You didn’t think I was going to report about the trunk show without a single mention of the clothes, did you? Well, you know all that money I’m going to save by passing on the Spring bags? It’s going straight into the money pit better known as Chanel RTW.

The first photo here is actually of the ribbon wool from my Fall 2010 coat. It has a cool shredded, yarnlike effect that’s hard to explain until you touch it or see it in person. Both as a segue and continuation into Spring, the similarly tactile ribbon tweeds are carried over into the Spring 2011 collection and are nothing short of a fabric fantasy for me. I wept over every single ensemble the house models tried on–not only because they were all young and tall and thin on my I’m feeling very bloated day, but because the whimsical tweeds blended with soft, feminine colors for Spring made for concoctions too beautiful to process unemotionally. Fantasy overload.

There were beautiful short jackets with short (wah!) pleated skirts and nubby sweater-knit dresses, skirts, and cardigans…

See those gold link chains? It’s a common theme on several sweaters and they have clasps at both ends so that once attached, you could swing the cardigan across the body like a messenger bag. I wish I had been able to take a picture of it worn like that on the glamazon models so you can see how adorable that was…on us mere mortals, maybe not so cute. But I love the knits nevertheless. Wonderful, flattering colors.

This sweater knit is definitely a recurring theme in terms of fabrication in addition to the ribbon tweeds…here it is on a sweater jacket embellished with a chain zipper…

and how it looks on me in one size too big–I think there were lion heads on the silver buttons, too:

But let’s talk about the ribbon tweed again, shall we? I know it will snag like insane but it’s this kind of material that sets Chanel apart from all other competitors. Sorry my spy pics are so blurry–the hands must have been shaking from too much excitement. Here are two color schemes for an otherwise simple jacket cut in that iconic style:

Probably not the most practical thing in the world to collect jackets with ribbon tweeds, but to be fair, there are also very practical, wearable separates from this collection:

(See the gold link chains again on this burnt orange cardi below? I suppose they also double as sweater jewelry!)

I can’t wait to see all the pieces the other boutiques are bringing in. This was only a tiny glimpse of all the looks available for the US market. But from what I’ve seen so far, I know it’s going to be a stellar season!