Photos: Vogue's Guide to Fall 2013 Fashion

Fall 2013 is a season of duality, of opposites attracting. For every beaded, bejeweled rocker chick shimmying in an extravagant fur and short skirt, there’s a minimalist sporting a sober dress that gives maximum coverage. For every over-the-top fur scarf, there’s a discreet, long-closet-life purse. For every menswear-inspired tweed, there’s gleaming velvet. Everything is being flipped and turned around. Bags, once the bearer of a thousand styling tricks, have turned understated and barely stand out from what they’re worn with (in fact, some designers are camouflaging them with the clothes), while the humble coat has suddenly ramped up the action, roaring down the runways from New York to Paris in versions beaded, zippered, embellished, and richly plush. There’s also been a gender swap as Savile Row tweeds morph into Hitchcock heroine–worthy clothes that echo the mystery and glamour of the forties, fifties, and early sixties. In the end, all this comes down to the edit: The way women decide to make the pieces this season work for their wardrobes.