NYFW Review: Ralph Lauren's Fall 2009 Collection

NEW YORK -- It is somehow comforting that, though the economy is melting down, Ralph Lauren's rarefied world is still perfectly intact.

The king of fine living, Lauren showed a collection that conjured images of a weekend at a country estate --horseback riding by day in suede jodhpurs, a Fair Isle sweater, tweed jacket and cozy patchwork coat; candlelit dinners by night in a gray wool evening suit with jeweled buttons; or a sinuous white silk gown with an embroidered white shearling coat thrown over the shoulders.

There's nothing quite so luxurious as wearing white during the winter, and being in the circumstances where you don't have to worry about messing it up. Who wouldn't want to escape there for a little while? Besides, Lauren's business stands on fantasy and the idea that his fantasy is insulated from cold, harsh reality.

He also took the opportunity to showcase his new collection of timepieces with "stirrup" shaped faces encrusted in pave diamonds, displayed prominently on models' wrists, and described along with the outfits in the show notes.