Tell me you don’t love this idea, dear readers: over the next four weeks, as fashion weeks move from New York to London to Milan and finally to Paris, the DCGF will be bringing you Goodwill Good Buy’s of the Week representing each of those countries and the designers who show at their respective fashion weeks! Okay, fine. Well, I thought it was cool.

This week’s Goodwill Good Buy of the Week, then, comes to us courtesy of none other than Ralph Lauren, the quintessential American designer fo classic sportswear and elegant evening wear.

We’re sticking to the basics this week, with two sweater/blazer combos that embody Lauren’s refined aesthetic and taste for luxury.

His is one of the last show’s to close out fashion week here in New York, with a two-hour blow-out at Skylight Studio on Hudson Street this Friday from 10am - Noon. Suffice to say I don’t have a ticket.

But I can get you closer with a few pieces of his clothing! Let us begin this way, though: the cowl neck tweed blazer above is currently available from polo.com as part of the Ralph Lauren Black Label collection. The price? One thousand two-hundred and ninety-eight dollars. Riiiight.

Now let’s take a look at the blazer to the right. It’s a gorgeous Ralph Lauren tweed blazer with tan suede elbow patches (love those!) and leather buttons. There are two front flap pockets at the waist and one slash breast pocket. It’s fully lined and a size 6 in mint condition. I want!

Underneath I’ve layered a wonderfully soft light purple turtleneck in 55% cahmere/45% wool. The sweter is a size M and will best fit a 6/8 US. Pair these tops with some brown trousers or a great brown a-line skirt and knee-high riding boots and you have a cozy work outfit that will keep you going all fall and winter long!

Better yet? These items will start at just $8.98 on shopgoodwill.com later today. Sweet.

For a more old-school Lauren look, opt for this classic brown and olive plaid blazer with tan suede collar, layered over an ivory turtleneck sweater (hand-made!) that features ice skaters on the front. I know - you can’t see them very well, but they’re there. Trust me.

Lauren’s “novelty sweaters” are legendary and there’s actually an entire section on polo.com dedicated to them! Even the kids get in on the action with pieces like the snowflake sweater for girls, at right. Price? $90.

Even dogs get novelty sweaters, most of which cost more than the children’s versions. Does that mean dogs >= children? Ha.

But, again, the three-button, fully lined blazer in size 10 and the excellent condition warm and comfy sweater in size L at left can be yours starting at just $8.98.

As for the DCGF, I’m getting ready to head out for stops at a Goodwill store on the upper east side (Do people on Park avenue donate their designer clothing? Let’s hope so!), Design Within Reach (Can I really reach anything there? I’m not sure…), a special surprise fashion show (I’ll have all the pics and etail up this afternoon!), and anything else that strikes my fashion fancy along the way. Be sure to check back often to see what’s happening here in the Big Apple!

Any purchase made at a Goodwill Retail Store or on shopgoodwill.com funds Goodwill’s mission of training and employment programs for people with disadvantages or disabilities.

So what do you think?

At right are two looks from Patrick Robinson’s Fall 2008 collection for Gap, that stalwart of American fashion that has of late fallen on hard times, both fiscally and fashionably. Robinson - he of his own failed eponymous line and late of Perry Ellis and Paco Rabanne - has been called upon to resurrect the Gap from becoming another casualty of an ever-fickle industry where consumer are increasingly trading up for small luxuries and turning away from mass-produced merchandise.

As Eric Wilson explains in today’s New York Times’ Styles section, “Reinventing Gap, the nation’s largest specialty apparel chain, has been fashion’s equivalent of Merlin’s stone for much of the last decade, as sales and profits have dipped, along with its image among young consumers.” So the question becomes, is Robinson up to the task? More importantly, do you like what you see? Are you ready to fall into the Gap?

I‘ll be honest: the only time I shop at the Gap anymore is on the clearance rack, for $3.99 t-shirts or the occasional size Tall item that’s been returned to the store. I haven’t felt inspired by their clothing in quite some time.

And while easy-to-please kid sis Old Navy and sophisticated older sister Banana Republic appear to have found and maintained their respective niches for some time now, Gap has continued to flounder.

Remember when Gap was so hugely popular that even Madonna and Missy Elliot were on board for an ad campaign, music video and - gasp! - CD single released in the store? It all seems a bit much now, but I remember really liking those commercials back in 2003 (has it really been 5 years?). And I remember shopping more at the store back then. They had great basics, but a few fun extras that worked well for an adventurous fashionista on a budget.

But then came a series of misdirected ad campaigns, including - shudder - the inexplicable series of images of Sarah Jessica Parker, the queen of high-end clothing and accessories at the time on SATC. Why was she shopping at the Gap all of the sudden? It just didn’t make sense.

Slowly, though, the retailer regained some of its fashion credibility with such awesome collaborations as the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists’ white shirt collections and last year’s Whitney Biennial participants’ fanciful t-shirt designs. In fact, if you happen to wear a size L, you can still snag a Phillip Lim-designed button-down for just $27.99 on clearance. Hmm… Maybe the DCGF needs to get that one…. (I’ll be wearing my other Phillip Lim-designed white shirt tonight, at the Travelin’ Trunk Show!)

You see, at heart, I still, well, (heart) Gap. I love going into one of their stores - big or small - and seeing what I might find on the racks. Deep down, I’m hoping to recapture the Gap of my youth, that magical place I visited in high school that was the be all end all of great style and affordability. Sure, I know those days are over, but every now and again I catch a glimpse of an item that I think might work just right with my wardrobe of carefully thrifted and drastically marked down designer finds.

