i know football season is officially underway and for many of you, that’s the only F-word you care about these days. but there’s another little event that has been going on all week in new york city that also starts with an “F,” and it’s called fashion week. basically the superbowl for the sartorial world. and while i may never earn a coveted seat amongst the who’s who in the fashion and celebrity sphere, that won’t stop me from pouring over the spring 2014 collections of some of the design world’s finest. i’ve perused and pinned and prayed that these ensembles would magically appear in my closet someday. but something tells me it will be a good long while before any of these outfits see the light of day in my personal 2′ X 2′ box.

at any rate, a girl can still dream. and dream i will about the following favorite looks from NYFW13:

it was all about construction at the zac posen show. ruffles, and pleats, and boustiers, oh my! coupled with the soft palette of spring’s signature hues, this collection was one part girlie, one part sophisticated, all parts beautiful.

usually rachel zoe is a bit too edgy for my personal taste, but this little peach lace number is a pleasant addition to her spring collection. i mean, let’s be honest, i’m a RZ fan regardless of her contributions to the fashion world, but it’s pretty awesome to see this pint-sized “that’s buh-nan-uhs”-uttering empress making her mark amongst fashion’s finest.

to me, marchesa and gorgeous gowns are synonymous. if i were a celebrity, i’m fairly certain i would try to finagle my way into a marchesa gown for every one of my red carpet appearances. the ladies behind the brand just know how to dress the female bod (and i would hope so considering they are ladies themselves).

i bought a pair of denim culottes from a thrift store once. they were cute and comfy (two requirements i had for most of my collegiate wardrobe) and by a designer i had never heard of before. joie. now almost a decade later, i realize what a find those culottes might have been. joie’s spring collection is simple, classic, chic -minimalism at its finest, proving that you really can’t go wrong with a white blouse and jeans.

repeat after me, nanette (nuh-net) lapore (luh-pour). isn’t it fun to say? if it’s one thing that nanette does well (besides having a fun name), it’s prints. and her spring collection proved that sentiment yet again. i’m kind of dying over this floral motif that she weaved throughout this year’s show. and that pop of color on the model’s lip? peach perfection.

michael kors. hi, we miss you on this season of project runway. but if you had to take a hiatus so you could work on your spring 2014 collection, i’d say your time away was very well spent because i’m kind of obsessed with everything in it. but since posting all 40+ looks would just be excessive, i think i’ve narrowed it down to these looks as my top five:

let’s be honest, who doesn’t love oscar de la renta? he’s as synonymous with the fashion world as anna wintour (hint: she’s the brains behind a little magazine called vogue). i have a feeling some of his show-stoppers from this year’s show will end up on some of hollywood’s best come emmy and oscar time. but of the entire collection, i couldn’t help but be taken with this simple black and white ensemble, that’s, well, really anything but simple. 

now it should come as no surprise that i loved many of the looks from j.crew’s spring 2014 ready-to-wear collection. their palette of soft pastels and beachy prints almost make me excited for spring to arrive again. don’t worry autumn, i said almost. 

kind of going crazy over the color palette, feminine details, and styling from the jenny packham show. cobalt, chartreuse, charcoal, coral, and crazy curls? yes, yes, yes, yes and YES. again, i had a hard time narrowing down my faves, but these were my top contenders:

there are some pretty great duos out there -batman and robin, pinky and the brain, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and of course, perhaps my favorite duo -bert and ernie. but there’s a fashion duo that never seems to disappoint and that’s the partnership of mark badgley and james mischka. much like marchesa, they are impeccable dress designers. but this season’s collection showed that they can do so much more than make a pretty gown. i’m also loving their heavy use of white and navy, but still unsure how i feel about those bowl hats.

polka dot one-shouldered perfection at the reem acra show. with a red shoe and a red lip? i die.

how posh spice (victoria beckham) managed to parlay her spice girls career into landing david beckham, creating four beautiful children with him, and then having a thriving fashion designing career, i’ll never know, but homegirl seems to have it all. her spring collection proved the sentiment that less is more with simple designs, colors and patterns. and while this particular design certainly has raised some eyebrows, i’m kind of in love with this “cloud” dress that she herself wore out and about in the city.

i fell in love with christian siriano when he first set foot on the project runway runway in season four. between his half-mullet haircut and signature specs to his catch phrase “omgawthat’ssoFIERCE,” and of course, his impeccable designs, it was no surprise he would go on to win that season. and since saying aufedersein to heidi, tim and the gang, christian has gone on to have crazy success. his spring collection certainly proved why he can hold his own in a world riddled with designers twice and sometimes three-times his age.

there’s a nicole miller store in the forum in carlsbad that i walk by regularly. i always admire the dresses in the window but i must confess, i’ve never had the confidence to step inside. i can’t help but to feel i might have a pretty woman moment where they smell the lack of funds in my bank account and shoo me out before i can put my grubby little fingers on any of their featured designs. i’m pretty sure all of that is just in my head, but still, with no pending galas or black tie affairs on my upcoming calendar, i don’t really have a reason to pop into nicole miller any time soon. but that doesn’t mean i can’t still appreciate next season’s preview -a cornucopia of mixed patterns, textures, and colors. these are such gorgeous and visually interesting designs, i might just take the plunge and try on a few for good measure when they arrive to the store come springtime.

i have my dad’s legs and my mother’s torso. both of which are (relatively) long. so that usually makes any attempts at wearing a romper a futile endeavor. but if the navy strapless version rachel roy featured in her spring collection comes in size “long torso,” i might just throw all of my pennies at her in order to make it mine.

and perhaps my favorite of all of the spring collections to walk the runway this year (actually, this was a showcase not a runway show, so there was no walking, mostly just posing on green astroturf, but looking dang good while doing it) was from kate spade new york. the fact that my love brad goreski helped style said collection was just icing on the cake.

perhaps carrie bradshaw herself once said it best, “every year the women of new york leave the past behind and look forward to the future… this is known as fashion week.”

so here’s to facing the future in some really fabulous clothes. well done designers, well done indeed.

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