NYFW Fall 2012 review: Tory Burch’s rich clothes for the rest of us

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With contemporary collections as upscale-looking and lavishly detailed as Tory Burch’s, who needs to pay top dollar for fashion? That was what was going through my mind when I watched her polished fall runway show, full of embroidered ladylike tweed jackets and skirts, tulle and chiffon dresses with organza flower appliques, crinkled leather jackets, and structured frame bags with plastic flower and tortoise details.

Speaking of details, there was a lot of eye candy for a song -- rows of pearls on the collar and cuffs of a cardigan jacket and matching pencil skirt with organza eyelet hem, jeweled flower buttons on a gold lamé coat and sequins dusting a houndstooth plaid skirt. (Most of Burch’s clothes are in the $295 to $895 range, well below the high-end designer price point, and women seem to appreciate the level of fashion they get for the money.)

Burch has proved over the last two seasons of showing on the runway that her range extends far beyond the graphic prints, and boho prep 1960s and ‘70s influences that she started with in 2004. She has forged a powerful new identity for her brand as a go-to for everything from suits to understated evening dresses to luxe accessories.

And watching all the editors and fans from around the world file into the runway show venue, Tory Burch logo bags in hand, it was clear that the cult of Tory is just beginning.

-- Booth Moore in New York

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All photos of Tory Burch’s fall 2012 collection by Mike Coppola/Getty Images, except bottom right by Stephen Chernin/Associated Press.