So far, the fall ads are rather curious. You can see yet more celebrities and celebrity-slash-models looking sensitive/serious on a multi-page spread in just about any major fashion magazine on shelves right now.

But how do I “Make [my] own philosophy” through clothes? How do I “Name [my] own destiny?” Um…not sure. And why are they in black and white only?! Fall clothes to me are all about color and texture, which just can’t be conveyed well in black an white, as “artistic” as it may look on the pages of a magazine.

-sigh-

I’m counting on you, Mr. Robinson, to restore my faith in Gap. Can you do it? Please?

Any purchase made at a Goodwill Retail Store or on shopgoodwill.com funds Goodwill’s mission of training and employment programs for people with disadvantages or disabilities.

As an astute reader pointed out on yesterday’s blog, the Z Zegna jacket resembled nothing so much as a lab coat. Well hold on to your Bunsen burners, dear readers, because it gets wild and woolly for designer menswear in Spring 2009. While the fashion world holds its collective breath for New York Fashion Week to kick off tomorrow morning, the men’s shows have already come and gone, providing a hint as to which colors and cuts will be big when warm weather returns.

But do men actually take their cues from the runway? Certainly many of the gals I know pore over fashion magazines and designer collections to gain inspiration for molding their own wardrobes, weather from Bergdorf Goodman or Goodwill. Most men, though, are probably barely aware that there is a men’s fashion week, let alone that certain trends emerge each season or that what they pick up at the mall might have been dictated by a high-end designer.

But it’s probably just as well with what passed for style a couple of weeks ago. Take for example this ensemble from Costume National, at right. Mesh shirt, skinny tie (or is that just the front placket of the shirt? I can’t tell…), shiny black pants, navy slip-on shoes…somebody stop me when this starts to make sense.

It reminds me a bit of Right Said Fred - you know, the guy who was “Too sexy for [his] shirt.” But not in a good way. In fact, I don’t know that there’s anything good about this outfit, although the cuffed sleeves are a nice homage to the 80s. And the skinny belt is cool. Next!

Kris Van Assche offered a similarly incomprehensible series of cropped pants (noooo!), tight tees, no tees in some cases, and curious combinations of shorts and blazers. Is this continuing infantilization of men’s fashion a misplaced response to years of babydoll dresses and mary jane shoes for women? I doubt it’s anything that interesting, but it surely isn’t very flattering.

The ensemble to the left, from Van Assche, look to be the unholy love child of Kevin Federline’s little brother and an extra from a Brian de Palma film. What’s up with the armbands? And while I do appreciate the touch of color the blue belt adds to the otherwise monotonous gray and white palette, it does seem to fit the model rather oddly, does it not?

I’m starting to feel sorry for men’s fashion for spring 2009. Where is the inspiration for the average guy? How is any person supposed to get their male better half to dress better if this what they’re given to support an argument in favor of stylish attire? The DCGF thinks we must turn to a tried and true stalwart of fine men’s fashion.

In addition to the usual three-piece suits in stripes and solids, Paul Smith offered a fine range of casual wear, including the blazer and jeans pairing at right. I like how he tucked in many of the ties, as if the wearer might be sitting down for a plate of ribs at a barbecue or some lobster on the beach.

The use of color was understated and kept mostly to accessories, like these fun green boat shoes. Most importantly, the fit was one of two ways: very slim or very baggy, both of which seem as if they could be flattering options for a guy who wishes to take a fashionable stance come spring. Extraneous decor was kept to a minimum, no surprise for Smith, but a welcome change from the unnecessary straps, zippers, and other ephemera found on so many other designers’ clothing right now.

What was less appealing were the models themselves. Painfully skinny with loads of guyliner and dishabille hair, they looked like they might have walked right off the set of Shaun of the Dead. I thought heroin chic was so late 90s, no?

There were so many dark, skinny suits on the men’s runways for spring that my eyes started to cross. Everyone looks so terribly bored and underfed and even mad and maybe just a bit ready to run home and throw on a pair of sweatpants. The boys in Bottega Veneta’s show provided a nice respite from that tedium, as did the guys at Giorgio Armani. I could picture Richard Gere or even Cary Grant in some of those suits and separates. You know, a real man! Ha.

But, as usual, John Galliano provided the most entertainment value per outfit (EVpO - it’s a new formula I’ve, um…formulated). There were roughly five parts to his show. Let’s call them 1) Neon Tribal Lords, 2) Laminated Logo Pirates, 3) Lace Bikers with Bags, 4) Macho Clowns in Underwear, and 5) Booted Scots from the Future.

Right.

Anyway, it’s really hard to pick just one look from this collection with which to impress upon you the scope of Galliano’s work for spring. So I randomly selected the one at left. Note the plaid handbag, the shredded cardigan, the yellow, er…hair? Oh, who am I kidding. Nobody actually wears the stuff from Galliano’s runway shows! That would be ridiculous. This is just all in good fun. I mean, look at the shoes of the people in the front row: sensible down the line. Nobody’s going to wear those flowered (?) pants, man or woman. But it’s fun to look at, you know?

And after show upon show of the same look, many of which were just this side of ridiculous, Galliano at least brings a smile to this fashionista’s face and shows that somebody out there still has a vision for what he wants to accomplish in a runway show…emphasis on the last word.

So sorry guys, it’s not looking great for spring 2009, at least where new ideas in men’s clothing are concerned. But take heart: at least you’ll never have to wear the outfit above!