New York Fashion Week: Ralph Lauren’s western glam

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Frontier glam was what Ralph Lauren must have had in mind for his spring collection of washed white linen separates and lacey dresses, worn with fringed deerskin vests and antique Navajo rug satchels.

Many pieces had a lovely heirloom quality to them, as if they’d been pulled from an old trunk in grandmother’s attic. (It’s all about putting the personal touch back in luxury.)

The relaxed, men’swear-inspired linen jackets and pants were good-looking, as were a loose-fitting, white linen poet-sleeve shirt dress, cream hand-crocheted knit dress, and platinum lame gown the color of the moon.

But the heavy-handed Western accents -- oversized steer-head belt buckles, lacey blouses with leg o’ mutton sleeves, and a rodeo’s worth of leather and fringe -- took this collection dangerously close to looking like something out of the wardrobe department of a big-budget Western.

-- Booth Moore in New York

Ralph Lauren spring - summer 2011 runway collection photo gallery