Lindsay and I have been working together for so long that oftentimes people think of us as the same person.  Of course, the differences between us look painfully obvious in our own eyes, but for those looking in from outside the half-eco-friendly-hemp, half-luxurious-designer-velvet rope, it’s easy to get us mixed up.

So most of you won’t be nearly as shocked as Lindsay is when you see this post.  Why?  Because I’m writing about fashion week.

Thing is, I don’t seek out fashion.  I mostly just wait for Lindsay to send me something new, so we can commiserate, swoon, and critique each collection and she can post about them in her glorious Lindsay way.  But then the F/W 2011-2012 New York Fashion Week began, and I saw my first glimpse of Nicholas K. I suddenly had this…desire…to look at the collection.  All of it.  And then, because Lindsay wasn’t around to gush with me, I needed to find an outlet.  To…talk about it.

Which is pretty fucking sweet, if you ask me.

Nicholas K

This collection made my heart skip a beat.  Like Lindsay, I’m a sucker for neutrals (especially gray and black, which are prominent in this collection) but I’m also drawn to jewel tones, which were used in almost every design. The overuse of velvet (example one, two, three) kind of reminds me of my old dance costumes – oh, and I also hate it – but the leather and fur make up for it.  Each outfit had a Duck, Duck, Goose quality to it: love it, love it, love it, ohgodhateit, love it, love it…

My favorites are below. I had to winnow them down. It was painful. Lindsay, how do you do it?

Plaid, AND stripes, AND form fitting also drapey, AND corset-inspired lacing.  (That’s a mini-theme in this collection, which I also love.)  The angles of the pattern and collar at the top, combined with the feminine trim on the skirt, are totally swoon-worthy to me.  I’d wear this in a heartbeat.

However, I would not wear the flat platform boots.  They only look decent in a quarter of the photos from the collection, and remind me too much of those ugly foam platform flip-flops suburban moms used to wear.

Add fur.  God yes.

This is the other-other part that made me excited: oversize hoods.  The way it folds in on itself is perfection.  I don’t know if it’s attached to the jacket, the shirt, or nothing at all, and I don’t care.

Also see: better boots.  Much preferred.

More plaid with neck-cuddling furry goodness: shirt edition.  The boots I don’t like have joined forces with sweatpants, which I also don’t like or even understand.  I guess I’d wear them sledding.  Is there going to be some sort of fashion sledding event in 2012?  Or are we preparing for the end of the world – no, that would be F/W 2012-2013…

I know I shouldn’t get so excited about all this leather and fur, but I can’t help it.  The sheer top and tied-up shirt make the first photo one of my absolute favorites – click it (or any of the others) to see the full-size image – and I am so prepare to try that burnt orange color ASAP.

I need to pause here for a moment. Look at their faces, the messy hair. Click the guy’s image; enlarge it; take it in. Add some snow on those boots and chocolate ice cream around the mouth.

If you’ve ever babysat, you know what I’m about to say.

“But I don’t waaaaaaanna go to bed…”

(This interpretation brought to you by those god-awful sagging sweatpants.)

Sheer femininity at its finest. This brings about my other-other-other favorite part of Nicholas K’s collection: the combination of really soft, delicate fabrics and styles with heavier, stiffer stuff. I pretty much want to do that sort of thing all the time.

Last favorite thing, I promise.  It’s knit.  And it’s in just a couple of places, but it’s there, and it’s awesome, and I’m down with it.

And that’s all.

What do you think of Nicholas K’s latest collection?

As a NYFW newb, which collection should I look at next?

Images via Vogue.co.uk, where you can view the entire collection.