I picture Seberg, an American in Paris with gamin cropped hair, on the run in Europe with her lover, encountering a new adventure at every turn. That's how I want fall to feel.