Move over brown and black. Gray and navy want a turn in our closets.

I'm feeling blue these days. And gray. Very gray. But that's not a bad thing.

Lots of us rely on brown and black as our staple neutral palette. They are safe, comfortable and convenient.

But this fall, navy and gray are jockeying for equal play in the world of neutrals, and I'm totally embracing them in my wardrobe. Both colors are versatile. They look great layered together or as backdrops for bursts of color. Neon, anyone?

Gray, my personal favorite of the moment, offers a softer touch to an outfit than its darker brethren. I love how rich pinks and purples really pop against it. Try a patterned scarf over a gray tee. Throw a navy cardigan over a silky gray blouse and vice versa. Confused about what color shoe to put with? Consider brown, silver or burgundy. Or pink. Okay, yeah, I'm obsessed with that color, too.

Deal Diva Colleen

(Photo: Like this look? You can get it at the Loft. And click here for 30 percent off your purchase!)

Over the knee boot: Forget it or gotta have it?

 

So, boot season is here in full effect. And I am on the hunt. This year's trend du-jour: over-the-knee boot.

They come in a variety of textures and either heeled or flat.

I've been on the fence about this look for a while and I'm just about ready to leap.  One half of me thinks slutty 80s raunch while the other side says trendy stylish statement.

What's a girl to do?

So I pose the question to you purveyors of style: OTK boot: Fug or Fab?

Deal Diva Nicole

(Picture: Elle.com/Givenchy)

Scarves: Great neckwear, but they kind of get in the way

I'm somewhat obsessed with scarves this fall. They scream effortless chic. They add a dash of color. They offer so many possibilities, not the least of which is hiding that toothpaste you dribbled on your shirt during the morning brush.

But each time I wear one of these lovely swaths of fabric around my neck, I face a small dilemma. Scarves just kind of, well, get in the way.

I really only notice this problem when I eat and wash my hands. Worried that my scarf is a magnet for food stains, I usually end up taking it off at mealtimes. Sure that it will soak up all the standing water around the bathroom sink, I throw my scarf over my shoulder while my hands undergo the anti-swine flu scrub.

Men, is this what you face when you wear neckties? Is this why I sometimes see you tucking your tie between the buttons of your shirt? This isn't a national crisis or anything, but I'm wondering if there is a better way of dealing with this slight neckwear nuisance. (And don't bother suggesting that I ditch the scarves. That is not an option.)

Deal Diva Colleen

(Photo: Rainbow stripe gathered scarf, $16.95, from New York & Company)

Poll: Trends that need to go away!

I'm in a fashion funk. In this economy, I question myself everytime I go to buy something frivolous, like a new top. It doesn't help that I'm not seeing anything in the fall lineup that makes my jaw drop.

I've bought my quota of ruffles. I'm still not feeling the shoe bootie. Or the metallic studs that are still hot-to-trot on handbags and shoes.

I'm ready to wish some trends away, so some new ones will come to stay. What are you ready to kiss goodbye?

Ruffles
Shoe booties
Navy nails
Studded stuff

Deal Diva Letitia

Are sunglasses from the eye doctor fashionable? Why, yes!

I went to the eye doctor Wednesday morning for a routine checkup. As happens once a year, I had my eyes dilated. I also sought advice on my left eye that has been twitching for two weeks. My doctor advised me to "drink a bottle of wine and go to sleep." Wise, wise woman.

Anyway, after the scary drops that turned my pupils into Magic 8 Balls, I spent the next two hours squinting to see things in focus, looking like I ate a big handful of glitter berries off a highly questionable tree I found in the woods. For safety, I slipped in the shaded "sunglasses" the doctor gave me so I could get to work. That's them up in the left corner, hanging tough on my face behind my prescription specs.

I was totally shocked when I looked in the rear view and thought they were actually kind of fierce, in a Lady Gaga kind of way. While I would never wear them in a populated public as-is, because I do have some standards, I sort of liked the shape -- round bottoms with defined corners. Could I find some glasses that had the spirit of cheap plastic eye doctor glasses, with none of the humiliation?

Of course!

These are from Forever 21, $6.80. A little Kanye, yes, but I would give them a shot.

These are from Hot Topic, $9.99. They're your basic retro knockoffs, cool in a funky way.

These, which I can only afford in my nightdreams, are from Sunglass Hut, made by Persol. They sell for $360.

