With so much fashion existing online, there’s something refreshing about trying pieces on in-store after eyeing them first on a little screen. Enter Just Browsing: We’re taking you into the fitting room as we preview the newest collections from some of our favorite high-street brands and contemporary labels. We’ll get into fabric and quality, fit and feel, and so much more as we make our way through the shop floor. Happy scrolling (and strolling)!
I’ve been a fan of Khaite since the brand’s inception in 2016, when my former colleague and then Vogue.com market editor Anny Choi introduced me to its debut collection of denim and knits. A few seasons later, on a brisk February evening at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York in 2019, I excitedly attended the label’s very first runway show alongside a few other Vogue alums, Emily Farra and Caroline Griswold, and fans of the then-emerging brand. It’s been remarkable to watch the brand thrive and mature into the household name it is now, while simultaneously growing my own career at Vogue.
Which brings me to now, fall 2024, where I’ve taken to the Mercer Street flagship, designed by founder and creative director, Catherine Holstein, and her husband, the New York-based architect, Griffin Frazen, to get a closer look of what’s in store. The boutique, with its skylit corners and curved steel-partitioned walls, amplifies Holstein’s own design sensibility, emphasizing materials and constructions that are structured yet elemental, edgy yet soft. Beyond those recognizable classics that might draw you into the SoHo space at first, such as carryover styles like the Danielle jeans and Arizona boots, the store is home to so much more. At the moment, the fall/winter 2024 runway collection is displayed beautifully among the different “rooms” of the space; new-season bags are perched on alcove shelves in considered order, arranged just far enough from each other to allow each shape and style to shine, while the full collection of shoes is designated to its own private nook.
Personally, I’m a massive fan of all the leather jackets that come from the brand, in addition to their highly covetable bags and shoes, which I naturally gravitated towards during my experience trying on the collection. Mixing more dramatic and directional styles straight from the runway, like a broad-shouldered oxblood leather trench (look 15) with blue jeans, or cigarette style tuxedo pants (look 45) with slingback pumps and a simple T-shirt, the boutique offers shoppers a well-rounded experience, with a little something for everyone: the season’s It accessories on enticing display, runway pieces for the fashion-obsessed, and wearable investments for the wardrobe-building shopper. A must-visit, even if just for inspiration.
Got Suede?
I didn’t expect the suede jacket to have the kind of huge moment that it did this season, but I have to say I am fully on board with the trend. Khaite’s version is a natural extension for the brand: the Lana silhouette—a pocketed, buttoned-front jacket—is a signature we’ve seen in leather and shearling previously; now offered in a rich chocolate brown suede. Here’s for making the case that the suede iteration will become a permanent collection piece, too.
Luxurious Textures
Leather jackets are one of the brand’s strongest categories, and also happen to be a personal favorite. I was immediately drawn to this yummy belted silhouette. Fitting like a slouchy blazer, complete with a leather wrap tie, it looks great on its own as a statement top or as a short coat. In addition to these tailored ivory satin trousers which were too chic not to try on (and despite being a little too long to wear out on the street) I’d love to style the jackets with my own collection of jeans and trousers.
Modern Evening
Whether you like it or not, the festive season is approaching! While I’d usually opt for a silk tuxedo jacket for party dressing, this time I was drawn to bottom half of the suit: the tuxedo trouser. The satin waistband sort of felt like I was wearing a cummerbund, but in the best way. They’re a versatile occasion-wear item: you could pair them with a tucked-in blouse, similar to how they were styled on the fall/winter runway, or with a cropped leather jacket like this one for a more uptown-meets-downtown vibe. In lieu of a leather or suede boot, I opted for a touch of sparkle, which came easily in these shimmering crystal slingbacks that immediately caught my eye, and happen to be the perfect low-heel height. There was no shortage of pouches and mini bags to choose from to complete the look.
Winter Coats, Sorted
Found amongst an array of beyond extraordinary statement coats in shearling and leather, was this more modest, but equally lust-worthy wrap coat. Its unique design details—padded shoulders, an elongated collar, wide wrap belt—make a familiar silhouette feel special. The most enjoyable feature in my opinion was its weight: the coat was light on the shoulders despite being constructed for warmth in double-faced wool.
Cool Foundations
I’d be remiss if I went into the Khaite store and didn’t try on the denim. In fact, this pair grounded the majority of the looks I tried on. I quickly grew attached to style, and so it felt worth giving the pair some air time here. These are not the ever popular Danielle, but the Shalbi—a tapered, ankle-skimming pair with a 28.5-inch inseam that’s great for short girls like me, and just right for styling with ankle boots. Seen here with a black baby tee, the label’s latest take on classic black ankle boots, and of course, a signature Khaite belt.
Python, Please!
No one does snake-embossed leather better than Khaite in my opinion, and the proof’s in the python. The texture has become synonymous with the brand’s selection of boots, which started with the Arizona ankle, then the knee-high. Over the years it’s slithered its way into a handful of new boot silhouettes, belts, and even bags, too. Unlike logo hardware, these python styles are a Khaite signature—understated to most, but instantly recognizable to those with a fashion eye. Take your pick!
Shade of the Season
We’ve been talking a lot about burgundy as a key colorway this fall, but I’ve yet to try the trend out for myself. I think you can tell I was into it! “Oxblood” red was styled into a handful of Khaite’s fall runway looks, among them this major trench coat and top-handle bag. I also tried on one of the new pairs of metal-wire shades from the Oliver Peoples’s collaboration, these are now officially on my wish list.
Even More Suede, Plus Signature Studs
I am a proud owner of the Elena stud bag, so of course I had to give these little studded sock boots a try. I was skeptical of their silhouette at first, (most of my boots have at least a small heel), but when it was time to go, I didn’t want to take them off. They were the prime example of a somewhat weird yet very comfortable shoe, which make an otherwise simple jeans-and-sweater outfit a whole lot cooler. Consider them a very walkable, and non-ankle exposing studded second skin. I couldn’t help but pick up the roomy Lotus bag in a gorgeous rich brown suede to complete the look—it really is the material and color of the season!
