When I was growing up in Baltimore The Loft store at the mall was where my mom would drag me if I had a family function to attend and she wanted to rest her weary eyes from torn fishnets and the latest goldmine I had scavenged at the Salvation Army. Even then, much to mom’s chagrin the ladylike pieces would most likely get purposefully shredded and beat up to match my beloved disheveled look. These days that look is gone but Ann Taylor’s collections have remained on the sidelines for me and have never been ones I turn to for cute fashionable clothes. Until recently. Almost two years ago Ann Taylor’s main line went through a fantastic renovation, with a young new designer at the helm and beautiful fashion forward collections that followed. Now the company has transformed their secondary line LOFT in a similar way. The Fall 2010 collection, which hit stores this month with pieces continuing to trickle in throughout September and October, is young, sexy, chic, wearable and definitely affordable without anything ‘cheap’ in the line. I love the pieces separately and together and have added several to my daily rotation. www.loftonline.com