Maybe I should stick to the handouts from my doctor. Like I said, she is wise.

Deal Diva Stephanie

Photos: Forever 21, Hot Topic, Sunglass Hut

FitFlops new winter line of boots offend our eyes

OHGODWHY?

 

Terrifying, right? But that's not all. Feast your eyes on THESE MOON BOOTS:

  
These are among the latest designs from FitFlop, those sandals that are supposed to tone your legs and  booty while you take regular old steps. There's a new winter line with five styles that cost $70 to $200 at Macys and Amazon.com. I mean, the chunky, traditional FitFlops are odd enough. I'd only wear these if I was snowed into a cabin in, you know, Vermont, unlikely to ever see any member of the opposite sex ever again. I might consider putting them on if my survival trekking through the fresh white powder depended on it, but you'd have to get me drunk first. Thank God it doesn't snow here.

I appreciate the FitFlops mission, but frankly I'd rather just bust out 30 wall squats, a coupla lunges and a set of box jumps, then throw on a pair of stilettos. But maybe that's just me.

Deal Diva Stephanie

(Photos from FitFlops)

Quote of the Day: former "America's Next Top Model" contestant Isis King

"I really do not follow trends at all. ... I'm all for really high boots, but that's not really a trend. It's just because it's getting cold."

-- Isis King, speaking to the Deal Divas and tbt* about her favorite trends for fall. Oh, how we Floridians long for boots weather!

Fans of America's Next Top Model will recall King from cycle 11, when she caused a stir as ANTM's first transgendered contestant.

King will be in Tampa on Oct. 13 to give a speech as part of the University of South Florida's University Lecture Series. Read more with my interview with King in the Oct. 9 issue of tbt*.

Deal Diva Dalia

(Photo: Associated Press)

New fashion trend: Visible panty lines?!?

We love Mad Men style, but don't want to go back to the era of pointy boobs. But it seems that someone forgot to share that memo with the designers showing off their stuff recently on the New York runways.

The skivvies on display at Fashion Week are all '60s fug-taculare.

And what a display. The New York Times' Eric Wilson muses that VPL (Visible Panty Lines) were a veritable fashion trend for spring collections.

How could this be? Not so long ago, drunk co-eds were dropping trou to the beat of the Thong Song. Bridget Jones' hot date went cold at the sight of her granny-roos. Even maxipad makers got in on "the less is more" action.

What now? Will fashion-loving women embrace the high-waisted look of our mothers? Will Spanx become the new T-backs?

What is your take: Are VPL back?

Deal Diva Letitia

(Photo from Times wires)

Wet Seal stores having big sales, Deal Divas having flashbacks

Here's a quickie sale you might want to check out.

Everything at Wet Seal stores is buy-one, get-one half off. The entire store. Limited time only, they say, so they want you to come now.

In high school, I was OBSESSED with Wet Seal. I bought everything I owned at the old store across from the food court at Westfield Countryside. I even applied for a job there once (mortification). My friend Tyson, who worked at the cookie stand across from the store, used to hold up heart-shaped cookie cakes at the cute girls in Wet Seal buying pink straw cowboy hats and halter tops. Ahh, 1999. Those were the days.

I've grown out of Wet Seal a bit, but they still have some cute finds if you're tight on cash and want something trendy in a pinch. My favorite Countryside food court store is but a memory now, but Wet Seal still has locations at Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg and Westfield Citrus Park, Westshore Plaza and International Plaza in Tampa.

~ Deal Diva Stephanie

Photo: Model all decked out in Wet Seal wears, wetseal.com

Shooties (shoes + booties): Ugly or uber chic?

This letter popped up in our mailbox this week.

Dear Divas,

I am in need of true sartorial advice. I think I am in love with these shoes.

 

But they're shooties! I vowed I would never get shooties! I know they are going to make my legs look like stumps that are getting swallowed by menacing, black blobs. But yet, I am drawn. What do you and the rest of the Divas think: Shooties, yay or nay?

Your friend,

Carrie

 

Sigh, I know what it feels like to walk in Carrie's shoes (bad pun intended). I, too, have ridiculed the shootie (i.e., shoe + bootie). And yet, this season, I also kinda sorta like them. Is this the perfect Florida alternative to the knee-high, closed-toe boot? Should we wear them with jeans and skirts and dresses and say to heck with the potential leg-shortening issues?

 

Let's help a sister out and discuss.

 

~ Deal Diva Colleen