Boy by Band of Outsiders

NEW YORK, September 6, 2008
By Romney Leader
If Fall's girl was at home in the Scottish countryside, her Spring counterpart is more about the late lunch at Sant Ambroeus. Scott Sternberg of Boy by Band of Outsiders astutely cast Kirsten Dunst as the face of his lookbook and the star of his video installation, which ran on big screens as guests feathered through the racks. The actress is known for her down-to-earth but slightly mussed personal style, and she brought Boy's edgy basics to life. Blazers came in every variety, from chambray double-breasted to a white linen tuxedo style. Although pants and skirts with paperbag waists felt slightly dated, there was plenty to keep the downtown espresso drinkers happy: Suspender-strapped skirts were a quirkier interpretation of the bandage-dressing trend, and some cotton piqué dresses (one made to look like it was on backwards, another with a twisted button-front placket) suggested Sternberg is aiming to offer women more ambitious options than his usual riffs on the tomboy-schoolgirl look.