Grandma-style handmade knits are topping fashion editors' wish lists this fall: Fendi's alligator baguettes have been replaced with softer nubbly woolen versions, and Donna Karan is stocking stacks of oversize cowl-neck knit sweaters. Down in NoLIta, Claire Blaydon has fashioned her entire fall collection (found at her store at 202A Mott Street) from vintage sweaters, working leftover preppy cable knits into T-shirts, bags, and hats. The indie set cozied up to Blaydon's Planet Claire label a few years back; now her one-of-a-kind bohemian shrugs and shawls are warming the backs of rockers like Sheryl Crow and Jewel.

Related:

• Archive: “Gotham Style”
• Articles by Maura Egan
• Table of Contents: Oct 25, 1999 issue of New York | Subscribe!