The presentation was a lesson in layering. For men and women, grey-washed and plaid cottonshirts peeked out from under knit wool sweaters (in both the lightweight and Vermont-fireside chunky varieties), further topped by dark wool coats, striped or plaid wool blazers (the guys), and parkas in shades of tan, olive and slick navy. A more adventurous ensemble was comprised of a checked shirt under a grey wool flared trouser jumpsuit, topped with an autumnal hued color-blocked cardigan and finished with an olive fedora and patent brogues. Perfect for those women who want to channel the 30s-via-the-70s gangster-chic of Faye Dunaway. An ivory silk pussy-bow blouse paired with a light gray wool a-line skirt brought in a more feminine feel, and the lone accent shade of vivid red was a refreshing pop of color in an otherwise dark collection, seen in tomato bright cropped skinny trousers, a poppy-printed peplum pencil dress, and another a-line wool skirt (this one blood red with thin black stripes). There was also a hint of sparkle in gold lame, which was woven through a dark gray brocade, used in cropped pencil trousers and a girlish, long sleeve, high waist cocktail dress (complete with aforementioned cashmere beanie for that casual-cool appeal Steven Alan does so well).

A ditzy print shirt with matching mid-calf a line skirt, paired with an olive parka, gray crew socks and tan brogues had me jonesing for Stumptown coffee and a walk through the rainsoaked pacific northwest, while sharp wool suits with skinny ties and casual accents (sneakers, fedoras slightly askew) had all the men looking like Joseph Gordon Levitt. With a well edited mix, the collection makes achieving that effortless-cool, which is often so hard to achieve, seem so easy.